We all had a WONDERFUL Spring Break week with Poppa and Aunt Jagee in town. The weather was finally absolutely perfect. Truly, we really hit the best week for spring vibes. The weather was warm and sunny nearly every day and the pollen was flying all over the place. Well, the pollen wasn't so great but we'd had so many weeks of drab weather that we didn't mind too much.
After Easter weekend we spent a few days bumming around the house. Dan, Mandy, and I still had work for Monday and Tuesday but Poppa and Jagee took the kids to Target in memory of Marmee since that was always something she did when she visited. The kids got a toy or two to entertain themselves along with all the stuff they got from their Easter baskets.
There was also a lot of Wizards Chess happening. Y'all, chess is HARD and Kip is crazy good at it and I don't even know when he learned it (evidently Dan taught him but I confess I didn't know Dan was good at chess either). I cannot play without looking at a cheat sheet of how each piece moves. Anyways, that was fun for...well, mostly just Kip who was sweeping us all most games. It's cute though, he is attempting to teach Ivy how to play.
Anyways, on Tuesday evening our big plan for the day was to visit Poppa's camp site and do a cookout and s'mores. Poppa and Jagee drove from Colorado to New Jersey in my dad's trailer. It was something my parents bought post-pandemic with the hopes of doing just that, driving across country to visit us. He got a nice campsite about 15 minutes away from the house, and boarded Maggie at doggie day care. Maggie is a sweet pup but she isn't great with kids or anyone who gets within 8 feet of my Dad. But she LOVES doggie day care, so she spent her days at camp and then she guarded my dad anytime we were at the camp site.
The kids LOVED the campsite. There was nature to explore, a little playground down the road, and the best part was the campfire. Since our failed camping trip last summer we needed a proper redo and this situation was ideal. All the good parts about camping without actually having to camp. We stayed past sunset, ate copious amount of marshmallows, and then drove home, showered, and slept in our own beds. Both kids declared it their favorite part about the week.
On Wednesday we took a day trip to Philadelphia. We didn't necessarily have plans in mind just to explore another city. We went to Reading Terminal Market for lunch and then walked to Center City to see the Liberty Bell. We ended up at Franklin Playground and got to ride the carousel twice and then the kids enjoyed the playground for awhile. We walked around looking for coffee o'clock treats and then were by home by dinnertime. It was a nice little day-venture we all enjoyed.
On Thursday we ended up at a local playground, went out for lunch, and played at the house. We returned to the campsite that evening for some more s'mores.
The kids learned to pump on these swings. The swing set at the playground by our house has hard straight seats that are very difficult to use. These old school swings were much more fun for them.
Auntie Jagee had to leave Thursday morning. It was very, very sad and super hard for Ivy who had bonded with Jess over the trip. But, I got some smiley pictures before the tears.
After Jagee left we went back to the campsite and played on another playground and then decided to attempt a hike through the park. This ended up being SO much fun. It was about a mile long and through the woods. Kip loved the adventure and Ivy did super well walking that distance through uneven terrain. We stopped at the nature center along the way as well.
At this point Ivy told me she wanted to go home and "lax" (relax). But she really did SO well considering she was carried or pushed in the stroller the entire time we were in Philly.
Kip was made for the outdoors. He loved every second.
We returned to the campsite that night for one more campfire. It was sad because the kids recognized Poppa was leaving the next day and Spring Break was nearly over. They both cried on the way home.
But Poppa came by in the morning before heading back out on the open road so we could have final hugs and photos.
The kids were very sad, so naturally I consoled them with a trip to Walmart. We had a lot of tears for the rest of the weekend. Mandy and I reset the house for the return to work and school and the kids moped around. But, there is LOTS to look forward to in May. Touch-a-Truck, Ivy's birthday and birthday party, Fun Day at school and Grandma comes to visit at the end of the month.
Good times must come to an end but there is usually always something else good around the bend.
