Science Center

 We had a lot of fun at the Pacific Science Center today. I wish we had another week or two before we have to go back to school.  Spring Break is never long enough.

 My first dandelion of the season! Thanks Erin Joy!

Better than Disneyland

We are staying close to home for spring break this year. We need to save money so we can decorate our new house. Staying home doesn't mean we can't have fun! Who needs Disneyland when you can drive a couple of hours over the pass and end up in Leavenworth?

We have friend who live near Leavenworth in a gorgeous valley. They invited us to stay with them, but my girls really wanted to stay in a hotel so they could swim.  We decided to stay at the Enzian Inn so my girls could swim and I could enjoy the man playing the alp horn.

We had a great time! We especially enjoyed seeing our friends and visiting with them. The girls had a great time swimming.  Our friends have a great store in Leavenworth. They make the BEST roasted almonds, cashews, and pecans.  I thought my favorite were the Thai Chili cashews until I tried the Curry Coconut cashew. Yummy!! You should all order something from them (click here) or check out their store in Leavenworth.

We had a little adventure going home. The car was overheating, our heater wasn't working, and the check engine light came on. I was a bit worried as we drove through snow over the pass and prayed we would make it to the other side without destroying the engine. We did make it to the other side and found a great little automotive shop in a little town west of the pass.  It cost $130 for the mechanic to tell me my radiator cap wasn't tightened properly. Nice.  I'm going to take that bill to Jiffy Lube and try to get them to pay for it.  They changed my oil and checked my fluids a couple of weeks ago. I certainly haven't taken the radiator cap off...it must have been them! Grrrr....

Other than a little car frustration, we had a great time. We look forward to having fun together for the remainder of the week.  We'll make it better than Disneyland!

Here is a little video of our adventures followed by a few of my favorite pictures:

To Grandma because she loves gingerbread cookies...we are sending you some that we purchased here...

Signs of Spring

This is where Rachel slept until noon today after staying up all night at a school choir sing-in-sleep-over where of course nobody slept.  She didn't even make it into bed. Silly girl! She sure was grumpy when she woke up too. She wasn't sure if she'd make it through the night, but she had a blast and did fine.  She called me several times during the night. Once at 1:00 to tell me she forgot the case to her glasses and asked what she should do with her glasses.  I was awakened by another call at 2:00 to ask what she should do because she forgot her toothbrush. Another call at about 4:00 to tell me she loved me and missed me. Another call at 6:16 to ask where I was because I was supposed to pick her up at 6:00.  Ooops. That's what happens when your mom hasn't had enough sleep!

While Rachel slept, Erin Joy read books to her slippers, Bumble and Bee.

It was a beautiful spring day so we went to a park. I had my camera, but I also had a good book. I sat on the bench and read my book in the sun while the kids played so I didn't take any pictures.  Trust me...it was a beautiful day for playing in the park! We had ice cream too! Nice!!

We came home and were welcomed by the three youngest llamas that are owned by the family we are staying with while our housing situation is sorted out.  The llamas were excited that we had a bag of apples and made it very clear that they wanted some apples.

The girls were happy to share.

 The trees are blooming and the skunk cabbage is coming out! Yippee!!! Spring is finally here! I think a bird is building a nest in the tree by one of our windows too.  We are watching it closely.

 The girls discovered a swing on the property of the house we are staying at. Fun!!

 I had too much fun taking pictures of skunk cabbage....

 My favorite flower...daffodils!!! I couldn't resist buying some at the store today. They look so happy and yellow...just like the sun. Beautiful! I can't wait to go see the tulip and daffodil fields next month.