February Break

We made the best of a lame situation and ended up having a great time staying home for our week off of school.  While Randy and Marcus slaved away in Costa Rica, we did a little staycation that wasn't too bad.  

We spent a couple days at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington.  It's a hotel with a huge indoor waterpark in the middle of nowhere.  The last time we went was ten years ago and if we ever go again, it won't be until Henry is ten years old, or maybe never. 

Ironically, our good friends were also there which made the whole experience better since I still can't submerge my leg in water. Their son, Jack, is Henry's BFF so they learned how to do all the water slides while I sat in a chair with my leg up (the story of my life lately).  

Five minutes into our trip and Ethan said, "I should've stayed home."  Five minutes after that a couple cute teenage girls asked for his number and then he wasn't as disappointed about things.  Luckily Ethan channeled his inner twelve-year-old self and hung out with Landon and Parker and their friends.  Ethan showed them how to break all the rules without getting caught.

We were at the hotel on Lindsey's birthday and to honor Linz, we left packages of Oreo cookies at random hotel doors, knocked, and ran.  ALL the boys loved it!  They felt so sneaky.  They even wrote cards that said "Life is better with cookies.  From ?"  This is definitely a tradition we will do on our future hotel stays.  It's really fun to race back to the elevator and close the door before getting caught.  A true adrenaline rush! Watch a short clip of the action here.

The rest of the week we spent at home.  I let the boys have one entire day of screens.  We didn't even get dressed and wore our Christmas pajamas all day.  It actually felt a little like Christmas--lazy and relaxing.  

We also took care of my friend's dog for them.  My boys were so excited until she ran away and we had to drive around our neighborhood looking for her that Parker said, "Now I get why you don't want a dog."  Tillie was such a good dog though and it was fun and work to have her.  I haven't changed my mind on the dog issue but now it's only Ethan who is begging for one.  

Landon and I made sushi rolls together.  He's been begging me to do this for a couple of years and I finally bought the ingredients to make it happen.  It turned out so good and was so easy to make that we definitely won't wait another two years to make them again.

For our last staycation activity, I took the younger boys bowling.  Can you believe they have never been??  At least not that they remember anyway.  I think the last time we went was in Rhode Island.  They loved it!  

Conveniently, The Shake Shack was only a few minutes away from the bowling alley so of course we had to stop there for lunch to make the adventure complete.  

Can I just say how awesome it is hanging out with my younger boys?  Less arguing, less grunting and more conversations, and an all-around good time had by all.  Teenagers are great but it's sure fun to do stuff without them!

Oh, and I painted the den.  It looks so good!  Now I need to get some desks and cupboards installed and it will look less like a disaster from remote learning.

The after…I used Retreat by Sherwin Williams and I love how it turned out!