Spring Break March 12-18

Spring Break!  I think we did a pretty good job this week of staying happy and not getting on each other's nerves too much.  Monday we just relaxed at home.  We watched Trolls again, we had borrowed it from a neighbor over the weekend.  The kids really like it.  I don't appreciate some of the crude humor, but oh well.  

Tuesday we rode our bikes to the park and played with friends.  The park is pretty close, maybe a mile away, but it seems so much further when you are biking with lots of little kids.  We had a hard time staying together but we made it. :)

The older kids played soccer most of the time while the younger ones played on the playground.  It was a bit cool, but a beautiful day.  

Doug took the boys to go see the Lego Batman Movie, so we had a girl night at home.  I let them have a bubble bath in our big tub and we watched Trolls again.  

Wednesday we went to Main Event for their Spring Break special.  For one price you could bowl and play laser tag as much as can until 5:00.  Well, we only made it until 2:00 but we played 3 rounds of bowling and 3 games of laser tag and even played some billiards.  It was busier than last year so the boys had to wait longer in between laser tag games but we all still had a fun time.  We went with two other families so it was fun for them to be with their friends.  Tyler had a great bowling game with 2 strikes in a row to make it to 141.  I did terrible and didn't even break 100 :(.  

Thursday we packed in the morning and got ready to go camping.  We went to Lake Houston Wilderness Park.  It is only 30 minutes away and so beautiful.  The trees are amazing here and the weather was perfect.  We were afraid it was going to rain on us all week, but it just stayed nice and cloudy and cool.  Two other families camped with us, and one family just came up for s'mores Thursday evening.  

Damon and Tyler helped saw the wood for the fire. 

We drove both vehicles so that we could take our bikes.  We were so glad that we did.  Our campsites all hooked together in this big open area that everyone could bike around. The girls loved it. 

Campfires are great! Sleeping while camping is not so great.  I woke up every hour or so to make sure the kids stayed in their sleeping bags or put their blankets back on.  But the kids slept pretty well.  Doug slept with Damon in the 2 man tent. 

Friday morning we went for a short hike to this pond.  It was the perfect length for little legs.  We stopped by these Blue Bonnets for a photo op. 

The foot bridge was cool. 

It is nice when the kids get old enough to play card games. 

 Friday afternoon we went down to the creek.  This was the perfect place to play.  It was a bit cool and would be even better on a hotter day, but the kids of course had a blast playing in the sand and water.

 Kaylee on the rope swing.

 Tyler got completely buried then of course didn't enjoy washing off in the water afterwards.

 Chris played in the sand and made some great towers and holes and found some new rocks for his collection.

 One friend of ours brought a Corn Hole game that the adults had fun with.  I was doing really well against Doug, but he made an amazing come back and beat me.

 Friday night I slept with Damon in the 2-man tent and Doug took a turn with the others.  I slept a bit better but our neighbors were up until 4:30 partying - that was a little bit crazy.

Saturday morning Doug packed us all up and he and Damon left to go do lawn aeration with the Scouts for their scout camp fundraiser.  The rest of us went on another little walk that ended up at some swings.  The kids were good to take turns.  It was a great weekend to camp.

Then of course the clean-up begins when you get home.  Everyone was a bit grumpy and hungry upon arrival, but after we found some food the kids were pretty good to help out and even did their Saturday jobs without too much complaint.  It took Doug and I the whole rest of the day to finish everything.  Since Doug was still with the scouts I aired out the sleeping bags and Tyler helped me set up the tents in the back yard.  It had sprinkled in the night just enough to get everything wet so we had to let them dry out.  I did 4 batches of laundry and dealt with all of the food and other stuff.  Camping is a lot of fun but a lot of work too.  Doug and I both went to bed early. :)