Spring Break 2015

This was our first year as a family where spring break actually played a role in our lives.  The girls were off school last week and Craig took a few vacation days while Rex's program was open, so he continued to go and receive his therapies. Here's our first ever spring break replay.

Saturday, March 28

Ella had swim class in the morning and then we ran a few errands.  After lunch and naps, Rex headed to cranio-sacral therapy and Ella helped me get ready for our dinner guests.  We had a great time with our friends, Katie and Andrew, and enjoyed sausages, cole slaw, homemade bread, fruit salad, and french fries as well as the world's ugliest rainbow cake.

Ella set the table

Sunday, March 29

After the obligatory trip to the home improvement store in the morning, we spent the rest of the day at home.  Craig worked on putting up the kids' play set and I tackled the Mt. Everest of laundry.  Rex decided to learn a new word:

Monday, March 30

We had a long awaited morning visit with our dear Ms. Rie and her kids.

Emilia was too busy to stop for this sweet picture

Meanwhile, our drywall was finally getting repaired. Craig also did some more work on the play set and finished part 1.  In the afternoon, we took the girls to get new shoes for summer and spring.  This was so special for Ella as it was the first time she got to have input on her own brand-new footwear.

Tuesday, March 31

We headed to our old house to pack up some more stuff and have the carpets cleaned.  Now we're ready to list.  In the afternoon, we made a stop at one of my favorite clearance stores and I got several new pieces of clothing for spring and summer.  I paid $64 for 12 items.  Only three of these items still had their original price tags on them, adding up to $110.  I think I got a steal not even knowing what the other nine would have cost at retail.


Wednesday, April 1

We had planned to surprise the girls with a visit to the zoo, but Ella woke up having vomited in the night (she did not notify us because she "didn't want to wake up Emilia").  We thought she was feeling better until she vomited again mid-morning while playing in the yard.  She was also running a fever, so we nixed the zoo plans.  I made a quick shopping trip with our cousin Maria and then we focused on some projects at home, like touching up, sanding and painting the drywall repairs that were made on Monday.  I love spackle and spackling, so this was right up my alley.  In late afternoon, Ella and I colored some eggs.

"I never did this in Armenia before."

The eggs briefly graced our mantle before Ella started to dig in.  She loves hard-boiled eggs.

Also, happy birthday, Opa.  I still miss you all the time and am so thankful for everything you poured into my heart and mind.

Thursday, April 2

The therapists at Rex's old school had been asking us to bring him in for a visit.  I didn't realize it had been two months since he transferred.  So, we made a stop to see everyone in the morning, then took Rex to his current school.

Rex and Miss Claire,
possibly his all-time favorite therapist

Just before lunch, we had our second and final post-placement visit with the social worker for Ella's adoption.  In the afternoon, it was business as usual with therapies, except that I took the time to sit in on the sessions rather than run errands.

Friday April 3

We met up with friends, a fellow adoptive family, and had some fun at Pogoplay.  After lunch and naps, we knocked out our grocery shopping while Rex had therapy.  We also colored eggs the Armenian way with red onion skins.  No designs this year though due to time constraints.

Saturday, April 4

The day started with Ella's swim lesson followed by Rex's cranio-sacral therapy.  We spent the afternoon working around the house, anything from laundry to putting up the swing set to painting our picnic table lemonade yellow.  I told you we were going to have more fun at this house.

Oh, and a sweet new neighbor brought over cute Easter buckeye candies, one for each child.

Sunday, April 5

We were thankful for such a sunny and mild Easter Day.  We spent lots of time outdoors, playing and working. Our spring break goal to get both the play set and swing set installed was completed. We bought this stuff for $100 off Craig's List, put in a couple more hundred bucks and some major elbow grease, and voila.

We enjoyed two special Easter meals.  For lunch, we had gata homemade according to the family recipe Ella's birth mother shared with me, fresh fruit, and hard-boiled eggs.  The gata was every bit as delicious as what we ate in Garni.

Armenian letter "A" for Anjella

 For dinner we had pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes and carrots.

Walked to the park and played for a bit

And now it's Monday morning and I have three hours to bring some order to the post-Spring break chaotic state of this house.  Maybe I'll post about that later.