Spring Break in Brief

Last week (almost two weeks ago, really) was Daddy's spring break.  Mama and the girls did visit Nan and Grandpa for the end of exam week -- they enjoyed playdates with their little cousins at the park and the Bay Area Discovery Museum.  Mama and Kathleen even got hair cuts. (Mama at an actual hairstylist's; Kathleen in Nan's kitchen!)  And everyone enjoyed the time with Nan and Grandpa.   We reunited just after Daddy had submitted his last paper.

When the circus first checked out Daddy's academic schedule in the fall, we had thought that this spring break would be a great time for a bit of adventure.  We knew it couldn't be big, since Mama is so pregnant, but we thought we might be able to swing a couple days in Yosemite... or in the City (San Francisco)... or something.

We thought wrong.

Don't misunderstand me: we definitely enjoyed Daddy's week-long vacation.  But it wasn't adventurous.  For the most part, it was marked by sickness.  Kathleen was still recovering from what we'd thought was slapped cheek fever, but may actually have been an allergic reaction to her antibiotic.  (We didn't really figure that out until the Thursday night at Nan and Grandpa's where she didn't sleep AT ALL and complained of being itchy.  Good times.)  By the time Kathleen was getting back to normal, Madeline developed an on-again, off-again fever.  And when that receded, Mama developed sinusitis.  Just in time to head back to class, Daddy got a terrible, horrible cold.  It was as though we'd won some sort of viral lottery -- a lottery we certainly don't remember entering.

Still, we did manage a bit of fun toward the end of spring break.  Kathleen and Daddy went on a daddy-daughter date to the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose.  (Mama and Madeline stayed home for some marathon-napping.)  They had so much fun together that after they left the museum they decided not to come straight home, but went to Stanford, instead, to buy Daddy's books for the next quarter.  There, they took advantage of the sunshiny weather, calling Mama to let her know they were dangling their feet in the fountain and drinking Jamba Juice.

We kept up the fun the next day with another trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Because they knew what to expect, the girls were even more excited about this visit.  They couldn't wat to get to the sea otters!  And this time we caught the entire fish-feeding "show."  We sat on the floor with a gazillion school children, watching the scuba diver descend into the tank. Even Madeline was entranced.

But the highlight of the show -- at least for our girls -- was the greedy hungriness of the sharks.  When the diver wouldn't feed them fast enough, they helped themselves to her bag of food.  (Mama was glad she wasn't the diver!  And glad that the girls didn't know enough to be scared, rather than amused!)

Monterey was just gorgeous. We reveled in the sunny spring weather and talked about how the ocean made us "homesick" for Oahu.  (Just look at what's waiting for you, Starlings!)

The last few days of spring break were spent at home.  We ran lots of errands, trying to finish off the big "before Indy arrives" checklist.  But since Daddy was around, even the most normal, everyday tasks were more fun.  

We walked to the post office to mail off some packages.

We worked in the garden, planting flowers and vegetables. The girls helped mix the potting soil.

When we'd gotten everything planted, everyone was very dirty. The only solution? The first sprinkler-run of the the spring!

Daddy's now back to class.  We're hopeful that this quarter will be a little calmer than last quarter -- at least academically speaking... because we know God has big plans for our little family this spring!