 |
| Is this worthy of a world record? |
For the past several years, some of my family has been able to visit every spring break, regardless of where we are and regardless of what we’re doing, whether we’re building stairs in Iowa, spending a chilly day at the beach in Texas, or getting started on our home here in Indiana (and eventually doing the master bath). This year, was no different.
 |
| Kate and Elsa with a picture of them four years ago at spring break! |
Of course, there were a few things we needed some help with, like putting in a few new lights cutting up, splitting and stacking some wood and cleaning up branches from the fallen trees.
 |
| Holton showing off his muscles! |
For the most part, though, we did fun stuff, despite the pretty icky weather (which seems to be the yearly curse of spring break).
 |
| Kaylee and Jack working on the tractor. |
After we hung around home for a couple of days, playing and catching up, we decided to go to Ikea over in Ohio since it was going to rain and rain anyway. My sister discovered she needed new tires on her van since she kept hydroplaning but we made it safely there, had lunch and looked around the store. Despite the hype, it didn’t wow me like I hoped–I guess it wasn’t my style of decor and I didn’t end up buying anything. Maybe I’ll go again when there’s one in Indy. Or maybe not.
 |
| Kaylee makes the chair look all the cuter. |
We also made our usual run to Steak ‘n’ Shake since they don’t have any in Nebraska.
 |
| Camille looking adorable in her paper hat. |
And, in general, enjoyed playing with cousins.
 |
| Lydia’s sprouted flowers! |
But, like it usually does, sickness struck our house and one by one, most of the family succumbed to a mysterious illness that caused everything from fevers to coughs to sore throats. So, we hung around home some more, sick and stuck inside because of the rain.
Thankfully, the last day before my family went home, everyone was feeling well enough that we were able to go to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum and much to our surprise, it wasn’t all that busy. Evelyn mastered the unicycle…
…Elsa got shot out of a cannon…
…Henry spun acrobatically on a hoop…
…and Kate was given a glimpse of what she’d look like as a clown.
Let’s just say it was the stuff nightmares are made of.
 |
| Is it just me, or does it look like her clown doppelganger could be on the next horror film? |
We wandered around the rest of the museum, playing with replica glass sculpture pieces…
…rode a chocolate slide…
 |
| If only it were REALLY made of chocolate. |
…posed in a chocolate wonderland…
…and poor Kaylee got hit by a race car. Not sure who was steering but that’s really going to hike up their insurance rates.
As it always does, the time for everyone to go back home comes, and usually not a minute to soon. We do have an awfully large house but having our population more than double makes for close quarters.
 |
| The girls being too loud for Holton’s liking. Me, too, buddy. Me, too. |
The morning my family left was absolutely beautiful (figures!) so I took the kids outside to ride Stoney while the cars were being packed up. We took one last group photo and it had kids of all kinds–grumpy kids, pouty kids, kids with cricks in their neck, sick kids, kids who’d barely woken up, and at least one or two happy kids.
 |
| Smile everyone! Or not… |
Thankfully, we’ll be able to see each other more often throughout the year (and hopefully the weather will be better and no one will be ill), which makes saying goodbye a little more bearable.
 |
| Say goodbye! |
Now to recover from spring break…
