Spring Break

It's been about a month since we had our Spring Break, though I'm just now getting around to posting about it. I thought keeping to our normal school routine would be best during the pandemic, and I'm so glad we have; life feels as normal as it possibly can, and I think that's helpful for the littles (and me!). But we really did need a bit of a respite, and there were so many little projects and activities that I've been putting off because it's hard to find the time during the normal school week.

This was probably our most successful batch of homemade play dough so far -- I gave up and used
regular food coloring, and the results were so much better. I also bought two pounds of cream of tartar,
so I'll probably have some to pass on to my grandchildren one day! *wink*

It was a respite, but our days were pleasantly filled with adventures (the stay-at-home type, that is). Sometimes chaotic, often messy, but such great fun! The weather cooperated, and we ate many of our meals outside. We treated ourselves to chocolate banana ice cream for breakfast -- which is not quite as naughty as it sounds, because the only ingredients are frozen bananas, milk, spinach, and dark chocolate cocoa powder. We played countless games of cornhole, built our thrifted volcano kit, made bath bombs, dyed yarn with Koolaid, painted herb pots and then potted herbs, played games, and generally had a lovely time together. I think I actually said "yes" more than "no." 

Little Man helped dye his orange yarn, destined for the heels and toes of his socks

We used lemonade and blue KoolAid to dye the green yarn (which came out a bit
lighter than I'd hoped), and then speckled the yarn with blue and orange)

Mt. Vesuvius, in all its glory... *ahem*

The little love using bath bombs even more than they love making them!

Rosa's yarn was dyed with a blend of pink lemonade, grape, and black cherry KoolAid

I used the extra time to finish my yarn swift, so that we could wind our dyed yarns easily

It didn't take long for Emma the German Shepherd to un-pot these! Ugh. Fortunately they survived!

We've just learned to grill hamburgers with the grill lid open, and it makes such
a difference! Homemade hamburger buns are a new favorite, too.

All of our adventures left us quite tuckered out! Scout took a decently long  nap in this position.

It was surprisingly difficult to resume our studies the next week -- after numerous complaints about having to do school, I was almost ready to declare that we'd never have a Spring Break again! But we got back into our routine within a few days, and I am glad that we took a week off. I don't often dedicate a week to the littles, apart from school. And I managed to work on quite a few personal projects, too! I've been convicted lately about investing in my children -- as I grieve the many babies we've lost, I don't want to waste the precious time I have with the children I can hug and hold. 

We only have a few weeks left in the school year, and I'm eager for a little more freedom in our schedule -- and also hoping we'll be able to venture a bit futher afield soon.