Never Thought Losing Could be Fun Until Today

Because the weekend was such a strong start to a great spring break, I decided to continue the fun on into the week. Wes and I are big spenders, so on Monday Wes agreed to take the boys to an afternoon movie. When they got to the snack stand, the boys were able to get one small slushie. Like I said, we are big spenders!

On Tuesday, I took the day off and went with the boys and some friends of ours to play the Excape Games. We were 30 seconds short of escaping! ONLY 30 seconds! It was a complete bummer but never so much fun to lose.

 

Our weekend includes another trip to Knoxville. I won't kid myself into believing there will be any site seeing or tours of UT. I know the hotel bed will call my name and Evan and I will spend any free time watching March Madness and taking long, luxurious naps. This is exactly what I have decided spring break should be about.

Spring Break

The boys are ending their spring break today. According to them, it was the best week ever. The boys were content sleeping until 9:00, playing endless pick up games in the driveway, and having Nerf Wars in the house, something I never allow if I'm at home because, well, it's loud, really loud. So the boys were happy with going no where as long as I brought home a treat every day after work. I saved thousands of dollarsthis stay-cation buying only a couple of Frostys, blizzards, pizzas, and burgers.

Friday Keagan went with a friend to see The Bodies exhibit at a local museum. He wasn't thrilled with giving up sleep and basketball for an educational trip, but I thought for sure he and his brother would have had enough of each other by Friday, so I made him go (and I gave him $10 for the gift shop). I'm glad I did, too, because this kid hasn't stopped talking about kidney stones, grizzly bears, and arrowheads since he got back. 

He can also articulate how the Tennessee terrain changed as a result of two earthquakes.

I almost said "I told you so." 

Of course, he loved exploring the creek, too, and he tried to explain how the trees along the creek proved the earthquake was quite damaging, but I was busy taking those pizzas out of the box and only heard pieces of that part of the trip. 

And he got to sleep some after all. 

He bought arrowheads at the gift shop and was so excited to show them to me. I asked where they were found (assuming locally since he had seen thousands on display), and he said, "I don't know..maybe around?...and stuff." I suggested he read the information on the box, and he suddenly exclaimed, "Mexico!!! I got ripped off! Mexicans didn't use arrowheads; they used machetes!"

My spring break starts NOW!

Livin' the Dream

Ever since the boys were about five and seven, they have had a system for playing backyard football. They pick a team (using helmets), pick players (using trading cards), and keep score using a timer/scoreboard combo that was given as a Christmas gift several years ago. I don't understand all of the nuances of their system, but I do know that helmets, trading cards, and brackets all serve important roles. They can spend hours completing a season, and they develop new seasons only if they know they have blocks of time to complete it. So I'm certain when they learned they had an entire week of spring break at home with no interruption, they began planning their next season.

I came home from work all of this week to find football helmets neatly lined up in the living room,

outlines of brackets and seasons stuffed in various corners of the lawn furniture,

and the floors of the bedrooms serving as displays for basketball cards. You better not mix them up or step on them until the season is over. Don't even think about trying to vacuum. 

No doubt! They are livin' the dream this spring break playing football in the backyard and basketball in the front. I am blessed that they have common interests and can entertain themselves all week with something besides video games. 

Spring Break

The snow added two extra days to the boys' spring break. One mention of Air Soft on Instagram and we suddenly had a house full of boys and gear. For the first time since Christmas, we pulled out the nice camera and got some shots of the battle.

Evan and Harrison in the far field

E and H

Wes said Evan was taken over by the spirit of General Patton.

Keagan hiding in the brush.

Keagan - before his lesson on camoflauge.

In three short hours, the two dozen sliders, the carrots, the Doritos, six bananas, and two bags of Cuties were gone! Oh, but it was so worth it to have the house filled with laughter.