So here it is at the end of March and the month has flown by. I had wanted to post about our March break so before the month completely passes us by, here goes:
It started out with a bang as we headed down to Toronto on Saturday to see Chris Tomlin in concert. We stopped at IKEA first to grab some baskets for our new shelving unit in the front hall. We had enough time to wander (quickly) through the showroom. The kids got sidetracked in the bed section and the upcoming room switch came up. We had a surprising negative reaction form Matt this time stating that he now no longer wants to share with Mitchell. Uh oh. It is still coming budd - and soon! Marlee saw a cool oft bed she would like however I think we will probably go with the traditional bunk bed style. We will have to see. As for me, I am just excited to have at least a few months of more full sleep. Yey!
It started out with a bang as we headed down to Toronto on Saturday to see Chris Tomlin in concert. We stopped at IKEA first to grab some baskets for our new shelving unit in the front hall. We had enough time to wander (quickly) through the showroom. The kids got sidetracked in the bed section and the upcoming room switch came up. We had a surprising negative reaction form Matt this time stating that he now no longer wants to share with Mitchell. Uh oh. It is still coming budd - and soon! Marlee saw a cool oft bed she would like however I think we will probably go with the traditional bunk bed style. We will have to see. As for me, I am just excited to have at least a few months of more full sleep. Yey!
We met friends for dinner and then headed on to the concert where we met up with most of our small group from church. The concert was such a blast and I am so glad we took the kids. We knew they would be familiar with most of the songs as we sing many at home and at church. This was such a pleasant surprise though! Chris Tomlin's albums tend to be more tame but in live concert he really rocks the place - worshipfully! Marlee loved the slide show (mainly just the words showing up in random, fun ways) and using my camera to snap some photos. Our favourite song was No Chains on Me (see alive version on You Tube here). We all had to grab hands, jump up and down and sing. It was so fun!
Beth came out with Michelle which was awesome. We had a big teary hug and I have to admit that depending on the song I was alternating praising and praying that it would minister to her in some way. She left quickly when it finished but I'm positive God was there - it was phenomenal.
We stopped at the Red roof on the way home and the kids got sucked into the gaming area where you could win an {awesome} toy, guaranteed. Just what we need. This is an ongoing issue regarding our money, how we use it, what is worth spending it on, being good stewards etc. Such a hard lesson to teach and learn!
The beginning of the week brought sleepovers in the basement - although there were several good intentions and very few follow throughs. It appears that as much as they like the idea, unless there are additional kids, they much prefer OUR bed in the end.
Sunday brought amazing weather and the ice that had collected was in full melt mode. It also meant that the backyard was full of muck and water. Mitchell was able to be contained on the deck which was great, although he is loving the trampoline as much as his older siblings.
With the muckiness of the backyard we went through lots of cleaning rags, lots of quick dog baths and the rubber boots came out. Welcome spring!
On Monday I had a few errands to do so we got those done first thing in the morning and on our way home the kids wanted to stop at the park. I promised 10 minutes which quickly turned into 30 as the kids raced from one spot to the next. We packed it up when they thought it would be cool to explore the icy shoreline. No thanks.
Tuesday brought daycare kids and the sudden request to have "Spring Break BINGO". I hadn't planned on that so Matt helped me make up a condensed version and they were off and running. It really did keep them all occupied for the day. 
The weather again was awesome so they spent a lot of time on the trampoline (which counted as a square). What was really great was that since I didn't have prizes prepared, the fudgesicles we had on hand totally worked!
On Wednesday we finally got some purging done. It had been on my mind to go through the kids craft drawer. This was also one of my tasks for One Little Word this month. Check!
We called in a favour and dropped Mitchell at a neighbours and went as a family to see The Lorax.
What a great movie! It is probably Drew's favourite Dr Suess book and he has read it to the kids multiple times. I think they did a good rendition. I was a little shocked at how much it costs for a family of 5 to attend a 3D afternoon matinee ($77.89 - I guess that is why we don't go very often)! I was also a little surprised that after seeing basically an environmental movie, that the theatre itself was left in such a mess. It always shocks me that people have such a hard time taking their garbage to the doorway where there is an actual garbage can! JSYK, we brought our own straws, napkins, popcorn seasoning and glasses. Although I did drop some glasses at our neighbours by mistake so I had to grab some more. Oops.
On Thursday our thought had been to take the Go train down to Toronto to spend the day and then return by train. We finally realized that we didn't want to be constrained by not having a car with all the whole family. So instead we slept in, took the van and drove to Casa Loma. 
The kids loved hanging out!
I think the favourite area was the tunnels to the stables. All of the kids wanted to run of course and Mitchell was in awe at the echoing!
After Casa Loma we went to Wayne Gretzky's restaurant for a late lunch.
Afterwards we stopped at IKEA again for another bite to eat. Unfortunately the restaurant was closed so we had to have hot dogs. Marlee didn't want hot dogs so we had to promise to stop yet again at the red roof too.
Where again we had the same argument about the gaming (This time we won)
I have to say that this has been one of the best March breaks in a long time. We had limited daycare, lots of free time, perhaps a little too much tech, amazing weather, lots of outdoor play and just good quality family time.
It happened to be princess week and there were a few themed events taking place. We watched a "feud" between Prince Charming and an adversary who were both vying for Snow White's hand. There was drama, singing and even spark flying sword fights!
Matt got a lesson in archery and turned out to be pretty good!
I think the favourite area was the tunnels to the stables. All of the kids wanted to run of course and Mitchell was in awe at the echoing!
After Casa Loma we went to Wayne Gretzky's restaurant for a late lunch. This was the first time here for the kids and they really enjoyed looking down on the plexi glass. Drew wouldn't venture any where near it.
Afterwards we stopped at IKEA again for another bite to eat. Unfortunately the restaurant was closed so we had to have hot dogs. Marlee didn't want hot dogs so we had to promise to stop yet again at the red roof too.
Where again we had the same argument about the gaming (This time we won)
Friday was a low key, at-home day with nothing too exciting (other than the continuing amazing weather). The kids did spend the night with Nana and Poppa.
Saturday was small group and St Patrick's day!
We had a contest for who could wear the most green and Marlee won!
We had a contest for who could wear the most green and Marlee won!
Sunday was another gorgeous day and the kids just wanted to play outside after church. After running around they stopped and took a break and had a cute Kodak moment! It is so nice when they get along!
I have to say that this has been one of the best March breaks in a long time. We had limited daycare, lots of free time, perhaps a little too much tech, amazing weather, lots of outdoor play and just good quality family time.
I then came back up to try to get Mitchell down for a nap. K and I and Mitchell ended up hanging out for a bit since he wouldn't go down. We had Timmy's for brunch and then played some family games in the lounge area. It was a really great idea there that would be neat for church too. They had a giant snakes and ladders. big connect four, bean bag toss, twister, a large tic 
Just as we were heading out Silly Sally the clown came in, made some funky balloon hats and we were 
The H's were going to explore Kingston a bit and since we weren't that organized we just drove around a bit, saw the penitentiary (and the wind turbines across the border) and then drove on to the highway.
Not too exciting. We did stop at Denny's for "
I got our cheerios and fishie crackers that we can't get here as well as some diapers since I was afraid we were going to run out (yes, they were cloth and we were on our last regular diaper when we got home).
We were able to sign out the hot tub for 1/2 hour increments each day for our family. They were 
Right there. Skis on, zip down a few feet and get on the chair lift and you're off. On Saturday Marlee wanted to finish off her run and I convinced her to do 2 more runs before she had to go to the bathroom. Best thing? I just called Drew and he came to the door and picked her up. I then went on to do 2 more runs - zip - zip and the chair lift closed and I walked back in the door. Very cool.
