4-20-2012 Taylor's Spring Getaway

Wow, it's almost two months and I am just  posting this! I guess in order to get away I had to play a little catch up, then spring sports, then I thought I might as well dive into dentist and other fun appointments...then the end of school rush and beautiful weather pulling us outside. I had even hoped to finish before Taylor's big 13th birthday, but didn't quite  finish for that, either. I've got to jot my thoughts down about our fantastic getaway to Florida before it escapes me completely.

This year was Taylor's turn to choose a spring getaway with mom. I'll explain more about our spring getaways when I catch up on a post about Addy's trip last year to San Diego. Taylor already knew where she was headed--Florida, to swim with Manatees. She's been dreaming of that for a few years now ever since learning about how they are endangered. Now that we've moved East, Florida fit a lot better into the set budget we give to each of the kiddos for their one-on-one getaway. So Tampa, Florida, it was, and Taylor's only hope was to see the Manatees and just hang out on the beach. Easy enough. Part of the fun was working with her on choosing a hotel and figuring out all that we could fit in 4 days without going too over budget. We found a somewhat beach-front hotel not far from the airport, which was key as I would be renting a car and I'm not the best at navigating new areas, as much as I love to study maps. I was a little more wary about Florida in general compared to the west, just seemed like it would be more crowded or foreign, or both.

Despite discovering Spirit Airlines is cheap for a reason ($40 per carry-on bag?!), having a 2-hour delayed flight, and being pulled over by a tourist-hungry cop just outside the terminal for my lights not being on in a brightly lit airport parking area just after I pulled out with the car, we made it without overly-frazzled nerves and felt right at home at our hotel. Oh, and I might add it also took an extra 45 minutes to figure out how to pull into the hotel from the highway, but we worked that out as well. All that was long-forgotten when we walked out to this view in the morning:
 

Then after grabbing some breakfast foods and beach essentials, and a few more wrong turns, we drove up the beach-front roads in search of a good beach to grab some sun and relax. I never realized Florida beaches were so covered in shells--teeny tiny ones, and not so teeny tiny ones, in all sorts of shapes and colors. Made me wish we had all the kiddos there to enjoy it.

 

 Instead I just reveled in the quiet one-on-one time I had with my beautiful soon-to-be teen. Nothing like enjoying sweet berries on a warm spring day on the beach. We eked out all the sun we could get, and took in another beach in Clearwater, before escaping back to the hotel for the evening. We knew that first day might be our only chance at good sun and warmth, with the start of hurricane season only a few weeks away, so we took in as much beach time as possible.

Day two of our trip we hit the mall, knowing a good downpour was on it's way. And what the downpour! We stayed at the mall an extra hour just to avoid being overly drenched on our way to the car. We ended up only half-way drenched, but made out with some good finds! I'm not sure which Taylor enjoyed more, time at the beach or time at the mall without siblings in tow, both rare occurances.

Day 3 was Taylor's dream come true, and mine, as our tour to swim with manatees in the Crystal River turned out to be perfect. Look at that grin!  

 

 

Then the rest of our free-time, we just hung out and enjoyed the views together, and the quiet!

 

 

 

McKenna's #7

Birthdays around our house are a pretty big deal, especially as starting in April, with Miss Kenna, we have one birthday every month through October. Each month is full of anticipation for the next celebration. Kenna started planning her special day at least 2 months ago. Her first idea, sincere and full of hope, was a trip home to celebrate with her best friend Miss H. I almost considered it, especially with those big blue eyes saying how important it was to her, AND we were all homesick at the time, AND her birthday would be during spring break, AND skiing in Idaho sounded fun. BUT, I also knew as a mom we should start making some roots here, and I honestly needed the break to recover a little bit from the move. I knew if we gave it some time, Kenna would make some friends here and would want to celebrate here. I encouraged her to start planning her party, in hopes it would take some of the sting away, and her grin gradually returned once ideas of pinatas and egg hunts were floating around in her head.

The next challenge was that Miss Kenna really wanted the party at our house. Normally that's not a problem, and my preference, but still being in a smaller rental, with little furniture and few belongings (ie: no party supplies and  toys to keep kids occupied), I had to really hope we would have good weather so we could celebrate outside. The yard is great for a party, though, especially with the beautiful lake for a backdrop. So I went ahead and just hoped for good weather. We got it. We've been really lucky with the weather here so far, the sun truly seems a blessing just for us when we really need it. That sun made all the difference for a beautiful, fun day. But not quite as much as our amazing older girls who really helped pull everything together, genuinely happy to make Kenna feel great on her special day, help Kenna's friends all feel included, and help me when I needed it most. At the end of the day I felt so blessed to not only one little happy daughter to celebrate, but 5 terrific kiddos.

Kenna invited a few of her new friends from her class for an afternoon of egg hunting, piñata bursting, crafting and cake-eating. She was especially excited that her friend with autism made it. Kenna seems to have a special connection with her, whether that friend realizes it or not. Kenna doesn't say much around her, but for whatever reason Kenna  just beams when she sees her and seems to feel genuinely warm inside whenever she sees that friend. I get it.  The last few years Kenna spent a lot of time with her friend Miss H and Miss H's family as they worked through the diagnosis of autism for Miss H's sweet brother, Mr. H. Few things made me feel so good inside than when I'd see that little Mr. H greet me, clapping and marching in place as he'd burst out with, "it's Miss Meadow! It's Miss Meadow!" I think part of his draw is that he's just so genuinely honest, I sometimes feel like clapping and marching when I see people I love, too, I just don't. Makes me wonder how we'd all feel if we REALLy showed people how we felt (I guess that could go the other way, too....). Now Kenna didn't always feel so comfortable with Mr. H, gave him lots of strange looks, for sure, but she seems to have made some sort of connection that she brought with her here. One of many things I was touched to see in my kiddos on her special day.

We've kind of made treasure hunting of one sort or another a traditional part of every birthday. Sometimes it's to track down all the presents we've hid, other times it's to find the birthday cake, or in Kenna's case, with a birthday so close to Easter, has often included searching for eggs with pieces of a treasure map inside. This time Kenna drew the treasure map herself and Dad marked the spot where he and the big kids hid the pinata before cutting it up. That was one tough pinata! We filled it mostly with craft stuff, gumball bracelets and felted flower headbands, which the girls then put together with the help of the big girls. Thank goodness again for their help!

Cakes are another big deal here, and seem to become more creative every year. I am anything but an expert baker, food for me has more function than form, but I try. The kids are always very specific with some sort of scene they want depicted. I've done some great hamburgers, a snake, even a pirate ship (that did sink before it reached it's destination, but was still pretty cool), but lately the kids seem to want toys in certain spots, doing certain things, usually an idea from some picture they saw or drew. Now they take more of a lead in the decorating, and I just oversee the project to ensure they don't get too carried away. As long as they are happy....and get those ideas out in frosting and candy.


With a successful party behind us, the girls continued to go above and beyond and ALL play happily with Kenna. I love that I was able to catch this moment, may be one of the last...

Then we had a beautiful evening as a family with another birthday tradition of a dinner chosen by the birthday girl, or boy. This year: boxed Mac and cheese, broccoli and fresh pineapple. I threw in some broiled hot dogs (still no grill) for some extra substance. Mmm, mmm, mmm! (those mmms were mostly for Kenna and everyone else--I was happy with my gluten free spaghetti.) 

We finished it off with a second round of birthday cake, but the real dessert was family present time. Our kids are amazing at putting all their love into the simplest gifts for each other, whether it's a hand-me-down toy, homemade craft, or even a special card, and even more amazing at truly feeling the love in receiving those simple gifts. Before dinner, the big kids snuck away into Taylor and Addy's room, obviously putting together something special. Kenna, of course, was curious and knocked on the door a few times, feeling left out, but had a big hunch they were doing something special for her, so for once didn't come crying to me about it. This was her surprise:

Little Kenna has truly become one of the big kids. Knowing that her big sisters and brother approve makes all the difference. Dad also gave her a special big girl gift, a real necklace with a heart charm. None of the other girls make a bee-line to the jewelry in a store like that girl, so wanting to give Kenna something special, Clint thought it was time to give her something that would last longer than a week, and for her to know how special she is. For a guy who isn't always the best at remembering things, or taking the initiative to buy gifts, anyway, he made the day all the more special.

Sidenote: lest I make it sound like the day was all peaches and cream, it wasn't, of course. We had our normal squabbles just like any other day. The difference was in all those little things put together, and the big kids really did do their best to make Kenna feel special, at all costs. Apparently, the next school day Mia titled her writing assignment: "Why I hate birthdays," then explained how hard it was to still be nice after the princess (or prince) for the day can have such a high and mighty attitude. Made me laugh, and brought me back to reality after what I thought was a "perfect" family weekend. I guess Mia's thought was really what made it perfect, and real.

Daytrip to Detroit Zoo

We didn't plan a whole lot for Spring Break this year, feeling like we needed a little down time after our rushed move.  Taylor and Mia did spend the first few days visiting with their dad who flew in for a visit. It was just a few days, but I sure missed them! As the kids grow up they are more and more my friends. Taylor and Mia, especially,also help keep everyone else in check. More than anything, I think, we just don't quite know what to do without everyone together.

After they returned (and the weather perked up) we thought we'd make a little escape to the Detroit Zoo to check it out. If the weather was better, I would have planned another daytrip to Lake Michigan, but it's been a little chilly and wet this week. I figured we could at least get warm in the zoo buildings if needed, as we grabbed some fresh air between exhibits.

I had braved the downtown Detroit area once before with the kiddos, to visit a museum. After all the scary things I've heard about Detroit from a west-coast perspective, I expected it to be so much worse, and geared up accordingly. I have to say I think Spokane is a little scarier than at least the section of Detroit we visited. The trip to the zoo was even easier. Even so, I  always wonder how I'll do in that big oversized Sequoia barreling through the city freeways and maneuvering around crazy city streets. Luckily these days the kids know to not be too loud or ask too many questions while I'm driving. We made it safe and sound. 

The weather was even chillier than I thought it would be, and even more so than the kids believed I said it would be--I'm always fighting them to bring a jacket. This time I think I actually saw their gratitude. I knew the indoor zoo exhibits would keep us warm, and the first exhibit to greet us did just that. I think the bird and butterfly rooms were our favorites, maybe because we were so cozy, but more so because how peaceful it was watching all the fluttering wings and keeping our voices low in hopes we could spy something nearby. I think these are looks of awe on Kenna and Dax's faces, but they may be more looks of, "I just drove an hour and a half, I'm tired."

I enjoyed trying out my developing camera skills, and think I got a few good shots. The kiddos wanted me to take pictures of all the animals, I focused on our own herd. 

Kenna skipped the whole way. She skips everywhere--it's great. She still is the cheeriest kid ever.

Dax and Kenna were the only ones who wanted to actually smile for photos.

Look at those big girls smirking and avoiding the camera.

This was the best I could get, then I changed my tactics.

We spent a lot of time looking at the map. We knew the highlight was supposed to be the Polar Bear exhibit, which Kenna  kept pointing to each time. We held out and saved it for last. 

Mia really has an eye for good photos, and she especially loves animal shots, so she was having a great time.

Taylor, too. She actually likes how this turned out.

Southern Michigan has been in bloom for a few weeks now. I love these Eastern Red Buds (I think that's what they are).

Kenna was always eager to pose.

Addy was best at dodging the camera.

 

3 oversized groundhogs--Taylor and Mia were too grown up to play along (me, too, I guess!)

Of all the animals the kids seemed to be the most excited about the horse and farm exhibit. We better end up with a farmer out of one of these kiddos. Or at least a gardener. I already know they'll all have mini zoos if they can. I was impressed by how clean that barn was, absolutely no smell at all, not even the pigs! 

The Polar Bear exhibit probably would be pretty cool when the bears are swimming. Just walking through the sunny tunnel through the pools was pretty neat, though, and those 3 on the left could have kept their hands on the ice all afternoon if I let them.

I just can't resist that face.

Nor this one, this is my all-time favorite look Kenna gives to almost everyone around her. She was just smiling at the other girl who was also enjoying the exhibit. I hope she avoids camera fright for just a little longer, all take all of those grins I can get!