Spring Break

After my previous post, I thought I would lighten things up a bit and talk about our spring break. We are on spring break this week and it's been so refreshing to take a break from homeschooling and enjoy some family together time. The goal of the week: Have fun without spending money. Easier said than done I might add, but we are accomplishing that goal.

Monday we hung out around the house, Anna and I took a trip to the library (one of our favorite places), the kids got some extra time on electronics (x-box, computer, TV time, etc...), we got some chores done around the house, and we enjoyed the nice weather by spending as much time outside when all the above wasn't going on.

Tuesday we packed up a picnic lunch and headed to Tempe Beach Park and found ourselves a nice little spot near the lake and had fun watching the people out on the water. It was a beautiful day outside! We then went to Pet's Inc. a family favorite pet store. It's like going to the aquarium and zoo all at the same time but it's free. They have some of the coolest looking fish you ever will see, and the reptiles are very rare and exciting. We even got an up close look at an emperor scorpion. And I have to add in here that the employees are almost as interesting as the pets. One particular employee was telling us how he is 37 years old and has had 4 heart attacks. His last one was in October and happened after he ate 40 chicken mcnuggets and smoked cigarettes. I asked him what he was doing to prevent further heart attacks and that's when he told me he was eating healthier. Did I mention he was holding a dunkin donuts iced coffee in one hand and an orange crush soda in the other? If anything, it was a good lesson for the kids on what not to eat. Their eyes were as big as saucers as he was telling us the story. After that adventure we came home and made dinner then headed to Poston's track for some exercise. This allows me to get my workout in while the kids ride their bikes around the track. I will mention here that Michael was imitating my aerobic walk and he embarrassed me, I love how he doesn't really care what others think even when he looks ridiculous. While we were walking, Anna rode 2 miles around the track, 8 laps all together and this isn't the first time she has done that. In the past two weeks I think she has clocked about 12 miles around that track. She loves the wind on her face and giggles every time she passes me with a "Hi mom (giggle, giggle)". Yes, she is much faster that me, there is no way my short legs could keep up with her on her bike. After our family walk/exercise we came home and Michael made his banana/strawberry/chocolate milk shakes (gotta balance it out) and we settled in for a movie, Bedtime Stories, a great movie! Total cost for this day: $0

Next up, Wednesday: The plan for Wednesday was to grab some culture passes at the library so we could get into the museum of natural history for free. I had tried to get the passes on Tuesday, but didn't get in line early enough to get them. To get culture passes, it takes some strategic planning. The library doesn't open until 10 but in order to secure your place in line to be the first one in the door, you have to be there at least by 9. I pulled into the library at 9 and there were already two people in line. Luckily they wanted the culture passes for the zoo so my spot was secure and the museum passes would soon be mine, that is after waiting for an entire hour. The two men in line were, well, how should I put this...... they were domestic partners and proud of it. They were both very talkative, and not one bit ashamed of their relationship. Did I mention I spent one entire hour in line with them? You can get to know a lot about a person in one hours time, and that I did. Probably more than I ever wanted but at least it helped the time go by fast. 10:00 finally came and I secured my museum passes. The only problem was that I thought I was getting 4 passes, but I only got 2. The dilemma, I had already called home and told Michael to have the kids get ready because I was getting the passes and would be back home to pick them up. This call happened before I knew I was only getting 2. What was supposed to be a free trip to the museum ended up costing $12, bummer. But we had a nice visit at the museum, some great talks about creation vs. evolution (this museum is very much under the mind set of evolution), and the best part was panning for gold.

 After the museum, we headed home for lunch and a movie. Our neighbors had bought Tangled but didn't need the blu-ray copy of it so they gave it to us! We all love the movie and had a great time watching it! The rest of day included some grocery shopping followed my American Idol. Total cost for Wednesday (not including grocery shopping), $12.

Thursday:
We had planned at the beginning of the week to spend Thursday at the zoo. My mother in law blesses us every year with annual passes to the zoo. Our passes also come with free admission to ride the train at the zoo. We had such a great time! We packed a pic nic lunch and ate in Mexico. There is part of the zoo that has a Mexican theme, you really do feel like you are in another country. We also enjoyed churros, they are the best! Before we left this morning, we gathered all the coins we could find in the house and that was our spending money at the zoo. Who says you can't have fun on a limited budget. We also got to see the adorable koala bears, it was their last day on display at the zoo before heading off for another zoo. I'm so glad we got to see them, they are too cute for words. 

Total cost for Thursday: $6

That brings me to the weekend, tomorrow we are heading up north for a weekend at our friends cabin. They are so gracious and generous to let our family use their cabin. We love everything about it and are really looking forward to some time away. It will be a great way to close out our spring break. Total weekend cost: 1 tank of gas and lifetime full of memories. 

You can't beat a great spring break for $12 + $6 + one tank of gas = memories that will last us a lifetime.