Nowhere Else to Go

I promise I'm wrapping up our Spring Break trip today. (So not fair that I'm posting about Spring Break as I watch it snow outside...Sigh.)

Today's edition: "Pictures That Were Too Cute Not To Post, But Didn't Fit Anywhere Else."

Things We Learned On Spring Break

Six Life Lessons from Spring Break:

1. We weren't the only Durangoans tired of the snow and cold. JR saw lots of kids from his school, and here's the car we parked next to when we arrived. Is there any doubt anybody but a Durangoan would have this bumper sticker? (They actually did have the 'DGO' sticker on the back of the car, so yep, I was right.)

2. JR has qualified for the pro water slider circuit.


But, if that career choice doesn't pan out, there's always professional lazy river tuber.

3. Kyle and Reed plan on winning the next season of So You Think You Can Dance?

4. Going to a "real mall" is exciting for everybody.

5. Not only did Kyle prove he's a native Texan, but I believe he's auditioning to be Adam Richmond's Man Vs Food sidekick in the spicy challenges. Kyle's dinner? Chips and a bowl of hot sauce.

6. Speaking of food, don't try to go to a breakfast restaurant you saw featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on a Saturday morning.

Especially one that's teeny-tiny and doesn't take reservations.

Hangin' with the Upper Crust

You know us Ingersolls, only the best.

So, naturally, a huge celebrity was also vacationing at our resort in Phoenix.

And really, I don't think my kids could have been more excited. I am not a Sponge Bob fan. In fact, I've just now started letting JR watch him every so often. And just as my mom didn't let me watch Facts of Life, (nobody in the universe could have been cooler to me than Blair, Jo, Natalie, and Tootie) not letting my kids watch Sponge Bob has, of course, made Sponge Bob the biggest superstar walking the face of the earth. The babies even know him (how, I have no idea) and as soon as they saw him started screaming ,"Bob-Bob! Bob-Bob!" Much to the kids' delight we saw a lot of Sponge Bob this trip. He was a bit like the Pied Piper of the water park, and had a huge following everywhere he went (glad mine aren't the only ones obsessed). Yep, hanging with celebrities. Just another day.

This next picture just cracks me up. Check out how seriously the "Fun Director" (AKA: Sponge Bob's security detail) is taking his job.

And We're Home

Now I Have the Sad Face

Leaving the perfect, beautiful weather behind and headed back to the snow. (Weather Channel is predicting 6 inches by tomorrow morning.) Some of us (Reed) are just closing our eyes to that bit of news. Others don't ever close their eyes in the car, right Kyle?

Sad Face Happy Face

These little pitiful faces may not be wanting to get out of the water, but my happy face is heading to the spa! Woohoo!

Shady Characters

I've come out from hiding-literally. Jason looked at me with a towel draped over my head and shoulders and another covering my legs and recommended we move to the shade. Thankfully, Crazy Towel Lady goes away in the shade.

Is Vacation Code for NOT Sleeping In

I guess 6:30 is an improvement over 5:45. And as you can see, only 2/3 of the Ingy kids are awake. JR is in the stage of sleep commonly referred to as 'swimming for 8 hours straight will wear you out'.

And one for Jason

Jason was upset he wasn't in the last picture, so here you go. And yes, I've upgraded to a more serious sun hat. If it looks small it's because it's JR's. He's way too cool to wear it.

Surely You Didn't Think...

that I'd actually expose my milk toast skin to the sunshine. Believe me, I can rock the long sleeve cover-up!

I'm Ready For a Nap

It's 8:00 AM and as you can see, JR is already in the pool. The waterpark doesn't open till 10:00, but since we've been up since 5:45 (super excited about that, BTW) the 'little pool' is killing some time for now. The water is heated, but JR has to be freezing. I'm sitting here in jeans and a hoodie and I'm cold. And you know how I can handle the cold, now that I've been a Coloradan for a year!

Check Out These Little Piggies

It's warm enough for little piggies to come out here at the Arizona Grand Resort here in Phoenix. And I figured y'all would much rather see these 20 cuties than seeing mine again!

My feet are not smiling

We're two hours away and the roads look like this. The car themometer is reading 36. Flip-flops are not looking promising.

Guess Where

So as you can see I'm riding in the car. And check out my pink toes, that can only mean one thing...we're going somewhere my toes will be making an appearance! They're super excited about seeing daylight since they've been wearing snowboots for the last 4 months. It was 18 degrees when we left the house, so the flip-flops are in the suitcase, but hopefully they, too, can come out later today! And yes, your free to ooh and ahh over my feet. With 2 bunion surgeries and permanent pins in my big toes to keep them straight, my feet aren't often the subject of photo sessions.

Spring Break Day #1

• 7:06- Entire house is awake. (I've sadly reached the point in my life where 7:05 is sleeping in.)
• 8:30-Everybody already bored.
• 11:30- Lunch. JR actually ate what I made and didn't complain that I "didn't make it like Daddy." (Woo-hoo!)
• 1:45- Going in to get The Babies up from their nap I see Reed standing in his crib pulling clothes out of their closet and throwing them in Kyle's crib. Kyle is covered in clothes and thinks it's hilarious.
• 2:00- JR leaves the backdoor open and Hunter goes outside to roll in the mud.
• 2:05- Dog bath.
• 3:00- Bowling. We get 2 bowling balls stuck on the lane. (Kyle thinks you bowl by kicking the ball. Obviously they don't get very far that way.) JR wins (thankfully he can beat the tag team known as his 2 year old brothers).
• 4:55-JR comments on a conversation Granny Sherry and I are having in the car. When I tell him not to get involved in 'adult talk' he tells me he has "ears like a hawk".
• 5:00- Dinner
• 7:00- Bed time for kids. Wish it was mine.

Spring Break....Finished!

The last day of spring break in Durango brought another "beautiful" day. It was so windy that dust and dirt filled the sky and it looked exactly like it did everyday in Beijing. Jason and I were walking to the car tonight and we both got dirt in our teeth and eyes...reminded us of the good ol' days. JR had a friend come over this afternoon (and his 3rd grade sister who fell in love with the babies when she met them at the Rec Center and asked if she could come too so she could help "baby sit"). JR also had movie night at church tonight, so it was pretty much a perfect day for him. Of course it wasn't a "best" day since he didn't get to drink Coke.

Spring Break Day 4

We gave JR the choice of going bowling or going to the movies tonight. It was a tough decision which involved throwing himself dramatically on the floor about the difficulty of choosing, but in the end he decided on bowling. Durango doesn't actually have a bowling alley, so we drove out to the Sky Ute Casino. (BTW, they have the cleanest, nicest, nonsmoking-est bowling alley I have ever been in.) I was excited to bowl because I knew we'd have to get bumpers for JR, and I'm a halfway decent bowler with bumpers. Unfortunately this place is so nice and new that you program into the computer which bowlers need bumpers and which don't. And with Jason at the control panel, I didn't get bumpers! Needless to say, both Jason and JR beat the pants off me. Jason actually looked at me one time and said, "I thought you knew how to bowl." The babies did an okay job of watching. Reed played peek-a-boo with a little girl in the next lane, while Kyle mainly ate Cheerios. Although both couldn't seem to understand why they weren't getting to play too!

Spring Break Day 3

I couldn't believe it, everybody slept in today! It was about 8:30 when everybody got up and we decided to take advantage of the beautiful spring day and head down the road to Vallecito Lake. JR had a blast learning to water ski, and the babies and I enjoyed cheering him on. After a beautiful day at the lake, we dropped by the Natural Foods CO-OP where I stocked up on organic fruits and veggies. Cooking organically is so important to me, and it's super convenient to have the CO-OP right here in town. After dinner, the new live-in housekeeper/nanny that Jason hired for me arrived, so I ran into town to have a massage and a mani-pedi. In fact, it was such a great day, I'm quite sure you're all aware that this is one big April fools.
The real day started when JR woke at 6:25. And since he clomps around the house like a big ol' elephant, and the babies are true Ingersolls and worried they might miss something, their eyes flew open about 6:28. It was a cloudy,overcast day here in Durango, with on and off snow flurries all day, I believe the high was about 38. On a high note, JR did love dinner tonight, and told me my tacos (canned chicken with cheese, Ranch, and Pace) were even better than Lunchable tacos. Which coming from JR means he thinks I served him a gourmet meal. And on the housekeeping front, I'm about to go fold my 6th load of laundry. Woo-hoo!

Spring Break Day 2

Day 2 was much better than day 1. Everybody slept in (about 7:15), JR ate everything I served him, and was also able to maintain computer privileges the entire day. I'm a bit jealous of Jason since he's in Houston and reported sitting outside in the great weather. Although I think it got to about 45 here today. JR spent most of the day yesterday and today "off -roading" down the hill in our backyard. He's not daredevil enough to do it on his bike, but the Big Wheel has been taking a beating the last 2 days. And the gloves? My mom bought them. He thinks they're great because you can pull back the mitten part and have your fingers stick out...only problem-they're about 10 sizes too big. And on a side note, today's my Daddy's birthday, and it's a big one!

Spring Break Day 1

The bus arrives at the end of our street at 7:18 every morning, which means I always wake JR (and the babies) up between 7:00-7:05. Today is the first day of Spring Break. You'd think some people might want to sleep in and take it easy. Let's see how the morning went.
6:35 AM-Babies up
7:06 AM-JR up
9:00 AM- JR refuses to eat the eggs I made because "they don't look like Daddy's"
10:30 AM-JR already grounded from the computer for the rest of the day
Weather outside today: super windy with a high of 37
Weather forcasted: snow by Wednesday
Can't wait til tomorrow!