Winter Break

Because we had a week where it was a lot of Christmas prep at home and family time, we were very ready for getting out and meeting friends right after Christmas. I quickly started making plans of how we were going to keep Makin from looking like this for another week and a half. :)













Arbor Hills
We absolutely love going to Arbor Hills. The weather was perfect and this was something I knew the kids would enjoy just the three of us! We loved adventuring up new trails and it was nice enough the kids could put their feet in the water. Thankfully I was smart enough to pack flip flops for those wet feet this time!

We even headed to the park after this trip because Makin needed another chance to fly his new drone...so Lor spent some more time in the sand while Makin and Brad (on a lunch break) got some drone time in.

Lake With Friends
We met Alex and Amelia at the lake. Amelia is one of Makin's closer friends in his class. Their mom and I have gotten to know each other better this year when I'm at the school making copies and she is at the front desk. Alex is in 3rd grade but she and Lorelei ended up playing great together, especially when they found out they are less than 6 months apart in age. :) Yes, this also made it the third day in a row to the lake.

Park and Chic Fil A
We met more friends at the park for a few hours and then headed to Chic Fil A where we ran into another set of friends, so stayed there playing way longer than planned. It was great.

So appreciate this weather, especially since you never know how rainy spring break will be!

American Girl Bistro
Since Lorelei asked Santa for "surprises" this year, he gave her a reservation for an American Girl Tea. She has my Kirsten doll from my childhood and while she doesn't play a ton with dolls, she does like them enough I knew she would like this special tea. She did get an outfit for her and her doll as well so it was fun for her to get dressed up alike...although definitely not Kirsten's usual style. ;)

And yes, L chose pink lemonade over tea. :)

We had special mother/daughter time together. It was a little overcrowded for my taste, but I know she felt very special. :) I'm now contemplating recreating out own tea at home sometime in the spring...will see if it happens. :)

Ninja Warrior
We met friends at Ninja Warrior but were pretty disappointed at how crowded it was. Makin only had a handful of kids there last time, so we plan to hold out for a non school break day for our next visit! Thankfully our friends had already planned to come to our house afterwards and they loved running around together for a couple of hours. :)

Movies
We needed to do something fun for our New Years, so Brad and I decided a special trip to the movies was it. We went to see Moana and "Loved it." was the review from the kids. :) Makin was cold in the theater so seriously sat on my lap the entire movie...which is harder than you would think with those theater chairs! I kept telling myself...someday he will want you to drop him off with his friends for a movie...enjoy this! :)



Sweet and Sassy and Interskate
Savannah invited Lorelei to join her at Sweet and Sassy for a girly makeover. This meant updo, makeup and nails done...and a few extras. This was one of her Christmas gifts and what a treat to be the friend to enjoy it with her. So special! I knew Lorelei would be in heaven. We snuck in getting Lorelei's ear re-pierced beforehand. (It closed up while recovering from the whole earlobe debacle.)

I kept the little brothers busy at the play area while the girls got pampered. They basically ran laps around the play area...and loved it.















We had to check out the indoor surfers...this is on the kid's bucket list. :)

Then we all headed to a roller rink. The week before Makin had commented while roller-blading around the entire house, "I wish we had our own roller rink upstairs." That got my gears turning and I immediately started planning a trip to one of the closest roller rinks. All the roller skating/blading they have done around the house made this a wonderful outing! They were loyal to their not-so-used-to-skating friends while also enjoying the freedom of being confident skaters, and one more family from GCA joined us as well. It was such a great time. As soon as we got buckled in the car after 2 hrs of skating Makin just said, "That was fun."

I was so thankful for this fun-packed break. Feeling so blessed.