It's hard to imagine all that has (and hasn't) transpired since our last Spring Break (which was basically just an early summer vacation since the kids never returned to school). Last year, Dallin was unexpectedly home and we were only about a month into the pandemic. Last year, store shelves were still empty and trying to recover, hospitals were overwhelmed, traveling at all was out of the question, and so much more. Now, here we are a year later, and while things have improved (e.g., kids are in school, we can go to at least one hour of church, traveling isn't so scary, hospitals in most places aren't packed, etc), there have been definite changes that have remained (e.g., face masks, social distancing, continual encouragement to not gather in large groups, etc.) I have so desperately wanted to travel again, and while some people are, we've decided to hold off on any major vacation until places open up more so we are certain to be able to enjoy all that we want to enjoy while visiting whatever location we decide to go to. (Many states aren't as open as Utah is. In fact, a lot of the tourist spots are restricting what you can and can't do or how many people can and can't go to sites.) Still, this year, Jonas and I made the most out of our Spring Break. Danny worked with Jeff all week (the joys of growing up...and needing money!). Jonas and I picked one fun activity a day from Monday-Friday to break up the monotony of just being home (how am I going to survive the summer?!). Laurin, Casey and Carter stayed an extra day so Laurin and Carter joined Jonas, the Tanners, and I for our Monday activity. We decided to go check out the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. We packed a picnic lunch and let all the kids run around the gardens. Unfortunately, the tulips weren't quite in bloom yet, but we still found beautiful daffodils and a few patches of tulips. After the gardens, Jonas got to go to his cousins' house to spend the night. I'm pretty sure that was one of the highlights of his week!
I picked Jonas up on Tuesday morning then grabbed some lunch at Kneaders before going to a movie. There have been very few movies being released in theater since the pandemic. However, there was one animated movie, Tom and Jerry, that I thought might be cute. It really wasn't. In fact, about 2/3 of the way through the movie, Jonas was ready to go. I think it may be one of the first movies I've ever left. It wasn't too horrible, but it wasn't holding Jonas's attention. (To illustrate, on Saturday, he got to go to see Godzilla vs. King Kong with his siblings and LOVED it! Amber said he couldn't sit still. He was battling right along side them. Jonas may be 5, but with older siblings, he seems 15 sometimes.) Still, it was something to do for a few hours.
Wednesday's activity made up for the movie flop the day before. We went swimming at the Provo Rec Center. This was also the first time Jonas went down the indoor slides. He was a little nervous at first because he had to go down by himself, but he loved it after the first ride. I can't believe we're starting all the swimming activities again!
On Thursday, we took advantage of the warm weather and had a picnic at the park. Jonas found some kids to hang out with and spent a couple of hours playing and having fun. The funny thing is those kids were probably a good 4-5 years older than him, but he seemed to blend in and keep up just fine. After playing at the park, we stopped at Cold Stone Creamery for a treat then dropped by the library on the way home to pick up some books to "research". Jonas likes to learn new things.
Friday was our final day of Spring Break fun. Jonas chose to go to Lowe's. This is probably his most favorite place to go. He jumped, twisted, and flipped until his heart was content. He actually spent most of his time in the dodge ball area with the bigger kids. He loves and plays with baby Carter, but Jonas feels most comfortable hanging out with kids who are older than him. He's growing up too fast. He even has his first loose tooth. I got a little choked up when I discovered it. He needs to stay little. I only have so many summers and so many Spring Breaks with him until he no longer needs his mama. Until then, I'm going to cherish every chance I get to hold him close and enjoy our moments together. After Lowe's, we went grocery shopping and kept up with our traditional "sushi Friday" with a donut. The perfect end to a fun week!
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