spring break 2013

We took a 2 week Spring Break this year. With little to no plans other than a list of stuff we might like to do and see it could have been a grumpy disaster, but it was pretty great. One of the less great things though was that I pulled a couple tendons in my right hand --- and I'm right-handed. Which has been rough. Who knew how often one uses their dominant wrist?

FYI, really often.

So, in lieu of a detailed report, a list and some photos. Alright?

- Cameron Timber Preserve. No trails, just stomping around in the woods. Plenty of thorns but also cool mushrooms and an antler.

- White Sox vs Mariners game. My mom treated us to a game. Took the train from Joliet directly to the stadium. Super easy and the kids loved it.

{kids on the train}

Chicago is just far enough away that we don't get there too often. The kids are at a nice age now though. We don't have to haul as much crap with us!

- yard work! campfires! everything is getting green finally. though it snowed a bit on Friday, and even today in Iowa City. i'm sure you know how I feel about this. but I have asparagus, so I feel better.

{asparagus}

- Scott County Park. Did you know state and county parks in Iowa don't charge entrance fees? Love it.

{puddle jumping}

- internet struck by lightning. it was loud. and it took an inordinately long time to get it fixed. the guy that came out though was awesome. and totally on it. finally, a good experience with mediacom. it did hamper our few days that we'd dedicated to hanging out and watching movies though. i'm embarrassed at how much we complained about it, but it's not something we often get to do!


- Wildcat Den State Park

{wildcat den waterfall}

-- may have been the grown ups' favorite. A drippy cold gray day meant gorgeous green moss and lots of puddles. And we had the place all to ourselves. It looked like something that could have been in the PNW rainforest. Did my heart good!

{fiddlehead fern}

{walk softly and carry a big stick. bigger than you are.}

{she's just so animated these days}

{hey let's freak mom out and stand in a totally unsteady cave-like structure}

{tracing graffiti letters}

- kite flying! it was the most successful kite flying I think I've ever done - except at the beach when I was a kid. The kids had fun!

{kite flying}

- three nights at a cabin at Lacey-Keosauqua State Park.

{the cabins}

This was by far Laithe's favorite thing. It was really nice and the little one room cabins work pretty well for us. This one had a bathroom and a tiny kitchen and that was super nice. It poured down rain almost the entire time we were there. Like, I think this would be an ok time to break out the word deluge and really mean it. We chanced a 2.5 mile hike on our 1st morning and got about 2 miles into it before the rain started. And then the thunder and lightning. Luckily we made it to a campground and hid out in the bathroom while John got a ride back to our car with the park ranger. It scared the shit out of the kids. I was pretty nervous too. Especially after the internet pole getting hit - there's just been a lot of 'cloud to ground' lightning for this early in the season. And then it hailed. But we were good, cozy

{hail}

and I'd had the foresight to bring my laptop - which I swore I would never do, but the kids watched Bambi a couple times over the 3 days and it was all good. Copious amounts of hot chocolate were consumed. Board games. Reading. Not a lot of campfires. A fair amount of flash flooding. Fun nonetheless. Laithe is still thankful for the 'cavin' every night at the dinner table. 


- checking out the flooding Mississippi. Not the worst we've seen since we've moved here, but still pretty bad. The weather here in Iowa. Sheesh. I thought I heard the river was going to crest at 22 feet above flood stage, but then I thought I heard 28? I don't know. Lots of water.








Though I think we were all ready to get back to a routine, I know we could have easily had another week or two of fun and been just fine!