The Guse Family: Spring is Here!

As a teacher I get the benefit of having a "student" like schedule, minus the workshop days. It is glorious. It is great to have that time with my own kids. Although I do have to say, if we didn't have the three months off in the summer and the breaks in between, I might go crazy. If you are one of those people not in the "teaching world" and think it is an easy job & we get paid more than enough, all I can say is...you have no idea.

I love my job, but without breaks from it...I don't think I would continue in this field.

So, anyway, we were going to make the most out of this spring break. And, we did.

My boys got new summer hats. With Aiden's (and Alex's) light complexions, I don't want to risk a thing. They need to be covered! Surprisingly, Aiden loved his hat and Alex will do anything to be "just like Daddy".

Before Grandma Johnson left for Florida, we headed for the zoo. It wasn't gorgeous outside, but it was just right. As you can tell, Alex loves his Grandma!

So does Aiden. At this point, Aiden and my mom sat watching the camels while Alex and I quickly ran up to the bathroom. When I was getting him dressed again, I noticed a tick on his stomach!! It was his first ever and luckily it hadn't pierced the skin yet. I heard that because of our milder winter we will be having more insects, mosquitoes, etc... That I am not looking forward to.

While the Daddy's were playing "pokie" (poker) we took the opportunity to have a pizza and movie night with some friends. This was our first time sitting on the deck this year. It was so nice! The kids played nicely together after getting over their bashfulness and I had an opportunity to hold baby Norah. She is in her car seat at this point, but she was there! Abby brought two movie choices, "Lady and the Tramp" or "Monster's Inc.". They agreed on "Monster's Inc.". They also enjoyed a nice snack of popcorn and goldfish. Alex's two favorite things together.

On one of our outings, we headed up to Edinburough Park. A wonderful indoor park. The boys had a blast climbing around and being able to be rough and tough. We were there for three hours before heading off to Don Pablos for lunch with Daddy on his lunch break. They were then so exhausted that they took a great nap all the way home and when we got home!

One of Alex's favorite things to do with Mommy is bake. So, we made some cookies. It is always so fun to bake and then send them to work with Daddy. We get the satisfaction of baking, trying a few and then sending them off. Aiden enjoys eating them too! On this day, my little guy chose chocolate chip cookies.

We did many crafts and projects while on break. (More to come in an Easter blog). On this day, we made homemade Playdough. It is an ECFE recipe and it is the best! The picture below is for all the ingredients that needed to be included.

Ingredients:

2 C. Flour

1/2 C. Salt
2 Tbsp. Cream of Tarter
2 Tbsp. Oil
2 C. Water
Food Coloring
Cook...Stir until firm ball is formed and store in a covered container

Alex mixed it all together and then I took over the "heated" part.

Out of all the colors possible, what color did my little man choose? Of course, Yellow!

Mix it all together and you have the best playdough recipe EVER!

On Friday of Spring Break, my cousins (Grace and Joe) also had off for their Spring Break. (Notice how I am capitalizing Spring Break to signify its importance)

We took the opportunity to do something super fun! Joe, Grace, Aiden and I headed up to Paint Your Plate. It was such a fun experience. Having never been there before, I had no idea what it would be like or if either of my boys would enjoy/behave during the experience. Of course I knew Joe and Grace would! If I had any hesitations about Alex they were quickly shoved under the rug when he immediately started indulging his creative side. He, Grace and Joe were submerged into their secret projects for the next TWO hours. Grace had to be at an appointment by 12:30 and we were quickly running behind schedule. We ran quick to pick up lunch for her and Joe and then I met my Uncle Steve to drop off Grace. This just proves one thing. "Johnson time" is in the blood, there is no denying it.

Alex loves his Joey Bear

The Painting Crew

After Paint Your Plate, the little guys and I headed over to the Movie Theater to catch a quick flick called, "The Lorax", as I had promised in the beginning of the week. Alex watched intently with his lunch in his lap. Aiden ~~watched~~ played and walked intently while snacking on his lunch that I snuck into the theater...yep, I did it. We sat in the front row so Aiden could walk around. They slept all the way home and for another hour when we got home. It was a busy, fun day.

My parents headed out of town, to Florida for spring break. My beautiful, Grandma Andersen turned 80 today (Apr.3) and they were going to surprise her. My aunt Irene and uncle Jeff did also. I so wish we could have made the trip, but with a family of four and a new vehicle, nothing is cheap for us these days.

With my parents out of town and doing special things with the boys, I jumped on the chance to take Alex to my parents to go hot tubbing. We had tried once before, but he hated it. This time, he loved it. The water wasn't boiling, so don't think I hurt my baby. He was getting a bit of a cold and this cleared him right up for the moment also.