A Recap for March and Spring Break

What a busy March it was! Seriously, where has this year gone?!

The kids are thoroughly enjoying their new bikes still. When it's raining or just too chilly out, Ms. Gail can often times be found biking around in the garage. The boys have been building ramps for a while to attempt to jump off of but they haven't quite figured out the right materials to use yet. They'll grab firewood and put cardboard on top to bike up. It's quite the fail. Other times they'll use some flimsy thin wood that usually breaks. Ms. Gail has been brave enough to attempt to bike up one of these bike ramps. We haven't had any too-terrible aches from them and they're having fun...

In the middle of March, Robin convinced me I needed to run in the Shamrock 5K with her in Portland down by the river. I knew I was going to die. I didn't immediately, but the following several days nearly did me in. I *could* *not* *move* and Perry enjoyed laughing me. But regardless, Robin and I had an entertaining morning together. It was also my first time using public transportation in Portland, so that was a little exciting.

During our run, I felt like Robin needed to leave me behind and finish without me. She is a 1000x more in shape than I am. (In fact she took 3rd overall in a dry-triathlon at her gym the day before!) She didn't leave me in the dust, instead she kept pushing me to keep going. She's pretty awesome like that. Around the 2 mile mark there were a few people handing out shots of beer, which we both happily accepted. That gave me just what I needed to finish the downhill portion of the race. As we were finishing up the last 50m or so the announcers were calling out the finishers who were crossing. I didn’t hear my name, but we both heard Robin’s loud and clear. I may or may not have sprinted through the finish line just so I could say I won. I was winded at the end but Robin was feeling good. Before heading back home, we turned in our tickets for a cup of potato soup and a beer. I always drink light beer so for whatever reason I decided to grab a darker beer. Regretted that decision immediately. It still quenched my thirst but I felt like I betrayed myself.

For spring break I had been thinking about taking the kids back to Montana because I had the week off work. As I mulled it over while resting at home after the race, I was having a hard time with the thought of taking my Honda Pilot on another road trip. It needs some work done, nothing too terrible, but I wasn’t feeling good about it. Perry and I had briefly discussed getting a vehicle for me this year, but we kept putting it off so this was a little push to go get it done. We stopped in to a couple places around town to see what they had but didn’t find much. We were looking for a van. It’s always been a pain for HD to climb over the seats to sit in the back, especially with car seats and booster seats. Ideally we were in the market for a vehicle with bucket seats in the middle. All three vans we saw had bucket seats as well as a DVD player in the back. The kids were thrilled but Perry and I were just meh about it.

After searching online, I was able to find a couple good options. The dealership was able to bring my favorite one over to the lot closest to us later that week. After everything was done and signed, I drove off with a 2017 Kia Sedona with about 10k miles on it. I left her parked in the driveway for the next few days though and instead took my Pilot to work in downtown Portland and because I wasn’t comfortable driving it yet.

We ended up staying home for spring break. We were planning to go back so we could see nanny and aunt Kim and Aunt Kile and cousins, as well as Grandma. The more I thought about going the more I couldn’t justify it. My sisters and mom had just come out a few weekends prior and then Grandma was planning a trip out for the weekend after we’d get back. Instead I had a friends and her kids and mom come out to visit during he middle of the week. It was so so nice to see her and her mom again! We took all 5 kids + the infant baby to OMSI on Wednesday. We spent most of day exploring the exhibits as well as checking out their featured exhibit, Robot Revolution. Before heading home we stopped at IKEA and did some shopping while the kids played in the kids area for an hour.

While in town, they stayed at a hotel, and we took full advantage of the pool there. My kids love swimming so much! I need to get a family pass to a swimming pool.

It was an enjoyable spring break, and a much welcomed break from work. It’s been frustrating for me. I was hired with the understanding I’d be working from 9-3 four days a week but during February and March  I was getting about 18 hours a week. It’s not a huge change but you do the math for the difference in hours. It adds up! I’m barely breaking even after paying for Ms. Gail to go to daycare and preschool. They say it’ll get better. I’m really hoping because I want to work!