Spring Break

Spring break was pretty awesome this year. We surprised the kids with a trip to Myrtle Beach. We really hadn't planned to do anything until about 3 weeks before break. I was looking around on the internet and discovered that our break was still in the "off season" for Myrtle Beach and realized that we could get a room for a week at a dirt cheap price. That's when we decided that is would be fun to just totally surprise the kids. We were very sneaky as we packed for the trip. Kenzie had a competition in Dayton on that Saturday, so we just left the competition on Sunday and headed for Myrtle Beach. It took the kids 3 hours...yes...3 hours to realize that we weren't going home! We had prepared some cute little clue cards, so at that point we gave them the first clue. I think that was the best moment of all. The main line on that card said something like: "You thought spring break was really gonna stink, but we have more planned than you think." They just lit up! It was really neat! I think we kept them in suspense until supper, when we gave them the last clue so they could figure out where we were going. They were very excited!

Once we got to the beach, we had one more surprise waiting for the kids. Chuck's parents happened to be on vacation the same week and they were already in Myrtle Beach when we got there. We made arrangements to leave our hotels and walk down the beach towards each other and wait to see how long it would take the kids to realize that Grandma and Grandpa were there. As it turns out, they were so enthralled by the ocean that they wouldn't have even noticed their grandparents if Grandpa Jack hadn't called out to them. This surprise was a big hit too!

After that, we just simply enjoyed our time together as a family. We spent the days enjoying quality time with our kids. It really wasn't about spending a ton of money or anything like that, but more about connecting with each other. I loved it! Life had been so stressful that sitting by the beach for those few days was just what I needed to rejuvenate my spirit. Boy, do I love my family! We had a blast and no arguments, if you can believe it! It was everything we hoped for!