Spring Break 2012 - Legoland!

What does a non-religious, not-so-into-the-Easter-Bunny-either family do for Easter? They forget it altogether and go to Legoland instead.

This weekend marked the end of Spring Break for Elsa and Ashagre. Spring Break was not much fun this year. The whole family (minus, for the most part, Elsa) was sick with a horrible phlemy, fevery coughy flu of some sort, and Brent and I had to work (when we weren't home sick, and even when we were). So the kids "got to" spend the week at spring break camp at the Y (when they weren't home sick). They hated it, and were sure to let us know daily both through their words and their behavior. It was a rough week.

Feeling guilty that the kids were going to have the lamest Spring Break ever, Brent and I had planned to take them to San Diego to stay in a hotel (with a pool!) and go to Legoland this weekend. However, by Wednesday one kid had been sent to their bed for the rest of the night by 5 PM, by Thursday one kid had slapped another Y camper in the face because she wasn't listening to them, all week both kids were testing boundaries in a fierce and constant manner, and Mom and Dad were feeling pretty much at witt's end. It was looking like Legoland might not be the best idea.

Friday finally rolled around and we did our best to set clear expectations for the kids and not to set them up to fail. Brent did a great job of taking a step back from the frustration of the week and reminding me that they needed some room to succeed - they had dug themselves in such a deep and repetitive hole of misbehavior that I think they might have just given up and decided they might as well just be horrible. On Friday all they had to do was make it through the last day of camp without doing something worthy of us hearing about it at the end of the day, and Legoland would still be a go. We made sure they understood and came up with many reminders of times past when they had been successful. They took us seriously and pulled it together for Friday, even pitching in to help Daddy clean the house for the house/dog-sitter so everyone was ready to go to San Diego when Mommy got home from work.

So we piled our family of four in the Prius and headed south. All in all it was a pretty good weekend.  Legoland was great. It was the perfect first amusement park for the kids. It's not so big that you can't do everything in one day, and all of the rides are appropriate for kids their age. Ashagre loved navigating the park with his map, and Elsa was all about the thrill of the fastest, droppiest rollercoasters. The next day (today) we enjoyed breakfast poolside at our hip hotel (from the hotel's website: Free spirits, international adventurers, hip parents, road warriors, artists, and lovers all find common ground in the laid back medley of history, playfulness, and casual atmosphere first envisioned when the hotel opened in 1946.) A mimosa and bloody mary by the pool? Yes, please. We swam with the kids for a couple of hours (Ashagre can now swim the shorter length of a nearly Olympic-sized pool.) before piling in the car and heading home.  The kids are now tucked in bed fast asleep. Their clothes are picked out and they are very-much looking forward to going back to school tomorrow. Goodbye Spring Break, bring on the regular routine!

We're so used to waking up at 6 every morning with these
two, that it didn't even cross our minds that we'd be one of
the first families ready for breakfast in the diner down the
street or that we'd get to Legoland 45 minutes before it opened.

Fueling up before the big day. Ashagre was totally not
into the American cheese singles dispersed throughout
his omelette. His foodie parents couldn't really blame him.

Standing in line for their first-ever roller coaster ride.
This is the very moment when Ashagre started to feel
a bit nervous.

Ashagre couldn't wait to drive the cars. When we finally made it there, he
was not disappointed. Both kids are surprisingly good, safe drivers, despite
the fact that Ashagre is driving on the wrong side of the road in this picture.

Breakfast poolside with my gorgeous family.