Spring Break Extravaganza

It's Spring Break and we're packing in work, travel, family and adventure.  We're in Park City right now with my parents and sister Charity who just got back from working in a school for Leper children in India - amazing stories (my brother Tal and his wife Anita are still there...).  Before that we were in Irvine CA with Jared's brother Bruce and sister-in-law Connie and family enjoying their great dog, the super tasty bakery where Connie works (she gave us a tour and samples of tons of amazingly delectable treats and Ashton declared it "the best day of my life"), the California Science Center, Natural History Museum and my all-time favorite, the Getty Center for Art (the kids were seriously SO into each of these museums - so fun!).  Before Irvine, we were in Corona, CA staying with my Power of Moms partner April Perry and her family and planning Power of Moms stuff like crazy (more on this in the next post) while our collective 9 kids played amazingly happily together for 3 solid days (we threw in a beach trip and lots of fun stuff - it wasn't all work - but the work is fun when you've got partners like April and Eric!).

Today we played in the snow and saw Alice in Wonderland in 3D (I really liked it - lots of underlying thought-provoking stuff to keep me happy and plenty of action and whimsy to keep the kids happy) while Jared went skiing with some of his old fraternity brothers and had an excellent time.  Tomorrow we're headed up to Ashton Idaho to be there for the big Bull Sale and help with whatever we can help with (I'll post the great website Jared put together for the sale - I'm sure you'll LOVE checking out all those beautiful Red Angus bulls and heifers).

By the time we return home next week, we'll have driving a LOT of hours, visited a LOT of relatives, and learned about everything from Lewis Carrol's whimsy to gem stones and dinosaurs (Natural History Museum) to illuminated manuscripts and sketching and how to make a bronze statue (the Getty) to homeostasis and crash test dummies and solar energy (California Science Center) to auctions and stud bulls to what it would be like to be homeschooled and talk to trees and have your mom get cancer (we listened to Ida B in the car - excellent book - all the kids loved it).

So here are a few pictures of our Spring Break adventures so far:

With the Perrys at Laguna Beach

With the Perrys at the Arboretum

Playing Red Rover in Naples where April grew up (it's the coolest place - gorgeous little houses and canals sort of like Venice)

Checking out the walk-in freezer and tempting treats at The Layer Cake Bakery where Aunt Connie works. 

Connie is now the favorite aunt.

 

The Getty Center







My all-time
favorite
museum - the architecture!  The views!  The art!  The gardens!