Sam's Spring Break

I feel kind of triumphant tonight, as we are finishing up Sam's Spring Break. It was a little tricky to balance my own work and commitments during this past week, while Sam was at home for most of the time. If only my Spring Break aligned with that of Sam's school!

I know that I did a lot more of this tricky juggling before Sam started kindergarten, but perhaps I've been spoiled over the past few months by having more flexibility. Or perhaps I just have less energy right now. Several weeks ago, Sam made a general observation about pregnant women: "The pregnancier you are, the tireder you get!" I'm afraid it's true. Nonetheless, despite this pregnancy, I feel like I was able to help Sam do a lot of fun things this past week. And I'm glad about that.

Sam got to spend time with his Gram twice this week. The first time was on a moving day, and Sam had fun playing in the paper that was used to box up Gram's dishes.

We visited the Nature Center at Lewis Creek Park

Sam got a new "Hidden Pictures" magazine in the mail (a bonus as part of his "Highlights" subscription), so we worked on it outside. He wore the cowboy hat initially to shield his eyes from the shade, but later we were able to pretend he was a sheriff too.

We went to the Washington State Fair with our cousins G and C! Here Sam and g are showing off their temporary tattoos.

Prizes won at the fair. Sam named his dog "Fluffy." Now he sleeps with Spot, Fluffy, a small bear (whom he calls "Russell Stover") that he got from the Paxmans on Valentine's Day, and his elephant pillow pet Snowman. Sam's bed is getting a bit crowded these days.

A small alligator we saw in the Reptile House at the fair

Making gigantic bubbles

Saturday J, Sam and I explored Magnuson Park in Seattle, which has the largest playground in the Seattle area.

We walked through the park trails until we reached Lake Washington. It was about half a mile from the playground to the lake, which is just the right distance for my stamina right now.

We ended up running into one of Sam's classmates at another park in the Newcastle area, which was a fun surprise.

Riding bikes with Dad

Sam and I also visited the SPY! exhibit at the Pacific Science Center, which was fun. The exhibit displays a lot of objects that spies actually used during the World War and Cold War eras, which was neat. The ammunition umbrella gun was probably my favorite thing on display. Sam liked seeing ways in which spies would hide things in shoes, soap dispensers, etc.