spring vacay!

Since winter break, I counted down the days until spring break. It's funny, too, because a lot of people I know are like, "Ack! The kids are gonna be home for a week?!?" In my case, having my nine-year-old daughter home is not only very helpful to me, but I also love hanging out with her! She's one cool chick, and all of our friends and family have always been impressed with her maturity. She looks younger than nine, but she definitely talks and behaves like she's a little adult.

My husband took off work last week, and we had booked a room at the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth, Michigan--our favorite family vacation spot. This was the fourth year we have gone with our daughter, and it was the second year our two-year-old son went. After the first time we went, when our daughter was three, we never really planned to keep coming back; however, we had so much fun, and it isn't too far away (it's about a five hour drive from here, including rest stops) that we keep going back.

I must admit, I was a bit nervous about how our son would do on the drive up there after what happened last year when he cried for the last two hours straight before we arrived at our destination. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, we all jumped out of the car with our nerves completely fried. He just wanted out of the car, and there was no comforting him.

This year, however, he did just fine. He slept about half of the way, and then we stopped for lunch and let the kids stretch their legs before resuming our trip. His sister entertained him the rest of the way. It was really cool hearing them getting along and laughing together--that doesn't happen too terribly often.

We left on Sunday and came home on Thursday--three days before Easter. We shopped, swam, went out to eat, played games (think Chuck-E-Cheese), and tried to just relax. I say tried because with a two-year-old little boy, that's a challenge in and of itself! What's really nice about Frankenmuth and the Bavarian Inn in particular is that everything is within close range. The Bavarian Inn has swimming pools, a game area where you can win tickets for prizes, restaurants, gift shops, and a putt putt course, and all of this is indoors, which is great in case it rains.

Frankenmuth is a small town with plenty of restaurants and gift shops along its main strip. Everything is German-themed (it's known as Michigan's Little Bavaria), and it's famous for fudge, cheese, taffy, and several course meals that you need to be wheeled out of the restaurant afterwards. There's definitely a lot to do within a nice little area, and it's very family-friendly.

The trip definitely went way too fast, and before we knew it, we were home. It's always a bit sad to come home and get back to the regular routine. Four days after we came home, my daughter was back in school, and my spring break was over as well. I wonder where we'll go next year! ;)