The Tacketts Four (T4) just kicked off our spring break with four days and nights of non-stop fun.  We doubt the rest of the break will compare to our time with them, but at least we’ve got the memories and pictures galore!  It all began on Tuesday when they arrived via Washington, D.C. in time to pick Huck up from the school bus stop.  In honor of the occasion, they all dressed in orange, his favorite color.  What a family!  From there we began our whirlwind adventure which included playgrounds, parks, ice cream treats, Huck’s surprise Flash Mob at school (see previous blog), Huck’s final science class for this session wherein we all got to participate (Lily makes a mean catapult), New York pizza, rock climbing and bedtime stories.  And as if all this wasn’t exciting enough, we also spent a couple afternoons with Uncle Ronnie, Aunt Dottie and second cousin Bryce who were also in NYC for spring break!  We visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island under my truly substandard leadership, and Troy joined us for a delicious dinner in Little Italy.  On Good Friday there were Easter eggs to be filled for Sunday’s big after church hunt (might as well put the kids to work), followed by a visit to Times Square and Central Park where Aunt Dottie, Nathan and I got some much needed Middle Child bonding time.  Back at home Lily and Huck enjoyed manicures as well as a Laundry Party with their moms (which resulted in underwear hats), and Jeni and Troy finally got some quality “Stove Time” while the rest of us slept in a bit.  Oh, sure, T4 met the Vice President of the United States Joe Biden during their D.C. stay, but here in NYC they were treated to a lifesize Johnny Depp made of Legos, a Ripley’s Believe it or Not sword swallower, a Morgan Freeman wax statue, a guy dressed as the Statue of Liberty, about 29 guys dressed as Elmo … and to top it off Noah was chosen to star in one of those aggressive acrobatics shows down in Battery Park.  When asked how that compared to meeting the Veep, Noah replied with an enthuasiastic: “It’s gettin’ close.”  MY JOB IS DONE HERE!

After T4 left S3 sadly waving goodbye from the sidewalk this morning, Huck asked me to print a picture of Aunt Jeni so he could snuggle with it.  Then he sighed, climbed into my lap and decided that snuggling with me in real life was probably better than snuggling with a picture.  Aunt Jeni has really spoiled us this year …

(Thanks for bringing the whole fam this time, Sissy.)

(Secret “M” signal for Middle Children Only.  We hope Uncle Ronnie is okay back there.)