Spring Break - Part 2: Extended!

Spring break concluded for our family on Wednesday. The week up until then had progressed as most normal spring beaks do.. lots of family games during the day and into the evenings (Beat by my own daughter at Stratego... DOH!)... a movie or two (In this case it was Chronicles of Narnia) and just some fun silly times, including a late Monday night Dad vs. Kids wrestle off death match, 2 against one.. As we all finally fell down exhausted, bruised and tired of laughing hysterically, I think the score was tied..

But all good things must come to an end, as it happens every year. Our spring break fun came to an end on Wednesday as I had to take the kids back to Salem, to be back with their Mom. We left early Wednesday morning so I had time to make the drive up to Salem and then get back to work so I would not miss much of the morning at the office.

But, all of a sudden, spring break got extended! My boss sent out an e-mail about 3 in the afternoon asking if anyone was interested in going to the Portland Trailblazers basketball game. He had free tickets... GREAT seats (they cost $105 EACH!!!) but they were for THAT night. At first I thought, "nahhhhh, too complicated and who would want to go with me?" But then suddenly it sounded like a fun little challenge. I accepted the tickets and got on the phone. Thinking it was a long shot, I grabbed the phone, called Salem and explained that I had just gotten 4 tickets to the game and "Can I re-pick up the kids I just dropped off?" She agreed and off I went.... BACK to Salem. (It's an hour and 15 minutes each way)

So, with all three kids now with me, we began our impromptu trek to Portland (an additional hours drive) The kids had been wanting to see an NBA game, especially Amanda, now very into basketball herself. The game was a lot of fun. Not all that great as a basketball game (Portland lost by 16... typical), but when you combine sitting right down front a few rows off the floor (we were sitting behind Paul Allen, the team owner), in absolutely amazing seats, with NBA players making 3 pointers right in front of you, with watching all the arena video effects, the free noise makers, the cheerleaders, etc. There was always lots to see. And blazers win or lose, it was a fun time for all.

And so, after 7 hours of driving in the one day, I finally finished dropping the kids off (again) and drove back home, with Tanner zonked in the back seat,, finally coming off of his game induced energy high. It was a great way to end our spring break time together and a fun memory we'll all have for a long time.