Hey…it’s Friday…everything will be ok, right?

It’s Spring Break here in our house and my daughter has spent the past week in Washington D.C. with her school group. She’s an 8th grader and has really enjoyed the trip.  The tour is organized by one of the teachers that seems to love to take a group of 8th graders every year back to D. C. and do a whirlwind tour.

Only two kids have been lost.  Both of them were boys and both of them had their mothers as their mini-tour group leader.  It looks like those helicopter moms left someone behind.  That goodness they don’t work in the military.   I can’t wait to hear the whole story and then to hear their (Mom’s) version of the incident.  Of course, after I heard the stories from my daughter, I really wanted to text the moms about what happen…but I didn’t. I didn’t even post a question on Facebook about how they managed to lose their own kid.  They shall remain nameless.

Have a great weekend.  Don’t eat too many French fries!

Excuse Me, Is it Time for Spring Break?

Up here in the Pacific Northwest, we love our vacations and breaks from work and life. We don’t get lots of sunshine (we get about 200 days of clouds and rain a year) so we like to leave town for long weekends and spring breaks. In fact, earlier this year my daughter and I took advantage of our school district’s Mid-Winter Break (President’s Day week) and did a California Roller Coaster trip. So you bet I’m excited about Spring Break because we aren’t going anywhere!

What? No sunshine for Kevin? Yes, sadly that is correct. Since I’m a school photographer, Spring Break is a mixed bag of work and a few days off. All the school districts in the Seattle area like to take different weeks off for spring break. This is a major pain in the butt because I have to work during my kids spring break. This year I have a few days off so I’m hoping we can do a couple of fun adventures in Seattle. Maybe go out swimming at Tahoma Pool or even over to the Federal Way Community Center and partake in their swimming pool and lazy river. I wouldn’t mind even staying in a hotel for an evening and enjoying the hotel swimming pool and getting a pizza for dinner!

So tomorrow starts the Spring Break week for our family. My wife and I are headed out of town to the Eastern side of Washington State in the hopes to find a little sunshine and relaxation. I’ll make sure to give a full report of my trip to Winthorp, Washington and let you know how things are there. We get back on Monday. My son gets a little longer vacation with his friend’s family to the Oregon Coast.

The Oregon Coast is an excellent vacation but it never seems to be sunny (even in August). Honestly, we once had better weather in December than we did in August on the Oregon Coast. Nevertheless, the Oregon Coast is a beautiful vacation spot for scenic views and gorgeous beaches. Just plan to enjoy your hotel’s indoor pool if you want warm weather.

Thanks for reading. As always, leave those comments and snide remarks below!

Best Spring Break Tips and Memories of Bullies in Elementary

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Remember when you were a kid and you looked forward to Spring Break? Any break from school is a great one when you are a kid. I didn’t hate school as a kid but I wasn’t rushing to be there either. As a kid, I’d much prefer to be at home playing in the backyard with my friends than being stuck at school. Plus in elementary school, you only get recess to have any real fun. The rest of the time is a mix of math, spelling, and getting your face whacked in a “safe” game of dodgeball.

My kids will never experience the stunning pain of a red playground ball hitting their face by the classroom bully. I clearly remember this dick named Cliff that love to whack your face by “accident”. He had a equally douch bag sidekick named Steve. And Cliff always picked on the poor fat kids last. I luckily wasn’t fat but I was still eliminated fairly quickly because I move like a wounded gazelle. To this day, I’m not known for my quickness in sports. Hey, if you need me to run interference, I can do that. Just don’t hand me the ball for the game winning shot because I’ll miss it for sure. That is how good of a player I am!

Getting back to Cliff, our resident bully at Stevenson Elementary in Bellevue, he always would let the fat kids survive until the end for his own enjoyment. Then he’d throw the hardest he could and just nail that kid. The kid had no hope of moving in any direction to save his ass. Sometimes it was a shot to the head, sometimes a full on blow to the stomach. Poor bastard. Can you imagine the pain of that playground ball hitting your stomach at full speed? Or a shot to the head as you bob and weave in the hopes that Cliff the bully dick from the apartments somehow misjudged this one throw? Ouch!

I was so happy that Cliff and Steve went to the other junior high after we were done with middle school. I’m sure they both had a great time smoking pot and beating up kids at Highland Junior High. Cliff is probably either in jail or a cop by now. Either way, he is a dbag and Steve is probably one as well.

Somewhere in this post was going to be some good advice about Spring Break. If you are traveling by plane, make sure you carry an extra pair of clean clothes in your carry on baggage if possible. You never know when you might be stuck somewhere without your luggage. I is definitely nice to be able to change into something clean if you get stuck in some two bit airport on the south side of Omaha.

So that is my rambling post for today. Hit that like button and post a comment on the bottom. Make me feel that Cyndi (my imaginary stalker) isn’t the only one reading my blog.

Where NOT to send your Daughter for Spring Break!

You know what I love about the internet?  I love those Top Ten (or whatever) Lists and discovering where I’m not going to let my daughter go on Spring Break.  Sure, my little girl is only ten years old but you have to plan ahead if you want to be a good parent.  The last thing you want is your daughter having “daddy issues”, ending up on the stripper pole in some strip club in Las Vegas with her boyfriend T-Dog.  Don’t worry, she is “working her way through school” (mostly likely after you cut off the college tuition after she pulled straight Cs).

This is one of the key reasons why parents should be involved in their child’s life!  Strong role models whether they are male or female need to set the example for kids to learn from.

Regardless, I’m not saying that you should keep your daughter at home like I plan to do.  For one thing, I’m a much better parent than you can ever hope to be and two: you should send your daughter to these places so my son has someone to meet while he is on Spring Break.  I’m kidding of course…..

I present to you the “Trashiest Spring Break Vacation Destinations” according to this link from coedmagazine.com.  As you know, I think research is quite overrated.  My opinion is really the only thing that matters and since I have huge amounts of common sense, research is really a waste of my time.  Besides as an informed reader, you should be doing your own research.  You can’t be a sheep following me all the time (because sheep creep me out).

“Trashiest Spring Break Vacation Destinations”

  1. Las Vegas, NV
  2. South Padre Island, TX
  3. Daytona Beach, FL
  4. Myrtle Beach, SC
  5. Orlando, FL
  6. Lake Havasu, AZ
  7. Miami, FL
  8. Panama City, FL
  9. Key West, FL
  10. Fort Meyers, FL
  11. Tampa, FL
  12. Virginia Beach, VA
  13. Scottsdale, AZ
  14. New Orleans, LA
  15. San Diego, CA

I’m glad to see Florida made seven of the top spots.  I’m even happier that my dear State of Washington didn’t make it.  In reality, who in their right mind would come here for rain and cold weather for spring break?  Washington isn’t a Spring Break destination in the least.  We don’t have nice sunny, warm weather until August and September.  During the summer and fall, Western Washington is a beautiful place to visit.  You can see Mt. Rainier, you can take a trip to the top of the Space Needle and you can enjoy a ferry boat ride across Puget Sound.

Today’s lesson is to keep track of your kids, enjoy the sunny weather while you can, and keep living the fun life you are meant to have!