the education of henry

March Madness

2025-03-09

This was a big week! Dad was still in Florida but coming home, a big storm was supposed to dump snow on us, and it was Jonathan's birthday!

Monday

We did school, of course. And we did recess with Jonathan, Nick, Annika, and Kellan. It was a very nice day, and good to see my friends after a few weeks of not so nice weather.

Recess fun.

Talking to Annika.

The whole gang.

Tuesday

A storm was coming, and it was uncertain if we would get rain or a lot of snow, so we changed our plans to pick up Dad at the airport and went to stay in a hotel the night before. As it turns out, we barely got snow at home, but up by the airport it was a big mess - ice covered by seven inches of snow! Mom was happy she did not have to drive in that.

We got up to the hotel before the weather turned, so we decided to have some fun.

At BAM. I found some good stuff you'll see later: a great deal on a Resistance Transport.

I hung out with Kara for a while when Mom checked into the hotel. Kara and I went to a different BAM together (the one by her house).

Freya came to the arcade with us after I went with Kara to pick her up from school.

Playing Mom's favorite game.

Playing Galaxy Collision with Freya and Kara.

This looked like fun....

Whoops!

Racing Josh.

Josh vs. Freya.

I've never been here at night when they turn the lights on before.

Wednesday

There was some snow when we got to the hotel Tuesday night, but there was a lot more Wednesday morning - and the wind blew hard until the afternoon. Thankfully we only had a short trip to make to get to the amusement park, and we got a ride with Freya.

Freya was able to come to the amusement park because her school was out for the day, and it was empty at the mall - we were almost the only people there. Which meant we went on a lot of rides because we never had to wait in line. This is the best way to go to the amusement park. We also played some arcade games and spent some time at the bookstore picking out some new things to read.

The view from the hotel room - looking at the airport.

Remembered to take my glasses off before going on the rides this time. (Not like on my birthday when I forgot and they flew off and we had to have people search for them.)

On the Mutant Masher with Freya.

Fairly Odd Coaster.

When I said it was empty at the park - I was not exaggerating.

No line for the Rock Bottom Plunge.

All alone on my favorite ride.

On the swings.

I know you probably won't believe it, but I went to the LEGO store and didn't buy anything.

Lunch time!

Back to the arcade!

I won!

I'll try shooting things again.

Rolling with Freya.

Freya beat the claw machine!

Henry vs. Freya.

Meanwhile, Dad was waiting for his plane to be ready.

At the bookstore.

Found some good stuff!

This is what I bought.

Mom and I went back to the hotel to have some supper and rest. Dad's flight got in about 9:00 PM, and I was asleep when he got to the hotel. But his flight was fine - missed all the weather, and the ride was smoother than the way down. He had a nice visit with Bob.

Thursday

After hotel breakfast we packed up and Dad dug out the car. Then we went over to the mall again. I wanted to look at books with Dad.

At the bookstore with Dad. He found about 20 books he wants to add to my reading list that is already longer than we can get to.

At the LEGO store with Dad. I know you probably won't believe it, but we didn't buy anything.

We got some ice cream for a mid-morning snack. This is what happens on vacation.

Our drive home was uneventful. About halfway home there was no snow anywhere to be seen, and the same was true at our house.

Just look at our beautiful front yard.

Friday

We did school as usual and Dad went to work. It was a nice day and we got out for a walk after Dad got home. I also had some time to play with LEGO, and build something for my new set I got at BAM.

On the left is my new transport, that had an extra minifig in it - that was a nice bonus.

Saturday

In the morning we went to a lecture about the Civil War with Jonathan and Caroline at the History Center. It was really interesting and I am looking forward to going to more of these. After lunch, Jonathan and Caroline came over to visit for the afternoon.

I brought one of my Civil Wars books for reference.

Building some LEGO.

After the LEGO, we found my Nerf guns.

For the evening's entertainment we watched Paddington - and laughed a lot.

Sunday

We met Jonathan and his family at BAM to fill this month's free bag of LEGO we won by being first in line for the grand opening of this store. If you don't remember, we won 12 free two-gallon bags of LEGO from the brick pits, and I gave some of them to Jonathan for Christmas and his birthday. And it was his birthday, so we went to fill the bag!

Brick Moms.

Hunting for the pieces Jonathan wants.

Jonathan with his fully stuffed bag, and me, with some Titanic minifigs I chose not to buy in the end.

Happy building!

After BAM, we stopped at Grandpa Al and Grandma Wynne's so Jonathan and his family could meet Loki.

And then we went home. We had pizza for supper and watched Paddington 2, which was just as good as the first one!

This week I have been reading Poppy by Avi, one of my favorite authors. Dad and I started reading a new book together: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain. In addition to the movies listed above, we watched some of our regular shows (Ghosts, Animal Control, and Raising Hope) once Dad came home.

And I think that's it for the week! Take care!