How we are spending spring break

Spring break is approaching, and many families have travel plans looming. Whether you're headed for the beach, a national park, a theme park, the city, or the countryside, you're probably really excited for what's in store.



We had cool travel plans for spring break as well.  Initially, I was hoping that this year's Disney Social Media Moms Conference would be held during spring break and that I'd be invited back. It turns out that I did get invited (Yay!) -- but the conference is being held on Mother's Day weekend (Boo). With the kids' dance conference and soccer tournament schedules, the Disney Social Media Moms Conference is a no-go for us.  What a bummer :(

Our next option was to use air miles and spend a week in New York. I was thrilled at the prospect of introducing our kids to Manhattan, and full of plans to take them to a Broadway show, the Met, Rockerfeller Center, Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Dylan's Candy Bar, and the Shake Shack.

It turns out that we won't be spending spring break in New York either.  Thanks to unforseen -- and unlucky -- circumstances, we'll be spending spring break on.... wait for it.... plumbing and heating.  The water pipe running under our front lawn has sprung a leak, and it cost us almost $3000 to fix it.  Last night our water heater started leaking, and it cost us almost $2000 to replace it :(

So there goes our spring break fund.  I won't pretend that I'm not disappointed, but that's the cost of owning a home.  That water pipe was old and rusted, and it was the only piping on our property had that hadn't already been replaced with copper pipe.  If we hadn't caught the leak when we did, our entire front yard could have turned to a mud pit. If we hadn't noticed the water heater leak so quickly, the electrics could have shorted out and we could have had an even more serious problem.  Sometimes you just have to search for the small comforts where you can find them.

All is not lost for spring break.  We've decided to take a weekend road trip up north to Bodega Bay and Sonoma.  So we have something to look forward to -- and we'll have hot water and a dry lawn to look forward to when we get back from our trip.