Third Annual Hooky Day

I probably shouldn't admit such things, but today was the third annual hooky day.  I'm not sure if I blogged about it before, but Frank is allowed one day per year that he simply doesn't have to go to school.  It started in kindergarten when he missed the bus one day, and I didn't feel like driving him to school.  Instead we drove to Jumpin Jacks and spent the day doing fun things.  Frank is a big fan of hooky day.  Usually I try to do it a little earlier in the year (March or April), but because of my school schedule, it had to wait until this week.  I actually took a few pictures.  Very out of character for me.

We started hooky day with a delicious bagel for breakfast.  On hooky day, you can put as much cream cheese as you want, and you can do it yourself, and you can lick the knife (if you want to).

Frank declined having his picture taken, so I opted for the "snap it while he's hiding under the table" variety of picture.  It is simply breath-taking.

We then met some fellow truants (I'm not afraid to tattle on them: it was the Brackens) at Jumpin Jacks.  Unfortunatly, I had their opening time wrong, and we had an hour to kill until they opened.  What better way to spend an hour then buying toys at Walmart and admiring the pets at Petco?  Frank was so happy about getting this new-fangled Furno hero thing that he actually didn't try to hid from the camera.

Then we jumped like crazy fools for a couple of hours, and until the last 30 minutes or so, we had the entire place to ourselves.  So fun.  So much better than a Saturday afternoon.

After we tired of jumping, we went to Judd's for a delicious lunch of Elise's favorite soup and breadsticks, and Ramune for Frank.  He agrees to go to Judd's because I agree to buy him Ramune.  It really works out well for everyone. (Ramune is Japanese soda for those not in the know.)

After everyone was full and Beka spilled soda all over some poor unsuspecting stranger's car, we went across the street to play in the water thing on Main Street.  It was surprisingly crowded, but still very fun.  Frank had kind of a poor attitude about it at first, but after a few minutes, he realized how much fun he was having.  I guess he's kind of that way about almost everything.  He needs to get a little wet (literally, this time) before he starts to enjoy himself. 

This is one of the only pictures I took of Frank.  He doesn't exactly like the camera, and he doesn't exactly hold still.  Ever.

Anyway, we played there for a couple of hours and then headed off for some frozen yogurt.  Frozen yogurt is a nonnegotiable part of hooky day.  Frozen yogurt has been a part of hooky day since its inception two years ago.  Usually we just have it for lunch, but this year we had a slightly more nutritious outlook on life, and it was an afternoon snack. 

After our little snack, we headed back to our house to play with the new toys and watch a movie.  It was so fun.  Both of my kids had an excellent day, and both went to sleep very willingly and quickly tonight.  I guess if you run them hard all day, they get tired.  Another successful hooky day.  It was fun this year to have company with us.  It also makes me feel good that there's at least one other mom out there that doesn't think hooky day is a terrible idea.  Next year will probably be my last hooky day.  After that I will (hopefully) be gainfully employed as a teacher, and I'd feel a little guilty about it if I was ditching out on my students.  Luckily, Aaron has agreed to carry it on in my stead.  It's an important tradition, and that's saying a lot in a family that doesn't have a whole lot of traditions.

Elise is a poser.  The end.