Florida Part #3

Our ocean day! We decided that it would be a good idea to go and have the boys experience the Atlantic ocean since we were so close to it. We rented a compact car (from our hotel lobby - so cool), and headed off about an hour away to Cocoa Beach. Brandon's coworker, Peter, used to live in Florida, so he pointed us in the direction of a family friendly beach. The boys were thrilled with the ocean. I loved collecting shells, and I was super glad that we were able to rent a beach umbrella and two chairs. I should have gotten more pictures here, not sure why I didn't.

The only picture I took of Brandon at the beach.

Our beach rental was only good for 3 hours, so around 2:00 we packed up and headed back. We took a small detour and drove to the city of Satellite Bay. My good friend, back home, moved from there a year ago. I just had to go and see her town since we were so close. I wish I would have been a creepy friend and asked for her former home address. That would have been awesome.

When we arrived back to the hotel Luke's special dinosaur had been delivered. He was so excited to have it, and he has really loved it ever since. It has been one those really expensive toys that the kid actually really loves and plays with.

 

Brandon and Peter have been doing nightly reading for a long time now. They finished the entire Harry Potter series (plus the other 2 JK Rowling books that relate to HP). Now they are reading the Charlie Bone series. They both love it. It's such a strong tradition that we had to pack the book to take along with us. We are loving this stage of parenthood so much!

Florida Part #2

Oh, what a day it was today. We got up EARLY and headed over to the park. Since we were staying at a hotel nearby we were able to get in at 8am (an hour early). So, we were on our shuttle boat around 7:30. The boys loved riding on it. Some times, the driver of the boat was hilarious so the boat ride was especially fun.

There are so many cool things that they have built in each of the many "lands". It was amazing to step off the boat and see some of them. I'm sure I could have studied them for hours. They were so detailed.

This particular area was a show. We tried to get the boys to go and watch it. We even got so far as to the first little staging area where they take you. Then, Luke started really freaking out and then he said he had to go to the bathroom. Ugh. We dashed around looking for an exit and found the emergency exit. It took us down through a back alleyway and it was interesting to see behind the scenes of the park. It was still well maintained and beautiful, albeit, the backside of buildings.

The most important thing for us to do was to go to Hogsmead first thing. Peter was especially excited. It is amazing how the little houses have been built up. They also have a Hogwarts train you can stand in front of to get your picture. I always felt so terrible for the "worker" who was the conductor. They looked so hot in their multi layered costume. Ugh. Not fun.

The first ride we went on was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Oh my gosh, I didn't like it at all, and neither did Luke. It was a 4D ride so you have glasses on and then you get spit on and blown fire on too. We saw spiders, dementors, and a whole bunch of the characters from the Harry Potter books. I know I should have cared more about what the ride was showing me, but all I could think about was getting off. Neither Luke or I went on it again, but Peter did every single day we were there.

Just off to the right of this picture is a small roller coaster that was much better for Luke. It was called Flight of the Hippogriff. He loved it so much! We went as a family on that ride next. It was enjoyable, and they have a statue of Buckbeak on his nest just as the rides starts going. So, from then on, Luke called it the Buckbeak ride. Later on, I was so glad we had Express passes because we were able to skip the main line and get in much quicker. That was so helpful when it got unbearably hot outside.

After those first two rides, we went to Olivander's wand shop for the wand ceremony. Kinda cheesie, but the kids were in complete awe. Afterward, we spent a small fortune outfitting the boys with these special wands. We then followed the special map which showed them the enchanted windows. Peter worked himself up into a dither because he couldn't get his wand to work on some of them.  We later heard that if the sun is shining right on the window it won't work. Later on, we had better luck.

By then, the rest of the amusement park was open. So, we ate a quick breakfast at the 3 broomsticks in Hogsmead and then started wandering over to the other areas. Luke loved this ride in the Dr. Seuss area. It was a ride where the kid controls the car and they have the ability to get you sopping wet. Luke thought it was so funny to get me as wet as possible.

Being a gardener, I absolutely loved at the creative things they added to their garden areas. This particular face astounded me. One morning while Peter and I were sharing a doughnut for breakfast, one of the gardeners came out of a back area. He was fertilizing all the flowers. Dream job right there. I would love to see how they make it all look so beautiful all the time. Especially with the crazy heat and humidity.

Florida Part #1

I had zero input into the decision of where to take our family vacation this year. Brandon told me months and months ago that he thought it would be fun to take the boys to Universal Studios in Florida. I think going there has been on his mind for a couple of years.

This year was the year to go. The week we left, we were frantically finishing up our school year so we didn't have to pack any of it along with us. On our last day, we met up with one of our new home school friends (whose last name is also Thomas - so cool), and played at the park for a few hours. It was glorious.

The next morning we were up bright and early. We had to leave our house by 7am, and we made it with a few seconds to spare. The boys were so excited that they were both awake before Brandon and I were. It was very nice to fly out on a Saturday because we didn't have any traffic problems. Normally at that time in the morning it would be a bit crowded driving up to SLC.

We always park our car at the Diamond Airport Parking Lot and then have them shuttle us over to the flight. The boys were so chatty with the driver. He was so nice, as they typically are. We did have to wait a bit for the flight to start boarding. So, we kept ourselves occupied by going up and down the escalators. Plus, doing a lot of waiting around. A typical travel day for sure (hurry up, wait, hurry up, wait).

Once we boarded we made the mistake of letting the boys sit next to each other with mommy on the end. It was 4 long hours. Thank goodness for electronics!

The landing was uneventful and we were so thankful to have finally arrived. Luke had done a #2 on the plane and he never told me about it. So....we got to spend a good amount of time in the family bathroom cleaning him up. Thank goodness I had thought to have him carry all his clothes for the trip in his carry on. I seriously wonder when we will get over having accidents. Ugh. This is a picture of him and the bathroom we used right behind him. Seriously, I was so thankful it was so close to our gate and that nobody else was using it.

We had a shuttle come and pick us up and take us right to the hotel. It was so nice that it took only 20 minutes to get to the hotel. After a 4 hour flight (plus dealing with the time change), we were ready to be done for the day. Then, we took the hotels walking path to the dining/shopping area of Universal and ate dinner at Burger King. This was a snapshot I took of us all together. I think it was the only one we got the entire trip.

We then went back to the hotel room and I finished unpacking (it's my first priority after unlocking the hotel room door). Then it was bath and bedtime. We were so excited for what tomorrow would hold for us all.

Pinewood Derby #1

This past week was Peter's first pinewood derby. This whole scout thing has been quite and adventure and Peter is loving every minute of it. His best friends mom is his leader which really helps. Peter took his car to Grandpa Thomas' where they cut it out and sanded it.

Then we took it home, and slowly worked on sanding it more, painting it, and adding weight. It was really nice because the kitchen scale we have is the one they always ask to borrow to weigh the cars. So, we were able to add the weight before the official weigh in. Super nice. 

Peter had an incredibly fun time. Brandon went with him while I stayed at home with Luke (who has been battling a cold). They were gone for an hour and a half. I guess the boys were all having such a great time that nobody wanted to come home. Peter was an achievement for the car that looked like it could do the most damage.

Fun Family Hike

This past Saturday I told Brandon we should get out of the house and do something outdoors. So, we took the boys up Mapleton canyon and went on a fun little hike. It was perfect for the boys - not to hard and not too easy. The day was absolutely beautiful and it was only chilly enough for a light jacket. The boys seem to open up and chit chat so much when we are out in nature. I love it!

There has been a lot of snow this past year and the spring runoff shows it. this stream is typically just a small trickle. 

Peter brought his camera along to take some shots for his photography class. I love this picture so much. He has loved learning about rocks the past month in school and he wanted to make sure he got a good shot of sedimentary rocks. Love it!

They have a few cute benches made out of logs and this one came at the perfect spot. Luke was trying to rub two sticks together so he could make fire. It was hilarious. Papa told us all about the correct way of starting a fire. We decided we need to try the string method really soon. Like I said, these boys really get chatty when they are away from the house out in nature.

We call this spot of rocks the craggy place. They of course are metamorphic rocks. Both of the boys wanted to pose for me. Seriously, they are hilarious.

We spent about an hour and a half just walking around. When we came home we found on that one of the two trails takes you up to Maple lakes. That would be an awesome hike. It's about 4 miles one way.....so we might have to wait a few years until we are all up to that.