I don't have a ton for you, but we have a BIG weekend ahead for us, and we did have our first official "Florida Weekend", so I can fill you in on that! You might recall, we've compiled a list of 100 things we've always wanted to do in Florida, and haven't gotten around to. 2016 marks a decade living in the sunshine state, so we figured it was time to go exploring.
Now, there's some things around Tampa that we haven't gotten to yet. And there's some much more ambitious plans- like going to keys, the Kennedy Space Center, and a weekend in the panhandle. We had planned to do one a month- but the weekend we had planned in January was rainy and cold, so we squeezed it in this Sunday thru Tuesday.
I wasn't feeling so great though, and like I said we have lots going on in the next few days, so it was fairly subdued. Our February Florida weekend is going to be a blockbuster, so stay tuned for that though.
We did make it out to the Wat Mongkolratanam Temple Sunday Thai Market. Every Sunday the Buddhist Temple invites everyone to come check out the Temple itself and enjoy the market. It's rated super highly on yelp and tripadvisor and all those other websites. Asa's been dying to go, and with football season almost over, and Asa not working till 1- we were able to make it happen.
We read to get there early, because lines get long and food runs out. That meant Hayden was the only kid to tag along. Good luck getting Peyton and Calib up before 10 am.
There's tons of stands with Thai food, it's hard to figure out what to try. Everything is HUGE portions, and fairly inexpensive.
People rave about the soup, so we gave that a try. I am not a soup person, but this stuff was good.
We also tried some chicken curry, which was a little too spicy for me, but Asa really enjoyed. Next time we go (because we almost certainly will go again), I have to try some of the fried bananas and chicken skewers.
Hayden and I also split a fruit skewer.
It also has a bit of a farmers market vibe with plants, and herbs and such.
It's right along the Peace River, and there are picnic tables to eat at and a small dock to walk out on.
It is a Buddhist Temple, so there are elements of that around too.
But they totally invite you to check everything out. We did a lessons by dad this week about the Silk road (which you'll see in a minute), but Buddhism was one of the main ideas that spread in part because of the silk road. So, we kind of got a home school activity in there.
I'd never been to a Buddhist Temple before either, so it was cool to see. You know how I love exposing the kids to all kinds of new out-of-our-box kind of things, and that was definitely this.
For our Florida weekend we also made a trip to Danny's All American Diner and Dairy Bar. We had seen it forever ago on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives,
It's just basically a little stand on the side of the road, but that's our kind of place. There's picnic tables in the front and the back to eat at.
I had a BLT and fries. The thing was HUGE and really good. The price wasn't bad either.
Everyone else had burgers, which they all enjoyed. The five of us ate, drinks included for $30, and there aren't a ton of places we can get away with that. I'd totally go again, it's right off of 75 too, so totally convenient to get to. And the onion rings are some of the best I've had.
We also finally made it out to our new Bass Pro Shop. It opened last summer, and we just hadn't gotten down there yet.
We didn't really get anything, but we had a good time looking around, and playing checkers.
Plus the boys liked hanging out on the boats...
...and checking out the fish.
Of course Peyton and Asa spent awhile investigating the hot sauce options.
Our other outing was going to be to the dog beach, but it is quite a trek and SOME family members were not too quick to get out of bed. Ellie pretty much refuses to get out of bed with Calib until he gets up (which is between 11 and noon).
So we decided to go out to the Land O Lakes Recreation Center to check out the dog park, and the amenities. We've never been- apparently there's tons of stuff out there. They have a skatepark, a swimming pool, basketball courts, tennis courts, and playgrounds- it's pretty great.
Plus they have a dog park. But, Ellie was the only dog there that day.
And she mostly stayed by us, until she walked back over to the gate and looked at us expectantly. She still seems unsure like we're going to leave her somewhere. Which might be a problem, because tomorrow she has to spend her first night at a kennel! (But to be fair it is the Disney kennel, I don't feel like it gets much nicer!)
On the animal front, Dipper's been spending more and more time up high since we got Ellie, so I cleared off the top of the audio pier in the living room and put his bed up there. I'm trying to accommodate him as best I can, and he really seems to like it up there. He's been getting better with Ellie too, so say progress!
With the Iowa caucus on Monday we went over exactly what a caucus is, and how it works with the two different parties. Shout out to my friend Brandy who lives in Iowa and gave me an account, so I could teach it to the boys! We are doing the Great Candy Bar Election again this year, so if you haven't registered with a party yet, get to it! It's nice for Hayden to learn all about the election process, but it's a necessary lesson for Peyton and Calib, because the next time we elect a president, they'll be voting!
We talked all about it, and we watched a video.
Then, the boys sat and watched three hours of CNN all about the caucus. I was pretty impressed. I didn't tell them they had to watch it or anything, it was just on, and they took an interest. (Like our new chair there? It was my $20 Target chair for the going out of business sale).
We did learn about the Silk Road this week in lessons by dad. Asa gave us an overview and then we watched our usual crash course history. (There's the link in case you need a lesson as well!) Then, we played the Bean game, you know, because trading. Hayden had never played before, so we had to explain it- but he did a REALLY good job, and the box says ages 12 and up.
Sometimes when we're sitting around on a Tuesday afternoon watching crash course videos on the couch together, and playing the Bean Game, I just have to take it all in. Homeschooling really is great sometimes. Learning can (and should) be fun!
We also are 'celebrating' some notable birthdays. Of course the presidents are up there (we've been watching the president in 60 seconds and doing pop quizzes on birthday this year), but Asa and I have picked out a few others. We won't be dedicating a whole day to them, but we'll at least have a tiny info session or video and an activity for the non-presidents. Apparently Ronald Reagan and Aaron Burr share a birthday (although since we'll be gone, we've already done Reagan's, and we'll get to Burr's when we get back-- stay tuned for that one, because the activity is going to be awesome.)
Anyway, we've got all of February's up on our birthday board. In addition to Reagan, William Henry Harrison, George Washington and Abe Lincoln, we've got Aaron Burr, Charles Darwin, Samuel Tilden, and Steve Jobs! (We would have had Rosa Parks too, but her birthday was the 2nd, and we already missed it. Sorry Rosa!)
This weekend there's a ton going on. First of all, Asa's graduation ceremony is this weekend at Disney. (Yes he finished in June, but he had just missed the last national commencement) My mom is coming down for it (thanks to Aunt Patti for holding down the fort in Toledo with grandma!), and we're staying at the Art of Animation in a Lion King suite. We have Boathouse reservations which we're all thrilled about!
Not to be forgotten in all of the graduation excitement, is Hayden's 10th birthday! Which just so happens to be Sunday! We will be checking out, having breakfast at Boma and then heading home for a game of hot lava, the country game, AND a Dragonball Z present hunt.
But wait! There's more! Sunday is ALSO the day of the Super Bowl, in which Peyton's favorite team (and more importantly favorite player) will be playing. And I must admit, I'm pulling for Peyton Manning to win this one too. He was so awesome that time that we met him (which coincidentally happened because I promised my Peyton I'd take him to go see Peyton Manning play when they lost the Super Bowl last time they played). So here's hoping they win, so I don't have to make any other crazy promises. (Although it was one of my favorite trips ever!)
Anyway, since we'll be gone, I had to construct the snackadium this morning. Hayden won't get to pick his birthday dinner exactly, but he does have a say into what's going into the snackadium.
I'm sure it'll look even cooler all filled on game day!
However, our friends will be missing out. No party for us this year, it just seemed like too much with the busy weekend, and the fact that Peyton is terribly invested, and if it takes a bad turn early, he won't want people around.
That's it from here. I'll be back in a couple days with tons of pictures!
Next Up: Graduation! 10 year old Hayden! Disney! The Super Bowl! (Oh my gosh, and the State Fair is this week, AND Asa and I have tickets to see the Lion King at the Straz!) It's a crazy week ahead!
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