I should have titled this blog something way more exciting.. because this week was beyond awesome... but it was technically the second half of our Florida weekend. So, there you go. Really though, this week was nothing short of amazing. First of all, last week was Asa's bonus check, which is cool. We're hanging onto most of it for the house fund (Cross your fingers 2016 is our house buying year!)/bill paying, but it's still nice to get.
The big news of the week was Leap Day. I love me some Leap Day! It comes around less than Christmas you guys! I mean we have a whole extra day, so you I have to do something special for it. So this leap day, we finally got to Universal Studios! And you guys, it was ever bit as amazing as we thought it would be- and then some. We had to pick a park, so we started with Islands of Adventure, specifically because it was lunch time and we were dying to eat at the Three Broomsticks.
We have been a Disney family, and we still adore Disney, but Universal is SO. COOL. Specifically all things Harry Potter. I just kept equating Disney's 'it all started with a mouse' to 'this all started with a book'.
And nobody I know loves the books more than Peyton. He read them all until I finally told him he had to do is daily half hour of reading on something other than Harry Potter. And even then he read them just for fun. He followed them WHILE watching the movies to see how they matched up. He wore his Harry Potter scarf for MONTHS after we had Harry Potter Week here. I LOVED watching how excited he was about being there- I haven't seen him this excited about anything (sans the Super Bowl) in a long time.
Our first stop was Hogsmeade. If you've read the books, you know we did this a little backwards, not starting in Diagon Alley, but we had planned to eat lunch at the Three Broomsticks, another famous Harry Potter stop. I gotta say, this place is run really well. Technically, it's a counter service restaurant. However, you do have to wait in a queue (no worries, it moved fast). When you get to the register to order, they tell you which number register to order at. Once you order, you follow that same number up to the food counter to get your meal. Once you get that, you stand in another (small, fast moving) line, and they direct you where to sit. So while it is counter service, there's no fighting for where to sit, the counter to order at, or any of that. It's all really well done.
Now, we only got part of our food at the counter, because we ordered "The Great Feast". It's $50, but it fed all of us. It comes with a salad, chicken, ribs, corn on the cob, veggies, and potatoes. And it is awesome. It was all cooked really well, the chicken was perhaps a tiny bit on the dry side, so it was my least favorite. But the ribs fell off the bone, the corn and veggies were super flavorful, and the potatoes were mixed with onions, and a perfect blend of buttery goodness. And really, feeding all 5 of us for $50 is pretty good for park food.
We all got waters to keep the cost down, but we did spring for one drink to split- our very first butterbeer! You can get butterbeer three ways- hot, cold, or frozen. Our first one of the day was frozen, in a souvenir mug. (Ok, so maybe we spent a LITTLE bit of the bonus on fun stuff!)
With full tummies, we left the Three Broomsticks, and headed over to Honeydukes. You guys, it's like you are IN Harry Potter. We didn't spring for the $12 chocolate frog, but we'll be back.
Ok, so Universal these days is two parks- Universal Studios, and Islands of Adventure. Each park has their own Harry Potter sections. Islands of Adventure is home to Hogsmeade, while Universal Studios is home to Diagon Alley. We have passes (the "cheap" ones with blackouts), so we can go from park to park. You can walk from park to park by going out the front gates and walking through City Walk (their equivalent to Disney Springs), BUT you could skip all that.
Just like in the books/movies, you can travel from park to park (if you have a ticket to get to BOTH) by going on the Hogwarts Express!
And while it's the Universal equivalent of riding the monorail, it is so much cooler than that. One, the themeing all the way through the "line" is amazing, every detail you'd expect to see is there. You have to scan your ticket before you board, but it just seems like you're giving them your ticket to ride the Hogwarts Express. And the train is a ride in itself. First of all, they micromanage the line the same way they did at the Three Broomsticks, and I kind of love that aspect. It's better than fighting for your spot. Then you get to sit in your own little train compartment, and they make it seem like you're riding the train with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Their shadows appear behind the frosted glass of the doors, like they are wandering down the corridor, and on the "window" you see scenes as if you were traveling from Hogsmead to Kings Cross station!
Once you get there you exit platform 9 3/4 and you're at Kings Cross station! You don't have to scan your tickets again or anything, which is nice.
Kings Cross station can be used by any muggle, so when you first exit, it just looks like you're in London. But, if you turn left you are in Diagon Alley- where all wizards go for their Hogwarts school supplies!
Of course you can stop by some other places too, like the Weasley's brothers joke shop!
You guys, they even have extendable ears!
You can exchange your money at Gringotts too!
It can be used anywhere around Universal, and Hayden was the only one to trade in his money for it.
Mostly there are a lot of shops, just like you would find in the real Diagon Alley!
But, there's also some rides- including escape from Gringotts. But, the problem with a brand new park, is we don't know the rides. Which means, Hayden is terrified of all of them. Lines really were pretty short, 10-15 minutes at most. So Hayden and I wandered a bit while everyone else rode.
Oh, and you guys, the dragon even breaths FIRE. It's awesome.
When we met back up we were off to Ollivanders (side note: why are all Harry Potter words flagged like they're spelled wrong. Get with it blogger!). For those of you who don't know, that's where every wizard gets their wand. This store was so much cooler than I could have imagined. Sure you can get any random wand. BUT you can also get replica wands of pretty much ANY character you want. (I mean they had Cedric's wand, and Viktor Krum's! I was partial to Tonks' wand actually!) They also have interactive wands, which you can use to cast spells. And they are only $8 more.
Peyton has been saving Christmas money for Universal, and he's been talking about getting a wand forever. But, he wasn't into the interactive ones, because on the very tip, they have the part that makes them interactive, and he thinks it messes with the authenticity of it. Maybe someday one of us will get one, but these things are expensive on their own, so we'll see.
So you're probably wondering whose wand Peyton went with. After much debate, he went with Mad Eye Moody. He says he wants to collect them, and is already talking about what one he will get with his birthday money. I loved the bag it came in. It's sitting on top of home school central next to the House Cup!
Another very cool store has all things Quidditch. I'm actually surprised nobody got the bludger set or the quaffle. Maybe next time.
You have to be looking for it, as it is kind of hidden, but there is Knockturn Alley for you dark wizards. There you find Borgin and Burkes, complete with the vanishing cabinet. And if you touch it you can hear AND feel the bird!
Diagon Alley might be my favorite place in all of Florida. It is AMAZING. It's so immersive. You can't see any other part of the park while you're there, and there's only a couple ways in and out- so you really, really feel like you are IN Diagon Alley.
Believe it or not, there is more to Universal than Harry Potter. We walked through Springfield for all things Simpsons. They even have a Moe's tavern!
And there you can get a (non-alcoholic) Flaming Moe! It even steams/bubbles!
We also did the Despicable Me ride, and got sucked into the gift shop. The Unicorn really was SO fluffy you guys. I secretly really wanted one of the boys to use their money on it.
There was so much more to see, but Calib and Peyton really wanted to go back to Hogsmeade to ride Dragon Challenge (Cedar Point fans think if the Raptor and Gemini had a baby), so it was back to Kings Cross station for us. And you guys, they have an effect where it LOOKS like you're running through the wall to get to platform 9 3/4!
It was a little longer wait to get back to Hogsmeade than we had to get there, but still not bad.
And I won't spoil it, but the ride back is different than the ride there!
Once we were back at Hogsmeade and the Islands of Adventure, Hayden and I went through more shops until Asa, Calib, and Peyton were back from their ride on Dragon's Challenge. I know it sounds like we just went through shops all day, but we kind of did. But, it was all so cool just to look at. it was very overwhelming, so I'm glad we have the passes to go back. I'm not sure how I would have taken it all in, in one day.
The boys wanted to try a cold butterbeer, so we obliged.
We actually didn't make it all the way through Hogsmeade, but that just means there's more to see next time!
Islands of Adventure also has a whole land dedicated to Dr. Suess. I would have spent way more time here, but we were on our way to the Spiderman ride and then dinner.
I did convince everyone to ride the carousel though. The "horses" are all Dr. Suess characters!
Hayden used his money to get some minion funko pops, and then we were headed out just before the park closed.
We were "living it up" on our first trip AND it was Leap Day (You have to make that one extra day count you guys! You only get one every four years!!!), so we got to do lunch AND dinner out! We had decided to eat at City Walk, which is on the way out of the whole Universal complex, and settled on Cowfish. When you come in, you even get to design your own fish!
We picked to eat outside (can we talk about our weather for a second? It has been gorgeous lately!), and we did our leap day tradition of eating dessert first!
This thing was massive, and delicious. It's a candy ice cream cake with an oreo crust. It's like light fluffy cake got married to creamy, oreo ice cream, and random candies were used as confetti.
Calib and Peyton got some milkshakes too, because, LEAP DAY!
Cowfish is a burger/sushi place. (Yes you read that right!) They have burgers and they have sushi. And kids can get these awesome bento box kids meals. Look how cute his little rice crispy/sweedish fish dessert 'sushi' is! They even have a little middle section perfect for ketchup!
You can order burgers, or you can order sushi. Or you can order both in a bento box! It comes with a slider, and some sushi along with edamame, Thai cucumbers, and sweet potato fries. Calib and I got California rolls in ours, Peyton got some sort of spicy tuna.
Asa. however, got super adventurous and had burgushi! It was a hamburger wrapped in seaweed and potato stings and flash fried. I know it sounds crazy, and it was. But it was really worked.
So what exactly does this Disney girl think of Universal? I kind of love it, and by kind of, I mean I could have spent days and days there without even thinking of the Happiest Place on Earth. There are some draw backs, aside from Harry Potter, it doesn't really have that magical feeling. I didn't have any trouble with the employees here- but it just wasn't Disney type customer service. The bathrooms weren't as clean, and, as Disney is WAY bigger, there isn't as much to do there. However, the crowds were not Disney big, and it is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than Disney. Maybe not for a one day ticket, but if we're talking passes, then yes, absolutely. We can afford these. We couldn't afford Disney's (thanks mom!) But, I do love how you can walk everywhere. It's a trek- but you can go to both parks and City walk without ever needing to get on transportation or back in your car, both of which take forever. More importantly, you don't have to go through multiple bag checks. You go through the metal detectors when you get to City Walk, and that's it- you don't have to do it all again. And, with a parking garage, you don't feel like you have to walk miles to your car. Universal also has a lot more shade than Disney. I know that might not seem like a big deal, but in the heat of summer, it's a plus for me.
We got home and still had some Leap Day left, which was good, because we had another Leap Day activity to do. We had to open our Leap Day time capsule that we made on leap day in 2012! Look how different the boys look. (Yes, I made them sit in the same places for picture purposes!)
The time capsule had school work, and a list of our favorite things, along with Calib's foot tags from run club, a toy story alien that Hayden put in, and the cover to NCAA 12.
We put some of the old stuff back in and added quite a few new things for 2016.
Again, I don't want to ruin whats in it, ideally, I'll forget so I can be surprised in 4 years, but we did all fill out a Leap Day Time Capsule form, and add something special to us. We'll see it all again in four years. Can you imagine what the boys will look like then? Calib will be nearing 20! Yikes!
Tuesday, March 1, we took it easy and hung out watching Super Tuesday coverage.
We even had a taco bar as if it were a sporting event to watch. In Peyton's words: "Tacos and Politics! It doesn't get more exciting than that!" Except it does, we have some HUGE news to report!
I was sitting around on Tuesday, watching Super Tuesday coverage, eating tacos when I got an email from the Director of Student Correspondence at the WHITE HOUSE! The real, actual White House, people! Remember how we sent President Obama those birthday cards and a letter on his birthday? Well, apparently it really stood out. I gave them a call like they asked (after getting over my social anxiety) and it's a good thing I did! Because they have invited us to the Easter Egg Roll at the White House the Monday after Easter! We are SO excited about it. Making it even better, my cousin, her husband, and their two boys are going to be there Easter weekend as well, so we're going to meet up! And even better, it's Asa's birthday weekend! I cannot wait! This has to be one of the coolest things that ever happened to me. The president just sent me an invite to his Easter party, you guys!
Hmm.. I'm not sure how to transition from that, but on Wednesday we decided to head out to Saint Pete. We had heard of a nice dog friendly place for lunch, so we stopped by the Chattaway for some burgers and hushpuppies. (Notice the absence of Calib and Peyton, they wanted to stay home).
The food was good, not amazing, kind of your standard diner type fare, but the ambiance is pretty great. The chairs are all mix and match and its like eating lunch on your porch, plus like everyone else there had dogs. Then we headed out to Fort De Soto. We've been there before, but we hadn't been to the dog beach, so it counts as one of those things we've always wanted to do. Ellie wasn't too sure at first, but eventually she was running up and down the beach and LOVING it.
Eventually, we let her off her leash too. She listens pretty well, and didn't wander or anything.
We stopped by the dog park and let her run around, and then rinsed her off before heading home.
In other news, we've discovered that Amazon sells the shirts of presidential candidates who have dropped out of the race for $5. Peyton got a Jeb Bush one, and Calib got Martin O'Malley.
Other amazon purchases with our windfall included new staplers for me and Hayden (labeled appropriately).
We also graduated our avocado tree to a big pot.
And Ellie got her rawhide supply replenished.
Shout out to our neighbors Lonnie and Jan for the papaya and the Plant City Strawberries!
Also worth noting: Asa's been making some pretty great dinners lately.
On the home school front, we had a Jeopardy night, in which the boys actually did very well.
Other than that it's just been some hanging out- our basketball hoop has been pretty popular in the neighborhood, and with our kids!
That's it from here! It was a big week, so we don't have too much upcoming, but I'm sure we'll find something to do!
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