Florida Weekend #3

Time just seems to be getting away from me, it doesn't seem like that long between blogs, but apparently it's been a week and a half.  

Last weekend we finally got around to getting the boys their Busch Garden's Fun Cards. We had bought them weeks ago when Adventure Island (the water park) came free with them, but we hadn't traded in our certificates for the actual passes. It was a lovely weather day (and we know we're just biding our time until it's super hot!), and we were expecting low crowds. 

And low crowds it was. You can't really see in the picture, but the wait for Cheetah Hunt was 0 minutes. Plus, we had most of the animal habitats all to ourselves.  

Plus, with zero line, Asa convinced Calib to go on Falcons Fury. Calib's been once before, but he was not thrilled with going again. I told him not to let Asa peer pressure him into it, but Calib went anyway. 

So for my Cedar Point friends, think about the Power Tower. That's pretty much what it is.... 

...except when they get to the top, you get turned to FACE THE GROUND. 

Anyway, we spent our afternoon riding rides... 

...and playing in Jungala. 

Unfortunately, half of Jungala is closed. We're not sure what happened, but it was sort of a disaster. Hopefully they can get the netting back up soon. 

At least the water features were still up and running! 

I know we've had a few primaries since I last blogged, but we did celebrate New York's with some New York style hot dogs. 

And we had an ice cream sundae bar one night too. 

One evening Asa and I went to our friend Kayla's house for margaritas and some Catan playing, which I'd like to shout out to Kayla for bringing Catan back from the graveyard of board games at my house. Everyone's been playing it again! 

This past Sunday Asa, Hayden, Ellie and I went out to go to the Grilled Cheese Festival. We thought we could squeeze it in before Asa had to be at work if we went right when it opened. After sitting in traffic trying to get to the parking lot for it for 20 minutes (and not even being halfway there!) we decided we didn't have time. We told Hayden we could go out for lunch somewhere, but we had Ellie with us, and we aren't too sure of too many places that let Ellie tag along, so we ended up at PDQ. They have a dog friendly patio. 

Our 'Florida Weekends' have kind of been on hiatus, since we were in DC (and then I was in Ohio, and then we were all dying),  and with a car we had to fix, and taxes we had to pay (which is a long story in and of itself- ugh!), we tried to keep costs down. I was really hoping we could do a trip to Saint Augustine this month, but it'll have to wait. We decided since our Aquarium pass expires at the end of May (and we aren't likely to renew), we need to start going to all the reciprical places. First up, the Tampa Bay History Center. It's super affordable to begin with, but our pass got us half off in addition! 

We met a very informative guy at the front desk, and he gave us quite the history lesson about Tampa Bay. We followed up with a video. We were nearly the only ones in the museum that day, and had the whole video to ourselves. 

This canoe was found in northern Florida, dug out of the mud in a place called the Canoe Graveyard. 

The first floor is dedicated mostly to the Native Americans that once inhabited the area. 

There's also a nod to cigars- because that's actually what put Tampa on the map and made it something more than a tiny little town. 

The elevator is supposedly the largest one in Florida, so even though we were only going up a flight of stairs we had to take it. The pictures don't do it justice, it was HUGE. 

Upstairs there is a giant interactive map of Tampa Bay, think a historical google maps! 

And some fun hands on activities for the kids- all about Cowboys and the shipping industry- complete with the port and the trains. 

There's a whole section dedicated to Tampa Bay sports too. 

There's an old log cabin to play in as well. 

Asa: "Look, I have washboard abs!" 

One of our favorite things was the interactive map, where you got to learn how all the neighborhoods got their names. 

A few more odds and ends, and we had walked through the whole museum. 

Outside the museum is lovely as well. There's a few more sights to be seen, and it's right along the river, at the start of the river walk. 

After the museum we headed over to Datz and Dough. They're like Tampa institutions, and I can't believe we hadn't been there in our ten years here. 

We stopped at Dough first. It's a bakery/ice cream place, and it's pretty amazing. Asa and I split a dough-nut red velvet ice cream cone. 

Calib and Peyton went with red velvet milkshakes, and Hayden picked an oreo donut. It was all really good. The red velvet wasn't overpowering, and the doughnut cone was still pretty soft and fluffy. But the best part was the little piece of red velvet cake that topped the whole thing. They have a lot of unique options there, and I could definitely stand to stop by again. 

After dough, we walked next door to Datz. We were doing things a little backwards (what with the dessert before lunch/dinner), because it was now mid-day and we were waiting until happy hour hit at Datz. We decided it would be very affordable if we went then, because all the appetizers are half off! And there was drink specials for Asa to enjoy. I totally could have had the 3 of cloves. It was like a grown up apple cider. The place is just relaxed, and has a really cool vibe. They have wine bottle chandeliers and chain link fences inside the restaurant! 

We decided to go with Nachos, Truffle Fries, and Pretzle sticks. But, we wanted to try something really out there too, so we went with the Reuben Tempura Rolls. The nachos are actually homemade potato chips, and are my second favorite nachos I've ever had. (Nothing can beat the House of Blues at Disney Springs- but you have to get it from the bar outside, they don't serve them inside!) The pretzles and fries were good, but pretty par for the course. And I am not a Rueben fan, but it actually really worked. 

We didn't buy anything to bring home from Datz (it was a little pricey), but they had lots of fun stuff- sugars and rubs and bitters and such! Maybe next time. 

Tuesday we went out to Top Golf. Asa and I had been, so technically for a Florida weekend, it wasn't new for us- but it was for the boys. They were not psyched about going. They kept telling us they didn't like golf, and Asa and I kept telling them they didn't need to like golf- but they didn't buy it. 

But when we got there, it took less than five minutes for everyone to be having the BEST time. And really, if you go during the week (daytime hours), it's $20 to rent the bay for a whole hour- no matter how many people we have. So, again, it's pretty affordable family fun. 

We were there around lunch time too, so we ended up deciding to share a bunch of appetizers, since it went so well at Datz. 

Nachos won again, but these were different, so it was ok. They were more like mini tostadas. Peyton really liked them. 

We also got injectable donut holes. They bring you the little donut balls, and then inject them with either raspberry jelly, bavarian cream, or chocolate. The boys LOVED these. Not only were they yummy, injecting them was half the fun! 

And, Asa got another drink, because he can't pass up a Moscow Mule in a tin cup. 

Then there was a lot more golfing. 

We're all pretty terrible at it. But, it's so much fun. The boys are already asking when we can go again. 

Afterwards we went to Costco to pick up some things, since it's right around the corner, and as we were leaving, Peyton said the best thing to me:

"You know how in the Office, Andy says 'I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days, before you've actually left them'?

Well, I'm pretty sure these are the good old days."

I have some good kids, you know? 

In other news, we've had Ellie for four months now! So, I don't always post my Ellie pictures, but here's what I took this week. 

These two are my favorites though. Asa pretends he doesn't like animals, but he has quite the soft spot for Ellie. And, Calib and Ellie like to sleep in late (like until noon- she refuses to get out of bed before then unless Calib does) One morning I got them up at 10:30, and I found them a few minutes later asleep on the couch together. 

Calib's next round of basketball started this week. I didn't take any pictures at the game, but he did get the medal for being the outstanding player of the week. (And this picture is the result of me telling him he always looks up when I take pictures. He likes to irritate me!) 

In other news, the Tampa Bay Lightning (that's hockey for you non-sports people) are in the Stanley Cup Finals. They've actually made it to the second round, and we're watching them play the Islanders now. Unfortunatly, at the moment, it's not going so well. Half the reason the boys are rooting for the Lightning is for the Papa Johns deal- they give you 50% off your whole order when the Lightning win! We cashed in on that last week. 

I thought I'd blog tonight- because we're about to have a lot going on around here. Draft fever has taken over, and Calib and Asa decided to print out mock drafts to track them and see how accurate they are. Him and Asa even made their own, and tomorrow night for dinner we'll be having our NFL inspired pizzas for the first 5 teams int he draft. 

The mock drafts have to be on the back door because the chalkboard is about to be full of Art History week.  I have some fun projects on tap, and we've been math/reading/writing heavy lately, so the boys need a break. We're starting in on that tomorrow, after a delay.

We had a tough week around here, we had a lot of first world problems, including a car issue that derailed our  plans last weekend. None of that is all that terrible, but it just adds up. Beyond all that, Asa's grandma passed away. I only met her a handful of times, but she was always very kind to me and inclusive of the boys. I know she'll be missed. 

With the low lights you also have to find the highlights, and we certainly had those as well. 

Next Up: Draft Pizzas, Art History Week, and maybe a Disney date day.