I know you haven't heard much from me since my D.C. posts, and even those were delayed posts, so really have have two weeks worth of stuff to catch you up on. We're still getting over whatever nasty virus we brought back with us, but I think we might all finally be pretty much over it. We did try and make the most of our "weekend", so I'll fill you in on that along with a few other odds and ends.
Last Monday, Calib's cough was still pretty nasty and he decided he was going to sit out- even though we had plans for Disney AND Universal in the same day. He just wasn't feeling up to it, which I'm sure made Ellie happy since she didn't have to spend the day in her crate. Usually I hate going anywhere unless all 5 of us are in, but this wonderful weather only lasts so long, and Calib insisted it was fine. Our Disney park of choice was Epcot- even though the parks are still a bit crowded from all those pesky Spring Breakers. We just couldn't wait any longer to make our annual trip to the Flower and Garden Festival.
I love the Flower and Garden festival, maybe even more than the Food and Wine Festival. I'm not a big drink fan, but I am a huge garden/topiary/fruits and veggies fan! Plus the park is GORGEOUS this time of year with all the brightly colored flowers.
The topiaries are some of my favorite, I should have taken more pictures of them to share with you guys- generally they are the same every year with a few new additions, but I love them anyway.
There are also tons of gardening displays and lots of signs to read all about different ways of gardening or how to handle certain plants, which Asa loves.
I mean, Asa, the gardener, who would have thought? Here's a picture of his fig! Lonnie (our wonderful neighbor) gave us a tree a couple of years ago and our very first fig has finally grown!
Anyway, back to Epcot. The food booths around the world are pretty great during the Flower and Garden Festival, so we decided on walking the world for our lunch. We loaded up the very cute flower shaped card and went walking!
Our first stop was at the Urban Farms booth and we had the Vegetable and White Bean Naanwich with Arugula Pesto and oven-dried tomatoes. I'm a sucker for pesto and sun-dried tomatoes together, and this thing was awesome. The feta cheese was a little much for the boys (through they did try it and didn't complain too much), but it was my favorite thing we had.
At the Cider House in England we got Long-harvest field greens with apples, dried blueberries, stilton cheese and apple cider vinaigrette. I am a sucker for salad with fruit, and this one didn't disappoint, but the dressing was a little overpowering. This dish, however, has inspired Asa to start making his own salad dressing, and last night he made toasted sesame dressing, which I thought was super awesome. Not as good as his honey lime dressing, but still awesome.
The Cider House also had a Lemon Scone with creme fraiche and mixed berries. I thought maybe I'd like the scones more at Epcot than I usually do. They just seem dense and dry to me. And, yes, it was better. But, it'd not something I'd get again. The flavors were great, but it was still a scone.
Over in France, Peyton insisted on the Raspberry Macaroon with chocolate fudge and raspberry jam, while Asa decided on the pulled duck confit with braised flageolet beans. The duck was fine, for duck. But, I don't much care for dark meat.
Everyone really liked the macaroon. It was sweet, it was chilled, it was a nice balance of flavors, but if I'm being honest, I would have been more happy to go to the ice cream shop and get the ice cream sandwich version.
Over at the Florida Fresh booth, we decided to go crazy and order the larder board. It was a whole bunch of stuff we had no idea what it would taste like- and we always like being adventurous. To my surprise the boys tried it all too. So, on the larder board there was orlando-made ricotta cheese with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic, cahaba farms micro onions, country pate, and house made pickles. Hayden adored the pickles- but holy vinegar! The micro onions were mixed with the cauliflower and also very vinegary. The ricotta was good, but the room temperature-ness of it threw me off. And the pate was, well, pate. To this (non-smelling) girl, pate lacks flavor. It's not something I would order again. But it was fun to try.
Peyton couldn't pass up the Harissa Chicken kebob with the sweet couscous salad at the Taste of Marrakesh in Morocco. Peyton LOVES moroccan food, but he has a soft spot for couscous. It's his absolute favorite. We also have it warm here, like you'd have rice, but they serve it cold with dried fruit in it. I actually really enjoy it. But then, this girl loves crasins in her salads!
Ok, so as I'm typing this I'm realizing Peyton sort of ran the 'what to get' decisions. But, he's usually the hardest to get out of the house, and he was totally stoked for a trip to Disney for the Flower and Garden Festival (and Universal! And Cowfish! All of his favorite things!) He even got up early without complaint. Anyway, he talks about the Frushi in Japan year round. It's like sushi, but with fruit! The frushi is pineapple, strawberry and melon rolled with raspberry coconut rice, sprinkled with toasted coconut and served with whipped cream on the side. The first time we had it, I thought it was really weird. But, it's grown on me.
Asa meanwhile, wasn't about to pass up the chicken edamame bun. He LOVES steamed buns. I didn't even take a bite, but I hear it was delicious.
The smokehouse is usually one of my favorite stops. They have the pulled pig slider with crispy onions and coleslaw. This year wasn't as good though, it was a little on the dry and burnt side, which was a disappointment because usually it's awesome- and a great deal for the size of the 'slider'. Asa was happy with his burnt ends hash with white cheddar fondue and pickled jalapenos. It's a little too spicy for me, but I did have a bit without the jalapenos. I will say, the burnt ends were much better than the pulled pork on the sandwich, so maybe I just caught the bottom of a batch or something.
Over in China at the Lotus House we got the beijing-style candied strawberries (so good! It's strawberries in a sugar coating you guys!), and Asa, while totally full at this point, couldn't pass up another steamed bun in the Gaoli Beef Bun.
Peyton wanted a bite, and Asa was a little perturbed at the thought (though he did give him the tiniest of bites eventually).
Of course along the way we made some other stops, the weather was lovely, and since we had gotten there early the crowds were pretty low (although it was getting busier as we left).
After Epcot we headed over to Universal Studios.
We started at Islands of Adventure, just like the first time we went, but this time we walked the other way around to Hogsmeade, going through Super Hero Island, and Toon Lagoon.
The park was decently more crowded than last time, but the Jurassic Park area was a good place to avoid the crowds. Camp Jurassic is like Universal's answer to Jungala.
Over in Hogsmeade, Asa and Peyton went on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Peyton loved it, Asa said it made him a little dizzy. I know with my motion sickness, I can't ever go on it. But I sure do want to go through the cue. After all, it's like you're IN Hogwarts! Hayden and I waited for them for a bit, and then we all went on the Flight of the Hippogriff (a family coaster).
We stopped at Honeydukes to bring Calib home something, and decided on the butterbeer fudge. It was ok, but nothing too impressive.
We also got a honeydukes jar!
Then we took the Hogwarts Express over to Universal Studios
Our first stop over at Universal Studios, of course, was Diagon Alley. I won't soon forget the first time we walked in, it was one of the coolest things ever- and while it was still awesome, it didn't have that same first time effect.
But, there's still so much to do and see there that we haven't done yet. While everyone else went on Escape from Gringotts last time, Hayden and I sat out. But, Asa and Peyton insisted we could go, that it was tame enough for us, so we all rode it this go around. And it was A-MAZ-ING!
Since the last time we were there, Hayden's been watching the Simpsons, so he was more excited about all of that this time. We hung out, and rode some tame rides, while Asa and Peyton opted for some bigger rides.
We walked the same way around as we did last time, but somehow we missed the Back to the Future Delorian.
We exited out of Universal Studios this time around, so we walked all along city walk, keeping our options open for dinner.
But, we came back to Cowfish, because Cowfish is the BEST. The selection, the service, the prices, it's all pretty great.
And the shakes. My God, are they the best thing ever. I usually just drink water, but the PB (and B) and J shake is awesome. The only milkshake I've ever had that's better was in Vegas. Peyton got one as well, he went with the smores shake, which he had last time. He loves it, even though he's not a big chocolate fan.
Plus, the Bento boxes are SO awesome. The kids meals ones are super impressive.
I really debated if I should get a bento box, but I wanted to try something new, so I went with just a burger. (Asa did too!) And it was awesome. BUT, I missed the Bento box. Peyton refused to share his edamame with me, and I missed having it. Plus, I only ate half of it. (I brought the other half home for Calib, but it didn't save well, and nobody ended up eating it. Total Bummer.)
The next day, Calib said he'd go out as long as we weren't doing anything too crazy. So, we decided to let him collect on his March Madness win. (Even though Hayden's runner up team, Villanova, went the farthest, Calib got the most right). Our March Madness winner gets to pick somewhere to eat out, so Calib went with PDQ. For the record Asa finished second, followed by Hayden, me, and then Peyton.
And then we went out bowling. We still have the boys free game cards (they still have nine left!), so we only have to pay for me and Asa, which is always nice.
For the record, I won bowling! And Hayden had to take all our shoes back to the counter.
Wednesday Asa and I went out to Top Golf to give it a go. We'd never been before, but it looked like so much fun!
So, if you've never been before, you have to buy a membership card. But, don't worry, it's only $5, and it never expires. Your membership covers your club rental, and such. You'll also use your card to swipe to keep track of your score and to pay for more games. Then, they'll assign you a bay. We got to pick what floor- we went with the (top) third, and if we wanted a couch or a high top (we went with the couch), and they took us up and explained everything to us first timers.
I'm not a golfer, in fact, the only time I've ever swung a golf club was on the cruise ship, so I don't know anything about what clubs to use- but that's ok too. Girl clubs are blue, and boy clubs are black, and they are all labeled. (The driver was fun!)
When you're ready to go, you click on your name on the screen (where they keep track of your score), and then you head over to the green. When you wave your club in front of the sensor, a ball comes out at you.
There are all kinds of different games to play, but we went with Top Golf. It's basically about hitting the targets, which are in the ground. You swing your club, and the computer and the chip in the ball keep track of your score. And that's it. You can go as many times in a row as you want, since you manually select the person who is playing.
You pay for the bay by the hour (during 'off hours' it's $20 an hour), and you can add more time at any point if you'd like. (At least you could when we were there- that might be different during a busy weekend).
Plus, you get a Bay host, who will bring you food and drinks. They have a whole menu, but Asa went with a Moscow Mule, and I got ice cream.
It was a fun date afternoon for sure. We'll go again, but I think we'll bring the boys along to see if it's something they're into. They do have kids clubs (and kids food!) so they are kid friendly!
Around here we've had a couple of birthdays, which Asa has now started drinking in honor of history. For Henry Clay's birthday he had a mint julep (Henry Clay was from Kentucky and is credited with bringing the mint julep to D.C.)
And on Thomas Jefferson's birthday, Asa made a moscow mule for his very first drink in his cup he got at Montecello. (It's so awesome, it even says "A little rebellion every now and again is a good thing").
We also taught Calib rummy, and he's sort of obsessed with it. Although we did play a few other games too. I pulled out the most unlikely win in the Presidential.
A new ice cream place opened up by us, so went went out for ice cream one night.
And Portillo's (a Chicago place) opened in Brandon, so we went and got freebees (including t-shirts!)
The Italian Beef was spot on!
Speaking of meals (I feel like this post is all food related- but I guess in two weeks, you eat a lot of meals!), we had pizza (salad) and grape soda in honor of Kobe's last game. Apparently until a few years ago he always had pizza and grape soda before every game. (And Calib was all 'Mom! It's Kobe's last game! We have to do something for it!") We've also been watching the Lightning in the playoffs, they're up 2-0, so we're excited about that!
Saturday we had a cookout for all the neighborhood kids that are usually hanging around. Apparently Pokemon cards, a basketball hoop, and an Ellie are enough to make your house the go to hang out spot for the neighborhood.
And that's all my pictures from the last two weeks.
Next Up: We're doing two mini-Florida weekends in a row (I think this is our last weekend with temps not in the 90's for a few months!), and we're doing Art History "Week" (More like two weeks, but who's counting).
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