Letter J Week

We've had some fun with the letter J this week.  Here's a look at some of our activities...

J is for Jellyfish...

...and j is for juggler....

We did lots of jellybean math...

...I might have eaten a few too many of those. Woops!

We also made jellyfish in a jar ( a bit of a pinterest flop...)

...which we rememdied with another jellyfish craft which was much more fun...

The boys are fascinated with these creatures...

We also had fun with lots of books, several field trips, lots of outdoor play with our gorgeous weather and we learned a new game too, a childhood favorite of mine -- slap jack! If only there were more jacks in a deck of cards :-).  

Theme Park Weekend

What do you get when you combine hotel rewards with free tickets to SeaWorld thanks to your husband's service to our country?  A really fun mini vacation in Orlando, that's what!!

We hit the road bright and early Saturday morning to get to SeaWorld right when they opened.  Being one of the first ones there is definitely the way to go.  

We loved the penguin exhibit... 

....and the walrus was a big hit too...

Beluga whales are a lot of  fun to watch play too.  They sure loved batting that buoy around...

We got a big kick out of watch them put the flamingos away...

...they are almost like cattle.  Crazy!

Of course the aquariums and shark tunnel are a big hit with the boys...

The boys took notes and can now officially bark like seals now too...

...you better believe I'm one proud mama :-).  Speaking of mamas, this turtle's name is Big Momma...

...she is so sweet and injured but doing great thanks to their rescue and care taking of her.  

After a fun-filled day at sea world, we were more than ready for some good food followed by some snuggle time at the hotel.  Aunt Miriam even joined us for dinner at Bahama Breeze and a round of jumping on the hotel beds, don't tell the management :-).  

Sunday took us to the Space Center for our second time this year.  It was just as much fun as the first time.  

We checked out some stuff we didn't get to last time, like taking a turn sitting on the moon vehicle...

...and learning about the wildlife that's all around there on their protected lands.  We're big fans of the hogs :-)...

We also checked out the other IMAX movie...

....and tried more of the simulators...

There is so much to do there.  

I love that the boys are so interested in all of it and it's close enough that we get to experience it rather easily.  Who knows, maybe they'll be future space explorers...

There's a rocket launch coming up February 8 we're hoping to check out from our yard.  Living this close to the space center is a fabulous thing!

After our fun day at NASA, we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset on the way home...

...we made it home in time to grab some delicious pizza and cozy up on the couch for a movie before calling it a weekend, and a great one at that.  

We Love Florida Winters

Last weekend, I ran my second half marathon of the winter.  It was my first time completing two and while I was getting pretty burnt out, I did at least walk away with a PR...

...1:46.01...that's a good time for me :-).  And now back to running for the fun of it rather than training.  I sure do love winter running in Florida.  Mornings like this are tough to beat...

We spent the rest of that beautiful race day going out for brunch, getting haircuts, and doing the park thing...

  

...and the coffee and cookies things.  I love family fun days.  

We headed back out in the gorgeous weather the following day for some fun downtown at Rockin Riverwalk...

....Colton got his dance moves on....

Monday continued the outdoor fun with a little gathering at the causeway...

...we didn't last long in that wind but found it to be a little less breezy near Stuart beach and had some fun at the park there...

I love that we can roll around on green grass here in January...

Of course we had to take a little walk (with some detours :-) ) to check out the waves...

...did I mention I love Florida in the winter?  :-)  In case I didn't, here's just a few more reasons why...

Come visit!!

Our Magical Day

The boys and I got lucky and got to take a trip to Disney World a while back.  It was truly a magical day.  Of course it would have been even more magical if Mickey could have joined us for it but when you have access to free tickets on a Thursday, you don't pass up the opportunity, right??  We had so much fun...

I teared up watching their faces light up as we walked right into a parade with Mickey in it... 

Since the boys aren't big fans of rides, we started off easy with the people mover.  It was a huge hit...

...and we got more and more daring as the day went along...

  

...finally braving Dumbo...

...and the teacups for a little more excitement...

Of course we loved the tree house....

...and the jungle cruise...

...even the shows were a huge hit... 

...which surprised me since the boys aren't too thrilled with people dressing up as giant cartoon characters.  At a distance, apparently, they're awesome!!

 We lucked out with a cool, overcast and rainy day which seemed to keep the crowds down...perfect for us.  It was truly such a fun day and we can't wait til our next visit WITH DADDY, of course.  

Hope to see you real soon, Mickey...