Goblin Valley & Capitol Reef Camp Out

Last weekend we got to go camping for the first time this year! We camped just outside of Goblin Valley, along Temple Mountain road. We had a nice spot right up next to some red rocks so Lennon could climb and play. The first day we got there we set up camp then waited until it cooled down a bit and headed over to Goblin Valley. It was so fun to take Lennon there and see how excited he got. He went crazy running around and looking at everything. Even though we waited until it cooled down a little, it was still really hot so we didn't stay for a very long time. I hope we get to back sometime soon because Lennon really loved it and still talks about the turtle shaped rock he saw (and I'm posting this two months after we went). 

The next day we woke up early and drove out to Capitol Reef. None of us had ever been there so it was really exciting. We stopped at some of the sites where you can see petroglyphs and an old school house and then went to the visitor center. After that we hiked out to  Hickman Bridge. It was a really cool hike, but it took a little longer than expected and Lennon ended up falling asleep in his hiking backpack on the way back. I don't know how he slept because it was pretty hot. After the hike we went to the historic village and got some ice cream and sat in the shade. Capitol Reef is really cool, it's a lot different than all of the other National Parks we've been to. We want to go back sometime when all of their fruit trees are ready to be picked. I think that would be fun. When we got back to our camp that night we found that the wind had picked up and smashed our shade structure into a million pieces. 

Orlando

We spent the last two weeks of our Florida adventure in in Orlando. We left Tampa a couple days before Easter so we were able to spend Easter in Orlando. The Easter Bunny left Lennon a basket and hid some eggs, this was his first year really grasping the concept of hunting for eggs and getting excited over what was in his basket so it was really fun. We spent Easter morning hanging around by the pool, then for lunch/dinner we went to Sweet Tomatoes buffet. It was really good, but not the same as Easter dinner at home. After dinner we went to the movies to see Zootopia, there weren't a lot of people in the theater so Lennon was kind of free to roam the seats. He was so funny, he loves being independent. He sat on the front row for a while, then a couple rows in front of us, then he actually sat with us for part of the show (only because I gave him a ring pop).

The majority of our time in Orlando was spent at the pool and the playground. Besides the Walgreens on the corner there wasn't much within walking distance of our hotel.

Laundromat fun

We had a lot of fun towards the end of our trip. Kyle's parents came out and we got to spend a couple of days with them. We took Lennon to Disney World one day and that was probably the best day of my life. I'm such a Disney fan and I loved being able to share it with Lennon. Everything was so perfect, the weather was mild for the most part, we got right onto rides with hardly any wait, we bought Lennon his first Mickey Mouse ears, and it was seriously the best day ever.

Dragon at the afternoon parade.

Nap time in the stroller.

Getting ready for the Electrical Parade

After a long day!

The next day we went on an air-boat tour. It was such a fun experience. We saw so many alligators and different birds and the scenery was just awesome. It was really loud so we all wore ear protection, a few minutes into the boat ride Lennon ended up falling asleep it was so funny. After the boat ride we went to Cocoa Beach and played for a while before going to Titusville to eat lunch at Dixie Crossroads. This was my second time going there and it was just as amazing as the first time. Their corn fritters are SO amazing. I ate probably twenty before our dinner came out.

A day later Lennon and I hopped on a plane and headed back to Utah. Lennon was really good on the plane, he slept most of the way actually. About a week after we got home, Kyle headed home in the car. Now we are all back in Utah and enjoying being around friends and family but definitely missing the warm weather!

Tampa

I meant to write this quite a bit sooner but I have actually been pretty busy with my Etsy shop! It's been nice, I've been getting at least one or two orders every day, including one from Barcelona, Spain where the customer had me translate my Star Wars invitation into Spanish, that was fun to do.
So anyways, I am finally finding time now to write about our Tampa experience. We spent a week and a half there, before moving to Orlando, which is where we are now. But I'll write about Orlando next week...

The highlight of Tampa was definitely "A Day Out with Thomas". Lennon really loves trains so much right now, so when we saw the commercial for this on TV we knew we had to take him. The event was at a train museum about 30 minutes outside of Tampa. Thomas was there and took us on a 4 mile train ride and then we got to take our picture with him. It was so cute, he talked and his mouth moved and everything, Lennon was so excited. The train car we rode in was from the 1920's, it was really neat. The conductor showed us a divider in the back that used to separate the black section of the train from the white section. It was crazy to imagine that things really used to be like that. After the train ride they had a ton of train sets and lego sets that we got to play with. They had a little carnival type train that we went for a ride on, free temporary tattoos, a magic show, live music, bounce houses, and a hay ride. I think Kyle and I enjoyed it just as much as Lennon did.

Diesel and Percy. Percy is Lennon's favorite train.

Only ones on the ride! Perks of getting there early.

There wasn't as much within walking distance of our hotel like there was in Jacksonville, so that made our days while Kyle was out working seem a little longer. There was a mall down the road that we would walk to that had an indoor play area. That was one of our favorite things to do, it was nice and air conditioned. It's been in the mid to upper 80's and pretty humid lately so walking around outside isn't my favorite thing anymore. We also spent a lot of time at the pool. Lennon still refuses to get in the big pool. He just wants to sit on the top step of the hot tub with his bulldozer the whole time. 

Another fun thing we got to do was go to Bass Pro Shop, they were right down the street from our hotel and they had a pretty cool aquarium. They also had the Easter Bunny there to take pictures with the kids, let's just say Lennon is probably still having nightmares about it...

Kyle tried to help this guy across the road and almost got his fingers bit off.

Poolside BBQ

We went to the Manatee Viewing Center on St. Patrick's day. Didn't see any Manatees :(

We went to Siesta Key beach a couple times, that beach is so nice! They have a really cute playground that looks like a sand castle that Lennon is still talking about. It was a little more crowded than the other beaches but it's also spring break right now so everything is starting to get a little more crowded. We played in the sand and built sand castles and roads for Lennon's trucks. Kyle found some shark teeth on the beach and the last time we went we actually saw a dolphin swimming! That was really cool and exciting to get to show Lennon.

That was pretty much our Tampa experience. We are now in Orlando, which should be our last location before heading home in just over a week.

Jacksonville

We spent the past week in Jacksonville, in the San Marco neighborhood. Our hotel was really nice and within walking distance to a lot of great places for me and Lennon. Kyle worked Monday through Saturday so we spent the week exploring. We went to the library a couple times, it was just around the corner from our hotel. One day we just went and read books and played with some of their toys, the next time we went to story time. It was a lot smaller than story time at the Orem library but it was really good. The librarian taught them about St. Patrick's day, leprechauns, and rainbows with pots of gold at the end. Lennon really liked all the songs and the flannel board lesson they did. I'm pretty sure the library is his favorite place in the world, he talks about it all day everyday. Whenever people at the hotel would talk to him or say hi, he would just say "yeah! The library!"  

Our hotel had a pool, so we went down there a couple times. Lennon sat in the hot tub for the first time ever and I couldn't get him out. I kept trying to get him to swim in the big pool with me but he just wanted to stay in the "warm pool".

There was also a really cute downtown area and a playground close to our hotel.

It looked like all of the buildings were built in the 40's or 50's but were kept up really nice. We stopped one day and bought a cookie and just hung out on the sidewalk, Lennon could watch cars and trucks drive by all day. 

Jacksonville also has a free monorail in the downtown area and one of the stations was right next to our hotel. Lennon and I rode that across the St.John's River to the Jacksonville Landing. They have a bunch of shops and a splash pad there so we played for a while and got some ice cream, then Lennon  threw rocks in the river for a while (of course). He had to ride the monorail home with no pants on because he got soaked at the splash pad but he didn't care. He thought it was so fun to ride it, he kept telling everyone he rode on the little train. 

One of the nights (none of these events are in order because I can't remember which we we did things) we went out to Kyle's manager's in-laws house for dinner. They live in St. Augustine, which is right by Jacksonville. They live in a really pretty area, near a river. There were a couple of kids there for Lennon to play with, it was so nice, he's really been missing his cousins and friends. It was also nice to have a good home cooked meal. Our hotel had free breakfast and dinner every night so we haven't really cooked since we've been out here. 

This morning (Sunday) we packed up our hotel and then went to Jacksonville beach for a little bit. It was a really nice beach but we didn't stay long, Lennon was ready for a nap. Now we are headed to Tampa! We will be there for the next two weeks, and from there I don't know where we'll go :)