St Augustine Florida Day 1

 Our first day in St. Augustine was honestly probably my favorite day. It was also Ben's real birthday, poor kid didn't get much special treatment since we had already had a fake birthday for him ;) We spent the morning at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. After walking by the giant alligator lagoon that had piles of alligators everywhere we watched a little presentation about some Florida Native Reptiles. The presenter had some snakes and we got to watch her feed a turtle, it was super cute. Then we walked the park. One of the highlights was definitely the Winged Bird Rookery. You walk down a path where there are oodles of alligators on each side of you and then the trees are just covered with nesting birds. We also learned about a giant alligator they used to house named Gomek and saw in real life a huge alligator named Maximo- he even snapped his jaws and wow that was a loud sound.

After we had walked the entire park we got to watch them feed rats to alligators. The kids were right up next to the glass so they had a perfect view of them munching down and of the lovely guts that were sometimes left behind. It was pretty gross but also pretty cool.

When we finished up at the Alligator Farm we headed back to our airbnb to eat some lunch and then changed into our suits. It was finally time to play in the ocean- the kids were so excited. The weather was nice and warm so it was perfect for a beach day. We went to Vilano Beach or at least attempted to and I am not quite sure what the name of the beach we ended up on was. The parking lot we found cost nothing and had plenty of spaces. We had to walk on a bridge to get over the road and to the beach, it was covered with locks. The beach was not crowded and we easily found a space for us and our stuff. There were also seashells everywhere. It was really a great beach.

The kids, and even Tyler, spent lots of time playing in the water and jumping over waves. The water was too cold for me so I stuck my feet in for a bit and then happily laid out on my towel and read a book. I got sunburned on my back (probably because I didn't reapply sunscreen when I should have) but I didn't mind because it was nice to feel the sun again. When the kids came back to the shore we all had a lot of fun building sandcastles and trying to protect them from the rising tide. We built some pretty great walls and moats but the ocean was just to strong. I guess that's why they say to build your house upon a rock.  

When we were finally all beached out we went back to our airbnb and I put in a frozen pizza (it was Ben's real birthday and his request for dinner was pizza). However, I had bought a cheap frozen pizza and that was a poor choice. It tasted like cardboard. Thankfully the kids didn't mind but Tyler and I did. We ended up turning on a movie for the kids and leaving them to go to downtown St Augustine. Tyler and I had a much better "dinner" there. We had these amazing waffles at Cousteau's Waffle and Milkshake- mine had cinnamon apples and caramel and all sorts of goodness. While we were eating we got serenaded by a young girl playing the voilin- she only knew like 3 songs but still fun. Then we walked the shops and got the kids all some cake pops to celebrate the end of Ben's real birthday. 

Georgia

Saturday morning we got up super early and managed to get out of the house by 5am. We had a 14 hour drive to Port Wentworth, Georgia- a town just outside of Savannah. It was a long drive, the longest we have done with all the kids, but it went really smoothly. We stopped every 2 hours to stretch, get gas, eat food...and had no issues with kids needing breaks before the stopping time. With each stop the kids would switch from screens to listening to our Wings of Fire book so they never really got bored. We only encountered traffic once and we got to Port Wentsworth by 9pm. It definitely has given me the knowledge that our kids can do long drives now.

Basically all we did in Port Wentsworth was sleep because the next morning we checked out and headed into Savannah. We had no real agenda with Savannah, just wanted to walk the town. We had some troubles finding a parking garage with available parking spaces- it took our third try to find one. After parking we walked down to Forsyth Park. It really was beautiful with all the trees (the kids call the trees with Spanish moss, booger trees), flowers and a beautiful fountain in the middle of it. Ben of course had to pee so we had to find him a bathroom which ended up just being a porta potty nearby a Vegan Festival that was at the park (don't eat meat! all viruses come from meat!). The kids weren't too excited about the playground so we didn't stay too long. Some lady offered to take our picture as we were leaving and Tyler worried she would steal his phone, she didn't. But also there were no pics on our phone of all of us so....

After we left the park we walked by the beautiful Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist. It wasn't open due to it being Sunday and them having actual services going on so no tour of it, but still nice to look at from the outside.

Next we walked over to the Colonial Park Cementary. The kids really like to see and read old headstones but they were super squirrely (pretty much the whole time in Savannah) so we didn't stroll it for too long. Our next stop was East River Street where we found Echo Square. If you stand in the middle of this square your voice will echo but you can only hear the echo if you are standing in the middle of the square. It was really cool.

Then we strolled some shops, grabbed some over priced hot dogs for lunch and then strolled some more shops. As I said, the kids were squirrley, so we didn't spend too much time shoppig. Just enough to get Tyler a cool cup and grab some candy for all the kids.

Then we headed back to our car but I was determined to stop at Chippewa Square on our way- it was the square where the famous Forest Gump scene takes place ("life is like a box of chocolates"). Unfortunately the bench was just a prop they put in the square so no good photo ops but I did get a picture of the kids finally sitting still while we were conversing with a couple. A guy had noticed Tyler's GruntStyle Shirt and had asked him if he had served in the military and we ended up having a nice conversation with the guy and his girlfriend. Nice people who actually lived near St. Augustine (our third destination) so they had some tips for us. 

 

After returning to our car we drove down to the Bonaventure Cemetery. It was another neat cemetery with lots of cool gravestones and surronded by beautiful foliage. Someone told us (with disgust) that the tall obelisk was built for the largest slave trader in Savannah. SO I took a picture of it just so I could horrify them.

And because I am who I am, we made our last stop on Tybee Island so I could see a Lighthouse on the east coast. This one was not the prettiest light house I have ever been to but at least I can add it to my list of lighthouses.

After we took my token picture, we walked over to the beach and Penny got her first view of an ocean. Lucy and the boys dipped their feet in and even got a glimpse of a dead jellyfish. Penny and I kept our distance amd found a ramada to sit in- the rest eventually came to join us.

When we finished up at Tybee Island it was time to head to our next hotel in Brunswick, Georgia but on our way we had to stop by a Nine Line shop (the couple we met in Savannah told us about it) so Tyler could get a new shirt, We even got Steven a shirt which has now become his favorite shirt. He is apparently very patriotic.

Our hotel room that night was much nicer than the one on the previous night- I think just because it was a newer hotel. We got lunch at Five Guys that night and I was shocked at how much it cost ($80!!). We could have gone to a restaurant for that price. I am not sure I will visit Five Guys again. Then it was off to bed.

Monday we made our way to Jekyll Island, Georgia where we met Leslie's friend Michelle at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. She had recently moved to Georgia and so I had let her know we would be visiting nearby. I know I like it when people come to say hello to us and I thought she might like that too. The Sea Turtle Center was nothing fancy. It had a small museum with some interactive exhibits and then we went to the building next door where the sea turtles were. Unfortunately when we went to the other building we forgot to check and make sure all our kids went with us. We had been looking at the cute, injured/sick sea turtles for a good while when suddenly Penny was beside me crying. I thought she was just upset because she couldn't see the sea turtles. When I went to pick her up she cried, "I was lost" and then I noticed the worker standing behind her. Major mom fail. But also there are 5 other people in this family who did not notice she was missing.

Shortly after she got there a worker talked about the turtles and then fed one. I couldn't really see but I could hear and she had some interesting facts. We learned that the only way to find out a turtles gender is by doing their blood work and since that is expensive they usually don't find out. I asked Ben later if his dream job would be to work there and he said no- the injuries and diseases are too gross for him to handle. 

When the worker finished her presentation we headed to the gift shop (where 3 out of the 4 kids bought a sea turtle stuffie) and the worker who had helped Penny find me was the one that checked us out. I thanked him again and he told me how lucky I was that this wasn't a big place like Disney World. No judgement from him obviously.

The next thing we had was a dolphin tour but we had several hours before that started and it was literally right next to the turtle center. I honestly hadn't made any other plans for the limbo time and I had kind of hoped Michelle would know something to do. She did not. We ended up just walking around nearby- they had big fancy houses and a hotel and some shops. This island is mainly for old people trying to escape the noise and craziness of life. There was even a plaque about how people who had kids used to not be allowed to live in the homes there. It was SO quiet, which was nice, but also that made my kids seem extra loud. 

When we had enough strolling we decided to drive a little futher down to get some food. The wait for our food was enormous but we still had some time before the tour left so we strolled some more shops. I could tell Michelle was bored to tears so not too long after lunch she headed out. I really should have planned better. It was a nice chill day for me and Tyler but not so great for the kids or Michelle. In hindsight I wish we had worn swimsuits, packed something for a lunch and spent those few hours on the nearby beach.

When it was finally time for the dolphin tour we headed over to the dock. I had been really excited for this but it ended up being more like a nice boat ride. Apparently dolphins only jump out of water if they are mating or giving birth. Also dolphins do not stay in one place long which means you are constantly on the look out. Plus the girls picked the wrong side of the boat because it seemed like a lot of the sightings were on the other side of the boat. Anyways,it wasn't a total bust. I did see dolphins for brief moments here and there but I didn't get any pictures of them because they disappeared quickly. Lucy was pretty whiny about being cold and bored throughout the boat ride so I suppose that didn't help my opinion of the outing.

When we finished the dolphin cruise we decided it was time to head to our airbnb in St. Augustine, Florida. On our way there we stopped at this amazing gas station called Buc-ee's. It is has hundreds of pumps and a huge store with all sorts of fun food and things. I ended up getting a cute shirt and the kids all got slushees. It was a win. When we got to our airbnb it was determined that I had done well picking our lodging, the kids were especially excited that they had TV's in their room. We ended our day with a Walmart run, TV dinners and of course, TV.

Ben's Birthday

Monday was a warm, sunny day so we took our traditional walk to seven eleven and the library. It's a good tradition.

Wednesday was cold and rainy. After so many good weather days it was kind of depressing to be back to the crummy weather. We spent the day indoors. That evening the boys had activities and once again I hung with my friends. We had another mom out there with us and I realized that my friends and I are such a clique. It's hard to hang out with my friends and not talk about things we have done or upcoming things we have planned. Ugh, I hated when I was the odd man out and I really tried not to make it that way for this mom. 

Thursday evening Tyler and I were able to take the boys to do baptisms for the dead. I love going along for baptisms. I feel so at peace in the temple and it is so much less stressful than endowment sessions. All I have to do is make sure the kids get dunked properly. It was a good way to spend the night. The girls were at Grace's house and one of their kiddos is sick. While I am super grateful to have a friend that is always willing to watch my kids, I seriously hope we didn't catch anything.

Friday was Ben's pretend birthday since we will be out of town on his real birthday. We let him open his presents that morning. His big gift (and only gift) from us was the Lego Super Mario Bowser Ship. His grandparents got him drawing books and another Lego Super Mario Set.

 

That evening we had his party. It was a pretty low key party with his 3 friends: Andrea, AJ and Jacob. Tyler took them to do laser tag which apparently the cost is only for 15 minutes so we had to double the cost I had expected. That was a bit of a bummer but the kids still had fun and apparently Ben creamed everyone. Afterwards they had pizza, played some card games,and ate cake and ice cream. Than we were all off to bed early because we had to wake up early the next day for our trip.

 

Warming Up

This week saw warmer temperatures so we were able to get out a lot more. It does wonders for my soul. I feel so  much better when I can get the kids outside. Monday our outside adventure was our traditional walk to 7-11 and the library. All the ice has finally melted so it was just mud now. Does a number on all the kids' shoes but at least we're not slipping and sliding. Later that day Penny had her second online ballet class. I am not sure she learns much. She seems to stumble a lot or run off to grab a drink or some item she feels she needs. Definitely not the same as an in person class. I should probably do better for her. Then after dinner, Tyler and I had a meeting with our seminary coordinator. He is always very positive and tells us how great we are. I would love to take that to heart but he has never actually seen us teach. He probably just likes us because we don't cause issues. He did give us a good idea for encouraging scripture reading, I hope it helps. We are going to partner up kids (strong readers with weak readers) and have them text each other a verse each day. We shall see how it goes.

Wednesday after the kids finished their schoolwork we took a little bike ride to our beach. We had fun breaking off some ice in the lake and throwing it in. We are all anxiously awaiting when it was warm enough for real beach days again. It was nice to be on a bike again. Usually my legs get tired real quick when I haven't road a bike for a long while but they didn't this time. Makes me think that all those lower body work outs I am doing might actually be working. I have been doing good at staying consistent with working out. I work out every Mon, Wed and Fri after seminary and try to rotate between a core work out, upper body work out and lower body work out. I'm hoping it's worth the effort ;)

Wednesday evening all the kids were at the church for activities thanks to my complaining. I had sent a text to the new bishop earlier in the week letting him know the difficulties of having activities at multiple locations. I don't know why I felt so guilty after sending the text, like I was being a problem child, but I did. And for some reason I felt even worse when only a couple hours later the activities were all moved to the church. It was really weird having someone actually listen to me for once. But it really is relieving that the activties are going to be better coordinated from now on. It will make my life easier and save some on gas. I guess so far my interactions with this new Bishop have been positive and that's a nice change.

Thursday while the kids were in school I did some shopping for their Easter baskets and I think I am all set- except for the candy. I am really excited by some cute little jars I got that I am going to give to the girls. They loved "Just Add Magic" and I think these jars will be perfect to use as magical spice jars for some pretend play. When I got back from that Tyler and I went out for lunch and then I actually had sometime to do some painting. I am a working on a sunset/cactus painting, hopefully it turns out nice.

Thursday was St. Patricks day so all the kids were lucky enough to not have to wear uniforms and they got to wear green instead. For dinner that night I decied to try making Shepherd's Pie because I love it and it's Irish. I undercooked it though and the mashed potatoes were still very mashed. It still tasted amazing though. 

After dinner the girls and I went on another bike ride down to our lake. This time it was all melted so they decided to do some "fishing".

Friday night Tyler and I were able to go to the temple with the Bloomfields and the Mays. I have found that I really enjoy going to the temple with my friends. Sometimes the temple can make me a little anxious but going with my friends has helped me feel more calm. This was a tough one for Caroline though because it was her last time at the temple with her husband for a year, he's headed off next week to the middle east for the national guard. Makes me grateful my husbands not going anywhere. Afterwards we all went to Applebee's and had a good time.