Manatee Springs

We went camping at Manatee Springs state park with our friends in late April.  I think that everyone under the sun was camping that weekend.  We had a hard time securing a spot at any of the good nearby campsites and ended up having to drive three hours to this campground.  I'm glad we did because this state park was really nice.  We were only able to stay for one night, but we certainly made the most of it.  We arrived around noon, had a picnic lunch, and then walked around the springs to get the lay of the land.  We took the boardwalk down to the Suwannee River and saw lots of wildlife along the way.  There were no shortage of snakes or deer at this park, that's for sure. 

After exploring the area a bit, we drove to our assigned spot and set up camp.  The campsite was nice.  It had running water and an electrical outlet.  There was also a comfort station with showers and toilets a short walk away.  The bathroom was large and really clean.  Once everything was set up, we changed into our swimsuits and headed down for a dip in the springs. 

 After our swim, we returned to the campsite where we cooked hot dogs, hamburgers, and made s'mores.  The kids went "exploring" in the woods behind our tents and found an open area that they dubbed their "secret spot". 

 As it got darker, we broke out the games.  We started with a kids-versus-adults game of head's up and ended with a game of rummy.  As we were getting ready for bed we noticed that the their were tons of fireflies in the woods behind our campsite.  The kids had fun catching those.  All were released, of course.

Even though we were only there for one night, we were able to squeeze in two hikes.  We did a short one on our first day and a longer one before leaving on our second day.  There were several sinkholes in the area and the kids liked  in seeing those.

 My favorite part was swimming in the spring.  Manatee is a first magnitude spring, so there was lots of cool, clear, fresh water.  The set-up around the head spring was nice with stairs and platforms in various areas. They also had an area where you could rent kayaks and paddle out to the Suwannee, but we did not do that on this trip. 

 We had a great time camping.  A lot of this had to do with the company.  The kids both said that there favorite part was being able to go with their friends.  The park wasn't too shabby, either.  I liked it a lot and would definitely be interested in a return visit. 

Six Flags Great Adventure

While we were in Delaware, we made a day trip to Six Flags Great Adventure.  Even though the park was open during our entire trip, there was only one day where the weather was good enough to make a visit possible.  As we were leaving Poppy and Nana's house to make the two and a half hour drive to the park, we were not certain that we would have good weather.  We were certain that many of the tallest rides would be closed due to high winds, but we figured that the park was large enough that we could still have a good time on the other rides.  It was very cold and windy all morning, but after lunch the weather began to improve.  It ended up being a lovely day, and the park opened almost every ride.  As a bonus, the iffy morning weather had kept most people away, so there were virtually no lines at all in the park.  We walked on to every single ride.  Brian and I had been to this park several times before having kids, and we have never had such short wait times.


Great Adventure is one of the best (if not THE best) of all parks in the Six Flags chain.  There are many, many good rides at this park.  One of our favorites is a B&M hyper called "Nitro".  It is the #7 steel coaster in the world as of 2017, and is one of mine and Brian's favorites.  I haven't ridden it since before Olivia was born, and it was just as fantastic as I remember it.  This was the kids' first ride on it, and it was a hit for them too.

 We rode a little indoor coaster called "Skull Mountain" which wouldn't be notable at all except we got stuck on it near the end of the ride.  We sat on the track for 20 minutes.  Finally, they turned on the lights inside the building and we had our first walk-off experience.  We've never experienced a walk-off, so that was kind of cool.  They gave us a front-of-the-line pass for our trouble, but we didn't even need it because the lines at the park were non-existent.

 Uncle Brandon was able to meet us at the park, and he spent the day riding with us. The kids were so excited to see him.

 One of the rides we rode was Kingda Ka, which at 456 feet is the tallest roller coaster in the world.  There are only two strata coasters (over 400 feet) in the world, and Brian and I have now ridden both of them.  This was the first for the kids, and they were impressed.  These coasters use a hydraulic launch to send you from 0 to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds.  It is a definite rush.  If you look closely on the tower of the Kingda Ka coaster, you can see three red poles coming down from the middle.  These are the tallest drop towers in the world- 415 feet- which we also rode.  The kids liked the drop towers so much that they rode twice.

 There were many other rides that we experienced including flying, floorless, suspended, and standing coaster.  We also rode a free-spin coaster which was a first for us.

Also located at Great Adventure is El Toro, which is the #1 wooden coaster in the world as of 2017.  It was a really good ride (but I still like Phoenix better).

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, we are Six Flags season pass holders this year.  This is our first time with a pass at a park other than Wild Adventures. On this trip we found out that in addition to being able to get into all Six Flags park we also have free parking.  That is a perk that we were happy to learn about.  Here are our Six Flags season pass stats as of 4/2018:
Number of visits - 2
Number of parks visited- 2

Sight and Sound

 Seeing a play at Sight and Sound theaters is an experience like no other.  Never have I seen such elaborate sets, costumes, and musical arrangements.  We saw "Jonah" back in 2012, and I thought that it could not be topped.  I was wrong. We had a chance to see the brand-new production of "Jesus" over spring break, and it was breath-taking.  Everything from the acting, to the live animals, to the music was amazing.  Seeing the story of Jesus come to life in this way definitely made an impression on me. 

The Smithsonian

We spent Monday of our week in Delaware visiting two of the Smithsonian museums.  I think that every school on the east coast was on spring break last week.  I have never seen D.C. so packed.  I bet we drove around for 20 minutes or more looking for parking.  We finally found a spot several blocks away from the mall, parked, and started walking in the direction of the museums.  Our first destination was the Museum of Natural History where we spent several hours checking out the various exhibits.   The kids favorite was the Ocean Hall, so we spent the most time here and in the geology/gemstone exhibit.  They were redoing the fossil exhibit, so there were only a few dinosaurs out.  We'll have to go back and check out the fossils when they finish with the update.

After we finished up at the Museum of Natural History , we headed to the Air and Space Museum (my favorite).  Highlights for us were seeing the Wright Bros. plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, and the Apollo 11 command module.  Olivia has been studying WWII this year, so she was excited to see the WWII aviation exhibit.  We only had time to do two of the museums, but I would definitely like to go back and check out some of the others. 

Easter in Delaware

We were in Delaware for Easter this year.  It felt odd to not be at our own church, but we were glad to get to spend the holiday with the Sanders clan and to attend church with Aunt Connie and Uncle Mike. 



























Even though we were in a different location, the Easter Bunny was still able to track us down and deliver goodies to the kids.  Nana had also made a basket for them, so there was chocolate a-plenty. 

 After church, Olivia wasted no time changing back into her PJs, which she proceeded to wear for the rest of the day.  Nana had cooked a delicious dinner, which we enjoyed.  The kids were so excited that Uncle Gary, Aunt Katie, Addie, and Gavin were able to join us for dinner.  This was the first time that we had seen Gavin, and the pictures aren't lying- he is adorable.  I was sure to get as much baby love as he'd let me get.

 Even though we don't get to see this set of cousins often, the kids had no trouble playing together.  They threw the baseball with Poppy, played hide-and-seek, and had a good time in general. It was an all-around great day.

Delaware 2018

We made our annual trek to Delaware to visit Poppy and Nana over spring break.  Our preferred route is to drive up along the eastern shore of Virginia over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.  The visitor's center on the bridge was closed this year, so no stop there.  But, the little Italian restaurant that we like so much was open and we were more then happy to stop there for a late lunch.

 As always, a large amount of time was taken up playing with the dogs.  The kids sure do love Bear, Duke, and Penny.

Geese have taken up residence in the pond behind Poppy and Nana's house.  Poppy likes them and puts feed out for them each day.  The kids were more than happy to help him lay out the feed.

We also were able to visit the Qs while in Delaware.  We had a nice visit followed by ice cream at Bylers. 

This spring break was definitely a good one.  We so enjoy seeing and spending time with our family.  As a bonus, we were able to squeeze in a few day trips (even though the weather was very uncooperative). 

Church Easter Activities

Every year I look forward to Easter and to the various church activities that lead up to Easter.  From watching the kids march into the sanctuary with palm branches on Palm Sunday to taking communion at the Maundy Thursday service, these traditions all hold a special place in my heart.  And, of course, we cannot forget the children's Easter production and egg hunt. The Blast kids did such an amazing job this year.  There were two parts to the performance.  One was a fairy tale-like play and the other part was a pre-recorded puppet show. It was different but really neat.  Owen played the narrator of the "play" portion of the performance while Olivia had a part in the puppet show.  At the end, all of the kids sang a chorus of "He Lives" and wished us a happy Easter. 

 Following the performance, the kids got to participate in the church egg hunt.  This is Olivia's last year to hunt, and she made the most of it.  It is so funny to watch the kids find the eggs.  They can totally clear the lawn of all eggs in a matter of five minutes.  If only they'd clean their rooms with the same enthusiasm.