My Man and The Sea

Since my husband is the Exhausted Dad, one of the ways he likes to relax is by deep sea fishing with his friends. When we first started dating, he would go every weekend.  Lately, it hasn't been as frequent as it once was, but he still goes every chance he gets.

His family tells stories of fishing when he was little.  The best story is when he wouldn't let go of a fish he caught.  He took a nap with it still in his arms!  That's love.  

These deep sea fishing trips usually take him around Miami, The Keys, and the Bahamas.  Different times of the year yield different types of fish.  

His most recent trip was to catch fresh yellowfin tuna and dolphin (not "Flipper," the Mahi Mahi kind).  YUMMY!!  There is no shortage of fresh fish around here.  We are really spoiled.  (So spoiled that there are times when I'm actually tired of eating fish!)

My favorite...Tuna Sashimi fresh from the ocean!

Over the next few weeks, I will be featuring different fresh fish dishes that we like to make for my Sane Cooking segments.  I'm open to any and all suggestions for recipes.  Love to keep it fresh!






Alexis

Discovering Florida ~ Kennedy Space Center

As frequent visitors to Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando, we wanted to see new things while we were on Spring Break this year.  The boys are getting older, and therefore they are showing more of an interest in science and exploration.  We decided to take them on a trip to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Look Ma, I made it to SPACE CAMP!

What a cool place to visit!  There is so much history in this space travel museum...I never knew it all!  As a kid, I watched the movie "Space Camp" and decided that I wanted to go to space camp...then I quickly learned that I am not good at Science, oh well.  Well, visiting Kennedy Space Center sparked all the cool space information that drew me in as a kid.  







Here are just some of the experiences you can have while visiting Kennedy Space Center:
 

-Angry Birds play area

-Shuttle Launch Experience

-IMAX 3-D movies
-sit inside real space capsules and feel the "closeness" that the astronauts felt.

-meet real astronauts

-visit the retired rocket garden

-take a bus guided tour of the grounds

-see a live shuttle launch 

The kids favorite part was The Shuttle Launch Experience.  This ride let us feel what the astronauts really feel when they exit the Earth's atmosphere.  It makes your heart jump!  When leaving the ride, there are plaques that commemorate each individual shuttle launch since the beginning of space travel.  


 
Have you ever been to Kennedy Space Center?  What do you suggest the next time we visit?


Alexis

Sane Traveling ~ Cocoa Beach

For our spring vacation this year, we decided to explore an area of Florida that is new to us.  We live in Miami, a stone's throw to Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.  We've been to Naples and are always in Orlando.  This time we chose to visit Cocoa Beach. 

Despite the fact that a tornado came through the area and kept us in our hotel room for a day; and then the weather turned really cold, so we couldn't spend as much time at the beach as we wanted; we had a great time exploring the area.

Things to do in Cocoa Beach:

Beach
Well, this is just a given.  The sand is so different from the beaches here in South Florida.  It's so soft.  Since it was windy, the waves were great as well.  (My boys love jumping the waves.)  We actually parked at Ron Jon's Surf Shop for free and walked the short walk to the beach.  

  
Ron Jon's Surf Shop
Ron Jon Surf Shop is recognized world-wide as an icon of the surf and beach lifestyle.  The location in Cocoa Beach is the World's Largest Surf Shop and is Ron Jon’s "One of a Kind" flagship facility.  The best part: it's open 24 hours a day!  Not only can you buy your favorite beach essentials, but they rent them too.  
 

Golf 'n Gator Mini Golf
Golf 'n Gator is a 36 hole mini golf course.  The kids had so much fun competing against each other.  (The hubby & I also had our own competition.)  Not only did they practice their putting skills, but they were vying for the coveted "hole in one."  Golf 'n Gator also has live alligators that you can feed and pose with.  Yeah, I skipped that part!
 

Kennedy Space Center

Well, this goes without saying.  Kennedy Space Center is NASA's launch headquarters and the only place on Earth where you can tour launch areas, meet a veteran astronaut, see giant rockets, train in spaceflight simulators, and even view a launch.  Now there's a new Angry Birds Space play area where kids can create their own Angry Bird, shoot pigs using a lifesized slingshot, and even make it through a laser maze.
 

Cocoa Beach Pier

This historic Cocoa Beach Pier was built in 1962 and stands 800ft. above the ocean.  It has 5 restaurants, 4 bars, and a gift shop.  You can rent fishing equipment and catch the varied fish in the ocean.  We actually saw a group catch a baby hammerhead shark...the boys were AMAZED! 







We had a great time visiting a new spot in our Sunshine State!  Have you ever traveled to Cocoa Beach?  Do you have any recommendations for the next time we visit?

  Alexis

Our Favorite Time to Visit Disney

My family loves going to Disney World!  What's not to love?  It is honestly the happiest place on earth!  Everyone is so friendly and everything is so clean.  I haven't even mentioned the rides!

My family goes to Disney no less than 2 times a year.  I mean after all, we only live 4 hours away! 

Since we go so often, we have learned the best times to visit.  Check it out!




 
When is your favorite time to visit Disney World?



**Disclaimer:  Although I was compensated to film a short video about traveling to Disney World, all opinions are completely my own.**


Alexis

Daily Rituals That Bring My Family Together

Getting ready for school and work is a fast paced and loud activity in my house filled with sounds like stomping feet, groans, and shouts for lost shoes, backpacks, and breakfast. 

As we are all scattered in different directions around the house, the one thing that brings us all together is breakfast.  I can’t say that we are always sitting at the table, but we are at least all gathered in the kitchen eating and sharing about the hopes for the day. 

Everyone has a job to do.   One child is in charge of getting the yogurts out of the refrigerator, the other is in charge of choosing the breakfast for the day, while my husband and I put it all together. 

Knowing that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, we like to make healthy and delicious breakfast choices to start our day.  (Emphasis on delicious!)  Some of our favorites include pancakes, waffles, muffins, cereals, yogurts, milk and orange juice. 

Living in South Florida, we are a bit snobby about our choice in orange juice.  When we can’t squeeze the oranges ourselves, we head to the grocery store.  

Did you know that Tropicana Pure Premium is 100% Pure Florida Orange Juice?  Tropicana is the single largest buyer of Florida fruit, purchasing approximately 11.6 billion oranges from Florida each year, mainly from central and southern Florida.  When we think oranges, we think of Florida.  So what better brand to purchase than one that uses PURE Florida orange juice? 

An orange grove in Florida that provides delicious oranges to Tropicana.

Tropicana is committed to using the best fruit to give you the great tasting juice you love and the nutrition your body needs. Each 59oz container of Tropicana Pure Premium® has 16 fresh-picked Florida oranges squeezed into it and an 8oz glass gives you 100% vitamin C to help you maintain a healthy immune system.  It’s the first thing I grab when I feel a little under the weather.

Want a chance to visit sunny Florida and a real orange grove?  Like the Tropicana Pure Premium Facebook page for a chance to win a trip for four to Florida.  

Enter the Tropicana sweepstakes for a chance to win 100 Florida prizes, including one-year-supplies of Tropicana or a trip to Florida to visit an orange grove, including round-trip airfare for four to Florida, a 3 night stay at a Florida hotel, and an exclusive experience at a Florida orange grove. For official rules and regulations, visit the “sweeps” tab on Tropicana’s Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/Tropicana .

So, the next time you are searching for a healthy way to start your day, head to your local grocery store and pick up Tropicana Pure Premium 100% Pure Florida Orange Juice.  I’ll be picking some up on my next trip to the store!

What are the daily rituals that bring your family together?  Share some ideas!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Tropicana blogging program, to earn My SocialMoms Rewards Points. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.

Alexis

Legoland Fun

My boys are Lego enthusiasts and couldn't wait to step into a world devoted to one of their favorite toys!  Therefore, this past weekend, we took a trip to the newly built Legoland Florida.  This vast amusement park is located in Winter Haven, Florida, just 45 minutes outside of Orlando (ya know, the city where that really famous theme park is!!).


The park is mainly geared toward children 12 and under...which was just fine by me!  Sometimes teenagers tend to run the little guys over. 

                

"Little Ricky" and "The Nag" were just the right height to ride all of the rides and were even tall enough to do some completely solo!  "Little Ricky" is more of a daredevil and chooses the fast roller coasters, while "The Nag" needs more coaxing before going on what he likes to call "The big boy rides." 

Legoland had a great mix of all types of rides and play areas.  There were also many areas designated to children under 7.  This would have REALLY come in handy when my kids were younger.  These areas were well intermixed throughout the park so you didn't have to separate as much.

South Beach (Miami) made completely of Legos...girls in bikinis included!

Of course almost everything was made completely of Legos!  Sooo cool!  I really wish I had the creativity to come up with some of these designs!

Vegas baby, Vegas!

A Ford Explorer made out of Legos....and it was life sized.  WAY TOO COOL!

The kids had a BLAST! I really enjoyed myself as well.  The park wasn't overly huge and we were able to ride everything we wanted.  I do wish the park would stay open longer, though.  Right now the hours are only from 10am-6pm on weekends.  But I am sure that as the park grows in popularity, the hours will extend.


And any trip to Legoland wouldn't be complete without a chance to build with, you guessed it, LEGOS!

So the next time you are planning a trip to sunny Florida, plan to stop by Legoland.  It's a MUST SEE for everyone!



Alexis