The kids are gone! Joe and Theresa go on vacation! 2026/03/24

It's Spring Break and Theresa and I just put on the kids on an airplane to fly out to Colorado to hang out with their grandparents and cousin all week! Time for us to do something fun too! On past trips, we've dropped the kids off and headed to Tahiti, and then another time we flew to Bora Bora. Where to this time? 

Well, let's go through the list of things we like. Warm temperatures. Good food. A place to relax and read a book. No appointments and nothing required for us to do. Some of our favorite vacations have been sitting in a beach chair and reading a book for 8 hours with minimal interruptions. Hmm.

You know what? Florida has warm weather. We make delicious food. We can find a place to relax and not schedule any appointments. Why don't we just do a stay-cation here! Theresa found us a couple portable hammocks and we've got a nice lake right beside the campground. Perfect!  

Spring Break Trip for Alli and Ian - Traveling to Colorado Alone 2026/03/24

It's Spring Break! Normally we would plan a trip somewhere to do something, but we've been pretty busy with gymnastics and other travel these last couple months. Still with a week of downtime, the kids certainly would want to have something going on. Theresa had the thought, why not head out to Colorado since it's Avery's spring break too? The kids would love to play together. 

Hmm, what if though, instead of everyone going to Colorado, it was just the kids... Theresa and I could do some tropical and warm destination while Ian and Alli went to stay with their grandparents for the week! I think that's a great plan! We check with Gram and Pop Pop and they were totally all for it! 

Peeps Jelly Beans Taste Test Comparison

I've got to get this one last taste test written up before we get too far away from Easter. 

We love Peeps (except Theresa). Their marshmallow insides and crunchy sugar coated outsides makes for a very tasty treat. We've tried so many different flavors of Peeps, and then lots of Peeps flavored things, like Cereal, Soda, Lollipops, Gummy Candy, Cotton Candy, and more! Now we've got one more Peeps flavored item to add to the list. Jelly Beans! 

That's right. New this year is Peeps Jelly beans in 4 fun flavors. Lemon, Strawberry, Marshmallow, and Blueberry. 

A1 Stuffed Banana Bread Taste Test Comparison

While wandering through our neighborhood Asian Market, I found a new treat that looked visually interesting. Knowing my sister-in-law Megan was coming to visit soon and loves all things banana, I knew I'd have to pick this up and test it out with everyone when we got together. 

It's Banana Bread! And it's yellow and shaped like a banana! Of course we have some real bananas on hand to see how much this banana bread really tastes like the real thing. 

Skittles Dipping Candy (like Fun Dip) Taste Test Comparison

It's time for another fun Skittles Taste Test! We've done so many different taste tests that have involved Skittles, including Skittles Jelly Beans, Skittles Cotton Candy, Freeze Dried Skittles of course, Skittles Candy Canes, Skittles Yogurt, Skittles Drink Mix, Skittles Freezer Pops, and even a mega taste test with 13 different bags of Skittles consisting of 56 different flavors! 

So when the kids got a new Skittles Candy in their stocking from their Aunt and Uncle, I knew we'd have to turn it into a taste test. 

It's Skittles Dipping Candy, which looks a whole lot like the Lik-m-aid/Fun Dip I remember growing up! Looks like a fun candy to try with friends!  

Alli's State Gymnastics Meet - 2026/04/12

It's been a busy weekend getting here, but it's finally time for Alli's Gymnastics State Meet! We've been preparing for this all year! 

Atlanta Chuck E Cheese and a visit to Truett's Luau - 2026/04/11

We're in Atlanta visiting Six Flags before Alli has her gymnastics state meet, but there's other fun things to do here too! 

On Saturday morning, we could have ducked into Six Flags one more time to hit a few more rides, but let's see something else instead. We didn't have too much time at Chuck E Cheese a couple nights ago, arriving shortly before they closed. We enjoyed a lot of the games there, so we decided to come back!