International Snickers Taste Test - Fruit & Nut, Kesar Pista, Butterscotch

We've been able to try so many different Snickers bars! 12 unique flavors that I've written about on the blog so far including Original, Hazelnut, Almond, Crunchy Peanut Butter, Creamy Peanut Butter, Creamy Almond Butter, Peanut Brownie, Dark Chocolate Almond Brownie, Snickers White, Snickers Ice Cream Bar, Snickers Peanut Brownie Ice Cream Bar and Snickers Cinnamon Bun. So how did we find 3 more unique flavors? For that we had to go International! 
Aubrey and Jared were recently out and found an amazing little shop that has imported different snack items from all over the world! 

So today we'll be adding Snickers Fruit & Nut, Snickers Kesar Pista, and Snickers Butterscotch to our list of items we've tried!

Friends and Family visiting Florida!

It's always fun when we get visitors coming to Florida! 

Disney World is a top vacation spot for many, so when our friends come to that, we get to see them too! 

Visiting Don, Amy, and Abby in St Pete Beach - 2024/03/16

Every year for the past few years, Donald has a conference down in Florida in St. Pete Beach! On the weekend when they're done with all their meetings, we get invited to come visit! 

Peeps Filled Ropes Taste Test Comparison

As a family, we've tried a whole lots of different Peeps. 

Original Peeps to homemade sugared marshmallows, Cotton Candy Peeps, Hot Tamales Peeps, Pancakes and Syrup Peeps, Fruit Punch Peeps, Blue Raspberry Peeps, Sour Watermelon Peeps, Party Cake Peeps, and Root Beer Float Peeps. We compared all those flavors in a Peeps Face-off Taste Test challenge. We bought the chocolate dipped Peeps. We tried Peeps cereal back in 2019, and then again in 2021 when they changed the cereal marshmallows. And when Pepsi came out with a Peeps flavored soda called Peepsi, we tried that too! There was Peeps Cotton Candy, Peeps Gummies, and Peeps Lollipop Rings. 

So, when I saw another version of Peeps on the shelves this Easter, I knew we'd be trying it. These are Peeps Filled Ropes!

And right off the bat, the kids and I saw that they got the colors wrong. Sure Peeps are blue, pink, and yellow. But not that color blue, pink, and yellow. And Alli wanted to know why there was only one red/pink one. 

The 2024 Eclipse from Houlton Maine - 2024/04/08

The moment we've been planning for is here! Time for the solar eclipse! 

Chasing the 2024 Solar Eclipse in Maine - Pt 2

Continuing our journey to see the 2024 Solar Eclipse! 

We're in Maine! The End Is Here! Literally!

Houlton Maine is the last location in the USA that the eclipse covers. The very stop on the freeway is the border crossing with Canada! 

Mommy-Son Day - 2024/02/22

Just like Alli and I were having our special day out together, Theresa and Ian are off doing their own thing for the entire day! 

This boy doesn't really like to eat breakfast. But a morning start with McDonald's french fries is good! 

Chasing the 2024 Solar Eclipse - Part 1

We've been excited for the 2024 Eclipse for years now! It's been on the back of everyone's mind since we flew out to Missouri to watch the 2017 Eclipse! 

This year, the Eclipse is traveling across the US from south to north, from Texas to Maine. And look at all those major cities it is going through! 

The kids were so little for the last one! 

They don't really remember it, except from my previous write-up. Alli was 1 and Ian was 3! Can't blame them I suppose. But this one, hopefully they'll remember, now that they're 8 and 10! 

Oakland Nature Preserve Firefly Walk - 2024/04/10

Theresa saw on Facebook that the nearby nature preserve had a bunch of fireflies coming out this time of year. The preserve is right by the kids gymnastics, so we stopped by!

Chasing the 2024 Eclipse

More to come in a future post, but we’re in Maine for the solar eclipse! 

Our Hotel Hangout Day in Orlando - 2024/03/05

Sometimes the kids will surprise you. When we asked what their favorite part about Japan was, Disney, Universal, Tokyo, the zoo, etc., they said they really liked hanging out at the hotels with the lounges with all the free food and drinks. Okay... Well Theresa happened to have a free night stay that is expiring soon and there's a hotel with a lounge here in Orlando. Let's make a couple fun days out of it! 

A busy day at Typhoon Lagoon and Chick-fil-A Bingo - 2024/04/02

As we were looking at the weather forecast, Tuesday was turning out to be a beautiful day in Orlando! We all decided to head to Typhoon Lagoon Water Park! 

Daddy-Daughter Day Pt 2 - 2024/02/22

Part 2 of our Daddy-Daughter day, where Alli and I hang out together for the whole day! 

It's 3pm and we've been so busy we haven't had anything for lunch yet! Stopping by the Wild Florida Grill, we grabbed some chicken tenders and fries to go. 

Daddy-Daughter Day Pt 1 - 2024/02/22

Well just like Ian and I had a fun day out together with just the two of us, a short time later it was time for Alli and I to go out and have a great day! We'd talked about a few ideas, including going to Disney World and maybe the Animal Kingdom. But after seeing the things Ian got to do, she revised her list. 

Alli - I want to pet a porcupine!
Joe - Did you see they have other things you can meet? Sloths, capybara? 
Alli - Capybara! I want to pet one!
Joe - More than a porcupine? 
Alli - I don't know...

Here's the list that we came up with. I think we'll get through a good portion of those! 

Mommy-Daughter Day - 2024/02/20

Just like Ian and I were doing a day together, just the two of us, Alli and Theresa are having their own day together! 

Hanging out with Friends and Family! 2024-02-25

Since getting back to Florida, we've been able to visit with lots of friends and family! 

Our bike rides out to see our friend Henry have continued, and one day he texted me a picture of a new addition. A hunter in the area had killed a large sow, but found a new litter of piglets left behind. He asked if Henry wanted her. This little girl is only a few days old, and Henry said she needs constant attention.   

Happy Pi Day!

Happy Pi Day! We're celebrating with pizza pie! 

And it's Ian's favorite kind. Thin crust pizza!

Daddy-Son Day Pt2 - 2024/02/20

Continuing with Part 2 of our Daddy-Son day with me and Ian spending the whole day together! 

Daddy-Son Day Pt1 - 2024/02/20

Hello friends! I'm jumping all around with these posts, but here's one that we did recently that was a whole lot of fun! 

For Christmas, as a special treat, Theresa and I told the kids that we'd take them out, one on one, for a special date day! Today, me and Ian are going to be hanging out together and having a lot of fun, while Theresa and Alli are off together doing their own thing! Oh boy, I'm excited for today! 

We were up bright and early to get our day started! 

What's on the agenda? Well, I had Ian come up with some ideas. I added a few to the list as well. In the end, he's got a bunch of different possibilities, but didn't know which ones I actually chose to do. And what's that last one on the list? Really? How did you come up with that one? 

Let's begin our day full of adventures! 

Florida and Hurricane Nicole - 2022/11/08

After being such a beautiful day yesterday that we spent our time at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon water park, today is shaping up to be something a bit different. 

Theresa and I have been planning our return trips to Florida for the winter to be AFTER the hurricane season. Hurricane Ian just hit Florida about 5 weeks ago and we'd hoped that would be the end of it. Well... maybe not. 

In the days leading up to it, we know a heavy storm was on its way. But where would it hit? That's the question. Well, turns out that it was coming right through where we were parked in the RV. But how are the winds going to be? We were thinking if it was in the 30s, we'd try to ride it out. 

But, that morning, watching the predictions it would be in the 50mph range with gusts into the 70s. Not something I'd want to ride out in an RV. We're Florida residents, but I suppose we're not seasoned residents yet that'll we'll try to weather this storm. 

Hanging out with friends and going to Typhoon Lagoon - 2022/11/06

Reaching back to another few stories from 2022 as I tried to catch back up. 

We love when friends let us know they're coming to visit Florida and we can hang out together! Our friend from California, Katrina, and her family are visiting Disney World and we all decided to meet up at Epcot! 

Settling back in in Florida - 2022/11/01

A few more of our stories from getting back to Florida in late 2022. 

The sunsets in Florida are beautiful!

Valentines Day Pixie Dust at the Magic Kingdom 2024 - Giving out 350 valentines to Disney Cast Members

Happy Valentines Day! 

If you've followed along with the blog for a little while, you've got an idea of what we're going to be doing today! We've got reservations to Disney World and we're going to hand out treats to all the cast members! 

Happy Valentines Day - Chick-fil-A

Happy Valentines Day! Today is a day where we like to give to others! 

We started our day at Chick-fil-A Four Corners giving away Valentines treats!

Disney around the World - Day 5 Part 3 - Shanghai Disneyland 2018/10/18

Ian - Dadda, can you write the next Disney Around the World story? 
I am overdue for that, aren't I? 

Continuing from our morning back in 2018 when we explored Shanghai Disneyland, it's time to move on to even more fun rides!  

The Return to Florida 2022 - 2022/10/28

Well, I'm always trying to play catch-up with the blog and writing up the things we did. I've completely missed writing our 2023 road trip. Gotta start somewhere, so we'll pick up from where we just returned from our 2022 road trip, having made it back to Orlando. 

The day after getting back to Orlando and getting back to our RV resort, we were back to our happy place! Disney World! We've got some fun things to see today! 

Thanksgivingtime in Colorado 2023 - 2023/11/24

Catching up and clearing out a few older posts. This is from our Thanksgiving in Colorado 2023. 

Pizza at Home - Chicago Deep Dish Pizza revisited!

Oh boy! I'm excited for this one. 
June 1st, 2020 was a day that started a big pizza journey for me. Having been cooped up due to COVID home isolation, my family was really missing having pizza every Sunday. It was Theresa who suggested that maybe we could start making different style pizzas at home. What a suggestion that turned out to be! Since then, nearly every Sunday has been Pizza Day at the Flowers' house! I've made so many different flavors and varieties of pizza.
But, the very first pizza. The one that kicked everything off on week 1. My favorite style pizza. Chicago Deep Dish. It didn't turn out as good as I was hoping that very first week, and ever since I haven't recreated it. 

Theresa - You need to make yourself another deep dish pizza!
Joe - Yes, I should. 
Theresa - I just bought you the right pan. You can make one this next Sunday!

Well, let's get right to it! 

Visiting the Orlando Cat Cafe February 2024

Happy Sunday! It's a great day to go to the Orlando Cat Cafe! I made reservations a couple days in advance for the 10am time. Nicole, who volunteers there, told us that that is the best time because the cats are ready to play and it's not quite their naptime. 

Sour Patch Kids Gum taste test comparison

Happy Christmas! (this taste test is from 2022)

Alli was thrilled to see that Sour Patch has partnered with Trident to bring us Sour Patch Kids Gum! She loves gum of all kinds, but Sour Patch could be even better! We've tried so many different Sour Patch Kids things including Sour Patch Kids Ice Pops, Ice Cream, Sour Patch Kids Cereal, Marshmallows, Yogurt, Sour Patch Kids Chips Ahoy Cookies, Sour Patch Kids Watermelon Ice Pops, Sour Patch Kids Freezer Pops, Sour Patch Kids Popcorn, and Sour Patch Kids Gelatin. 

And today we've got 3 different flavor Trident Sour Patch Kids gum to try! There's Blue Raspberry, Red Berry, and Watermelon. Of course we'll try the original Sour Patch Kids gummies along with them to see how closely the gum really matches the original. 

Homemade Crepes by Theresa (from 2023)

Wandering around Epcot, in the very back of the France Pavilion, you'll find a crepe shop. We would stop there for a treat every once in a while, getting a crepe ($7) or crepe with ice cream on top ($8.25). Not a terrible deal, especially if you get the ice cream on the side in a cup. It's like two treats in one! 

Until, one day they ran out of ice cream... Something in Theresa clicked and she was wondering why she would pay $7 for this thin pancake. 

Theresa - I can make those at home! 

And so, now determined, she set off to make her own crepes at home for the whole family! 

Happy Groundhog Day!

Happy Groundhog Day! What will the next 6 weeks of weather hold? 

We were watching online along with all the other spectators at Gobblers Knob as the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, Punxsutawney Phil emerged to give his prediction! 

And he stated that today, he does NOT see his shadow! We have an early Spring coming! 

Out of all his 129 predictions, he has only chosen an early spring 21 times! Bring on the warmer weather! 

Ian's Airplane Contest

After finishing school early one day, while Alli was still working, Ian disappeared into his room on some sort of mission. When he came out, he was excited. 

Ian - I made an airplane contest! Alli, would you like to play?!?
Alli - Sure! 

But what is an airplane contest? Ian went on to explain it. 

Pizza at Home - Flat Iron Pepper Company

Happy Sunday! That means it's time for pizza! 

For a few years now, Sundays have meant pizza day. For a time, I was making a unique pizza every single week! Sometimes to relate to where we were traveling. Sometimes because of a particular ingredients. Maybe there's a different style I wanted to try making. Sometimes just being weird with it (looking at you cereal pizza). I've slowed down on making unique things, and Sundays have turned into "just make everyone's favorite." 

Jacob however started bringing his own red pepper flakes that he was sent one year from his friend Cory. Now, I have a shaker of red pepper flakes that I bought from Walmart for $1.44. Aren't you being a little pretentious bringing over this new bottle of pepper flakes when I have some already? 

Well... then I tasted them. Ooh, those are a lot better! Do they make others? 

So, a few weeks later, Jacob showed up with 3 different Flat Iron Pepper Company flavors! 

It's their 3 top-selling flavors! There's Dark & Smoky, Four Pepper Blend, and Hatch Valley Green! I'm excited to taste them! 

Saturday Morning Cereals - Insta-bowls Kellogg's Cereal taste test comparison

Happy Saturday! What's for breakfast? Cereal! The perfect thing to enjoy with Saturday morning cartoons (if that's even a thing anymore). 

Today, we're trying something new from Kellogg's! Insta-bowls cereal! We've got to try this with Pop Pop. He loves cereal!

So, imagine, you want a delicious bowl of cereal, but you find that you're all out of milk! No worries! Insta-bowls has you covered! Just add cold water, give it a stir, and you just created real milk! 

Naturally we're trying every bowl along with its counterpart. Apple Jacks, Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes, and finally Raisin Bran Crunch. Theresa would not let me take the easy way out and just use a bowl of Raisin Bran. We had to find the Raisin Bran Crunch in the mini-bowl to match.