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! 

Heading to State Gymnastics, with a detour to Six Flags over Georgia - 2026/04/10

This weekend we've got to head up to Gainesville Florida for Alli's Gymnastics State Meet.  

That's just a 2 hour drive north, and since her session starts at 1pm on Sunday we could drive up the same day...

Hanging out with friends, Easter, and Gymnastics getting ready to go to State! - 2026/04/08

We've got a lot of stuff going on this spring! From hanging out with friends, celebrating Easter, and getting ready for Alli's final gymnastics meet at State! Let's jump right into it! 

Our RV friends, the Rayborns, are traveling down to the Florida Keys for Spring Break, but stopping at the same RV park that we're in! The kids were all excited to meet back up and play together again. First starting the day by going to play together in the pool. 

PopTarts Frosted Strawberry Marshmallow Peeps - Taste Test Comparison

Happy Easter! We've got a couple more fun Easter themed taste tests before we move on to the next thing. 

Some people in our family LOVE Peeps Marshmallows, while others don't. We've tried so many different kinds of Peeps, including dozens of Marshmallow Flavors, Peeps Cereal (two different kinds), Peeps Soda, Peeps Gummies, Peeps Lollipops, Peeps Candy Ropes, Peeps Cotton Candy, and more! 

We were all happy to see a new flavor to try this season! It's Pop-Tarts Frosted Strawberry Peeps! 

And just like the dozens of other Peeps flavors we've tried, we've got to get the real thing that it's imitating to try along side it to see how close it is to the real thing. 

Claussen Pickle Jelly Beans Taste Test Comparison

Well, we said we like to taste interesting new things. I think these Pickle Flavored Jelly Beans certainly qualifies. 

Among all the other Easter Jelly Bean flavors, we have found something unique. Claussen has come out with a Pickle Jelly Bean! Do you like pickles? I don't but the rest of the family does, so this one promises to be an interesting one. I mean, I've tried a Pickle Milkshake from Epcot before, so why not do a jelly bean. 

And just like every other taste test we do, we're going to try these Claussen Pickle Jelly Beans right along side the classic refrigerator case Kosher Dill Claussen Spears. 

Froot Loops Jelly Beans Taste Test Comparison

It's Easter so that means it's the time of the year for Jelly Beans! There's the regular boring Jelly Beans of course, but I always like to find unique and interesting Jelly Beans! We've tried Sweetarts Jelly Beans, Skittles Jelly Beans, Starburst Jelly Beans, Sour Patch Kids Jelly Beans, Krispy Kreme Donut Jelly Beans, Tabasco Jelly Beans, Late Night Taco Truck Jelly Beans, Holiday Favorites Jelly Beans, and many many more. 

So finding these Froot Loops Jelly Beans of course fits right in to all the unique things we like to try! 

And we'll be tasting them right alongside the really thing, Froot Loops cereal, just to be sure we're are comparing them to the real flavor. 

Look how bright and colorful those jelly beans are! I love that they've included all the colors that are in the cereal. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple.