2023 Family Trip to Washington DC - Smithsonian Museum of Natural History - Day 02 - 2023/04/29

It's 2023 and we're taking a family trip to Washington DC! Yesterday was a day of traveling to get here, but today it a day for exploring! Let's go! 

2023 Family Trip to Washington DC - Day 01 - 2023/04/28

I'm going back and writing up some old trip reports that have been hanging out for a while. It's April of 2023 and we're in Michigan visiting family. Before the next big event happens in Michigan (write-up coming soon-ish), we've got a bit trip to Washington D.C.! 

2023 Summer Road Trip - Headed to Michigan from Kentucky - 2023/04/23

I've got to get this one written up for future ones to make more sense, so here we go. 

I last left off this story here. We were in Kentucky for Abby and Carson's wedding. We're on our way up to Michigan for graduations, weddings, and even more stuff going on this summer. 

Celebrating National Dole Whip Day - The Ultimate Dole Whip Taste Test - My latest Micechat.com article is live! - 2026/07/16

We had an amazing taste test with lots of Michigan friends and family, trying 10 different flavors of Dole Whip! 

I wrote all about it and posted it on Micechat.com. Read all about it here! 

Celebrating National Dole Whip Day: The Ultimate Taste Test!

Saturday Morning Cereals - Cinnamon Toast Crunch Root Beer Float cereal Taste Test Comparison

It's summertime and that means that it's time for products to bring us lots of fun and unique summer flavors! 

If you look on this site, you'll see that we've tried dozens of different Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal variants. Today's might be the most unique cereal flavor from them that we've tried though. 

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Root Beer Float! 

Will it really taste like a Root Beer Float? We're going to try it alongside a real root beer float and see how they compare. 

Mountain Dew Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers Gummies Taste Test Comparison - 2025/12/26

Mountain Dew Sour Bright Crawlers Trolli Gummies! I can't remember where I first saw them, but when you see a product that contains two things that you love, you know you have to give it a try. We're always trying different kinds of flavors of Mountain Dew, but I can't think of too many times where they've actually put their name on something other than soda. 

Maybe just the one time we had Mountain Dew Doritos that I imported from Australia. Oh yeah, and some Mountain Dew Cheetos from Japan back in 2014. 

And today's taste test isn't just one Mountain Dew flavored gummy. There's 3! Those are some funky eyes they put on the worms on the packaging too. 

Summer Coaster Tour - Day 08 - Six Flags Great Adventure New Jersey, Chuck E Cheese, and headed to D.C. - 2026/05/28

It's the next day of our Summer Coaster road trip! We're still at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey! 

A fun weekend of Pokemon Go Fest, hanging out with friends and free Slurpees on 7/11

What a fun weekend we've just had! This was the biggest Pokemon Go weekend of the year, and Ian and Alli wanted to go somewhere fun to play with their friends. This weekend, we're battling a Pokemon that has never been released before. Mega Mewtwo! Mewtwo is a very powerful Pokemon and we need a lot of Pokemon trainers to battle and bring it down. They invited a bunch of their friends from school to come hang out this weekend and play together! 

Proper Good Pizza Soup Taste Test Comparison

It's time for another fun taste test comparison! While I was shopping at my local Aldi, I saw a very unique item on their shelves from Proper Good. Pizza Soup! Sounds a little weird, but definitely like something we would try. And so, I waited until Sunday (our usual pizza day) to break it out and try it! 

And of course we're going to try it and compare it to my homemade pepperoni pizza. 

Happy Father's Day to me! 2026/06/21

Happy Father's Day to me! How lucky am I? I have two amazing kids who are so sweet and thoughtful and fun to be around. We had a really good Fathers Day. 

Summer Coaster Tour - Day 07 - Six Flags Great Adventure New Jersey - 2026/05/27

It's our 7th day of our big summer roller coaster tour and we're in New Jersey! Today we're going to Six Flags Great Adventure! 

Summer Coaster Tour - Day 06 - Dorney Park - 2026/05/26

It's a new day and it's time to go visit a brand new park! Dorney Park in Pennsylvania! 

Summer Coaster Tour - Day 05 - Driving all day to Philadelphia - 2026/05/25

On this big roller coaster trip we are definitely covering a few miles in the Prius. Today is going to be a full day of driving to get to our next location. Jacob will be staying in North Carolina to visit family, so it's just the Flowers family for these next few days. Don't worry though, we'll meet back up before this trip is over. Downstairs in the lobby Jacob met us as we packed up the car to go. 

Summer Coaster Tour - Day 04 - Carowinds 2nd Day - 2026/05/24

It's day four of our big roller coaster trip and Day 2 of our time at Carowinds!

Summer Coaster Tour - Day 03 - Carowinds Pt2 - 2026/05/23

Let's continue the third day of our big roller coaster tour at Carowinds! 

Summer Coaster Tour - Day 03 - Carowinds Pt1 - 2026/05/23

Today is our 3rd day on our big roller coaster tour and it's time for a brand new park! Carowinds! 

Summer Coaster Tour - Day 02 - Six Flags over Georgia and driving to Carowinds - 2026/05/22

Time for the very first stop on our Summer Roller Coaster Tour! It's Six Flags Over Georgia! 

Despite Six Flags buying all Cedar Fair parks, Six Flags Over Georgia is still the closest park to Orlando, and for convenience, it is now our home park! Last year we were traveling and our home park was up in New York because that's where we happened to be when we bought passes. What a mess that was, trying to sort anything out when we were in California in February visiting Magic Mountain, and the New York park didn't open for another 3 months and wouldn't answer their phones.  

Summer Coaster Tour - Day 01 - Traveling to Georgia - 2026/05/21

It's time for another fun summer adventure! We've got these Six Flags passes that are good for every Six Flags Park, plus a Meal Plan, all-day Drink Plan, Photo Passes, and Unlimited Fast Lane, so I think we can have a pretty good time at any Six Flags park we go to. And luckily Theresa is a master planner who also loves earning hotel points, giving us cheap lodging anywhere we go. This time we're going to leave the RV in Florida and take the Prius (with its bonus 45mpg) on a major road trip!  

Knott's Berry Farm Visit, visiting California friends, and heading home - 2026/05/01

We're wrapping up our time in California but we've got one more full day of fun! Theresa is not working today and ready to join us at a theme park! She's done Magic Mountain with us on a previous trip and there's not a ton of things for her to do. Today, let's go to Knott's Berry Farm and do all the rides Theresa can do! 

Ian's Gymnastics USA Olympics - 2026-05-16

Every year, our gymnastics gym has a big event for their kids that they call their Olympics. Alli is on a competitive team now, so she doesn't compete, but Ian has been progressing in tumbling from beginner to intermediate, and working to get up into advanced. All season Alli has had friends and family come to watch her events, and now we've got a great big party coming to watch Ian, flying out from Michigan and Colorado! 

Disney California Adventure visit - 2026/04/30

Today we're in California, Theresa's off work, and we're all set to have some fun at Disney!

When I asked Ian which park he preferred, we had the following exchange. 

Ian - which one has Toy Story Midway Mania? DCA

Ian - and the Incredicoaster? DCA

Ian - and Guardians? DCA

Ian - and Web Slingers? DCA

Ian - and Radiator Springs Racers? DCA

I guess it's pretty clear which park we're going to visit! 

Knott's Berry Farm visit, CEC, Korean, and Beach Volleyball - 2026/04/28

Time for our next adventure! Last year when we visited, our Six Flags passes were only good at Six Flags parks. Since then though, all the Cedar Fair parks have been rolled into the family and now they're included as well! It's been forever since I've been to Knott's Berry Farm, and the kids have never been! 
We watched a few videos showing all the rides and the kids were excited to get on some new roller coasters. 

Time for another adventure! California Six Flags Magic Mountain visit - 2026/04/25

It's time to head out on another adventure! This time we're headed out to California for a week and we're going to try to cram in as much fun as we can! 

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. 

2025 Summer Vacation - Wrapping up Michigan - 2025/07/20

Let's wrap up this summer Michigan trip with all the rest of the things we did that weren't part of the birthday celebrations. 

We joined the Federle's at Buffalo Wild Wings for their Bottomless Apps deal. 

Winter Park Library - First ever America250 Book Tasting - 2026/02/26

A Book Tasting? Am I reading that right? We've done plenty of taste tests, and even did our first ever movie tasting before for Home Alone this past winter. But a book tasting? Theresa and I had talked about it with the kids, trying to think of what books might be good source material. Harry Potter, Ranger's Apprentice (stews, breads, and coffee), or Willy Wonka even. But we'd never gone all the way through to pulling it off. 

And before we could do it, someone else did it for us! The Winter Park Library had its first ever Book Tasting event on February 26th, 2026! 

2025 Summer Travels - Surprise 50th Birthday Party for Tyler! 2025/07/12

We've already had two small celebrations for Tyler's 50th birthday, but here's the big reason we're here. Months ago, Aubrey wanted to do a big surprise party for her dad's 50th birthday, and this weekend is the big celebration! 

2025 Summer Vacation - Traveling to Michigan for Tyler's birthday, plus lots of Chuck E Cheese - 2025/07/10

Time to continue our summer of travel. We're leaving Chicago and headed to Michigan!