Getting 2013 Started

Not only was it New Years, it was January 1st which meant one more month down. The boys have become very fond of our 1st of the month celebrations and am right there with them. These little milestones are so important and they remind us that we are getting through this deployment!

 

Since I was a little sick, we stayed close to home for most of the day. The boys didn't mind at all, it gave them time to check out all their Christmas loot. We did make it out to Destin for some pizza and ice cream. It was Axel's turn to pick out the location for dinner and he picked out Red Brick Pizza. He loves the pizza and the TV's found in each booth. The little park is a nice perk too!

 

 



Sharing a rootbeer!

After dinner, we hit Cold Stone. I love their kid sizes and prices! We each got our own which was the real treat. Normally we share but today was extra special.
 

A few days later, we made plans to go to the Gulf Breeze Zoo. I had heard that it was small but cute so I really wasn't sure what to expect. Let me tell you, it was totally worth the drive. It's small but not super small and the variety of animals was very impressive. We just had a blast! You can get very close to some very big animals and because of the smallness, you get really good views of all the critters.

Hands down, our favorite part was the bird house! It was awesome and there were hundreds of parakeets flying around your head, landing on your head, checking out jewelry and digging in your bags. I had a little lady bird who LOVED my bag. Her loyal blue boyfriend would follow her everywhere and would watch out while she obsessively tried to get into my bag. We went back right before leaving the park and she was instantly on my bag with boyfriend in tow. It was adorable.



This gorgeous guy strutted his stuff along the zoo paths.

We even got to feed the giraffes after figuring out how to get close enough.



It was a stretch!



The little baby monkey was so fun to watch. It would watch the "teenagers" swing on the ropes and try to imitate them.

Some big cats!! So amazing, although, I did feel bad they were stuck in a zoo. I guess better there than someones apartment!

This little lion cub wanted so badly to play with Lucas & Axel.



My little roos.

The boys thought these were hilarious!

 As were were driving home, I was trying to figure out what would be a great dinner to end a great day at the zoo. We were conveniently on the right side of town to hit one of our favorite Mexican restaurants called Tijuana Flats. They have tasty grouper fish tacos and awesome guac that won't break the bank.

My boys had never tried a taco. A real taco. They have had cheese quesadillas but not a taco with meat in it. Lucas was convinced that he would hate it. So, I never really pressed the issue. We just tell the boys that someday they will discover that these "weird" things we ask them to try are actually good.

I decided that TF was it. Then came the pep talk..."So guys, want to try a taco sometime before Daddy gets back? Daddy would be amazed if you did? He might even fall out of his chair or bonk his head in amazement if you tried a real taco!"  That did it! They were on board, or so they said so in the car. I had my doubts.

I reassured Lucas that a taco was nothing he hadn't already had...tortilla chips, hamburger, taco seasoning (basically BBQ sauce spices minus the sugar). He was still on board.

Axel got a little scared seeing a big taco stare at him. He opted for a micro bite and then proceeded to eat the shell. It was a step in the right direction.

Lucas took a real bite. "It tastes weird." I told him it "tastes new" and he should try at least on more bite. He did. His reply, "This is kind of good!" After the next bite, "It gets better and better, I like it!"

Hooray for Mommy's successful event! I was so proud. We took pictures to share with Daddy and Daddy just about fell out of his chair! :)

Way to go Lucas!

Way to go Axel! Love that micro bite!

The next day we set off to explore Anderson Pond Recreation Area located on Eglin property. We had to get a pass so we were legal but we had a fun afternoon. We found three fun trails to hike on and felt miles away from Florida. They were very much like the trails we loved in Dayton.

Brothers! I love it!

A hill! A real hill!