Discover your backyard...

Yesterday's Geocaching adventure was one for the books!

We started our day off exploring the Loggerhead Marinelife Center 

and checking out all of the rescued sea turtles.

If you are in the South Florida Area and you have not been here....you must go!

After kicking around there for a while we were off the Geocache.

I told you we were obsessed!

The boy loves it so much, he actually has asked to do it everyday since we started.

Yesterday was a hot spring day, yet perfect for a beach and dunes hike.

It always blows my mind that some of this natural area and scenic views really do exist

in our very own backyard.

So, we set out on foot from the Loggerhead Marinelife Center,

north up A1A.

When we got closer to our first cache we dipped into the canopy of sea grapes.

The sticks and leaves where pilled deep on the ground,

and with every step can a lot of cracks and crunches,

which the boy found hilarious....

I was just waiting for someone to step on a snake.

This is the "Shut up mom! And stop worrying about snakes" look that they gave me!

We found that well hidden container buried in a rotten log,

and when I looked up from the adventure,

this is what I saw.

What a magnificent view.

From there we headed due west.

I couldn't stop laughing about us emerging from the over grown sea grapes

 for long enough to cross A1A, and crawl through an over grown hole

in the scrub forrest...

Into the deep wilderness. ha.

We were blessed with a few minutes of hiking up hill in the shade...

but from there on out it was full sun,

and very hot.

This is the part where I have to tell you what a trooper my kid it.

There were many points of the trip that I thought:

"This is it.  He's going to break down because of all of the walking and the heat!"

But that boy of mine held strong and never complained.

It's so awesome to me that he's that into our new family adventures.

So up the trail we went.

When we reached the top of the hill 

we found a great little place for an impromptu picnic. 

None of us could eat fast enough, 

we all wanted to continue!

So, Onward.

Our last cache gave us a little more trouble.

But that's what makes the discovery so much sweeter.

We hiked about a quarter of a mile in the wrong direction 

before we realized that it was happening...

my fault since I was holding the map and the compass.

But it's hard to be upset about the extra walking when you get to see beautiful sights like these.

After lots of walking and searching we finally decided that we needed to trek down a

very overgrown path (which my legs were not happy about).

This was another one of those 'scared mom' moments...

but the view...

oh man that view! 

Do you geocache?

Or are you like me as of a week ago saying:

"What the heck is Geocaching?"

You can learn all about it here!

Joys of Parenting: (Super)Hero

This morning I was shaken from an almost perfect nights sleep by a little boy foot drop kick to the face! Rise and shine! All of us piled on top of each other.  Trying to regulate a grouchy dog, a grouchy mom, a grouchy dad, and a wide awake toddler has become sort of a regular morning routine.  So I started with the bribes and threats.  I was trying to buy myself just five more minutes, when my little monster informed me that he had a tummy ache.  "Mom, my tummy hurts so bad because I am so hungry." says the boy.

So as the guilt hit me like a ton of bricks at the realization that maybe I hadn't fed him enough the night before, I pried myself from my cozy nest of pillows and blankets to make him something to eat.  Like a zombie I dragged myself to the kitchen, wondering why the sun wasn't up yet.  I threw some frozen pancakes into the toaster oven and proceeded to the coffee (which I always manage to mess up when I am that tired). Ding. Now I had pancakes and strawberries on the table, coffee grounds on the floor, and my eyes still closed.

Breakfast ended after three half eaten bites.  Three. That was all.  Then I was informed that he was too full.  I wanted to scream! But settled for cartoons and coffee that was too hot to drink.  As we sat there snuggled on the sofa, the bot turned up and looked at me and said: "Mom, you are my hero!"

I was in disbelief. His hero? What did I do? So I asked him.  Well turns out that hero keep people from starving to death! So there it was.  I stood there over my next steaming cup of coffee, donning my imaginary tights and cape, saving the universe at 6am....one half eaten pancake at a time.

adventure time

today the boy and I went on a bike ride adventure.

we saw:
crazy kids at the park
a man sitting on a sea wall with no legs
a tiny crab
a man fishing for jelly fish
a manatee
a chicken crossing the road
a giant bug in my eye
17 dogs and more cats that we could count
a really cute dog obsessed with eating bird poop
& lots of people fishing

all in the matter of about 2 hours. it was quite an adventure. i love out town.