How do I love thee FL...Let me count the ways!

I know you hear me often complain about the heat in FL and the lack of seasonal changes and the humidity that makes for a rough "bad hair" month(s), but there are some really nice advantages to living in the sunshine state!

Friday, Matthew had the day off in honor of the 4th of July. At 10:00 in the morning as we were all still lounging in our PJ's, we decided to be very spontaneous and pack the kids up for a trip to Busch Gardens. Matthew being the planner he is, was stressed to say the least over the fact that we would not be getting there until lunchtime (or later). But he agreed none-the-less, and we started getting everyone ready.

First we had to stop and get gas. Then we had to stop and get some cash out of the ATM, then by the time we got to Tampa it was nearly 12 so we decided to stop for a quick bite at Mickey D's and we finally made to Busch Gardens just a smidge before 1pm. We followed the signs for parking and were directed to the lot located in Lakeland. Okay maybe the lot wasn't THAT FAR from B.G., but it was pretty darn far out! Matthew and I looked at each other and said "Oh my, what have we gotten ourselves into, the day before 4th of July." We loaded up on the sunscreen and caught the tram to the park entrance. We were fully expecting the park to be just wall to wall people...based on where we had to park, but it was surprisingly empty. Well not empty, but just not as packed as we expected.

We made a bee line to the congo river rapids. Since moisture and my hair don't get along too well, I wasn't especially looking forward to our first ride out of the gate being a water ride. I decided if Matthew could put aside his stresses over a completely un-planned trip to B.G. then I would just not worry about the fright wig that would be with me the rest of the day! After a very short wait in line (10-20 minutes) we were loaded on the infamous yellow rafts. Brady and I sat next to each other and Abbey and Matthew sat next to each other. Brady's like me, he's not real keen on having to walk around in wet clothes and shoes, so he was a little apprehensive about the ride. But by the end of the dousing, he was ready to ride it again. And yes, the two people who least like to be wet did get the MOST wet on the ride! But again, I put that stress aside!

We saw and did everything we wanted to and by 6:30, we were ready to eat again. We had a yummy delicious dinner at the Colony Crown House there at B.G. and of course had to get ice cream (and coffee for Matthew) afterwards. We headed home about 9pm, showered and crawled into bed for a good nights sleep! Since we got the fun cards, we will be able to go any time we want before the end of the year.