Life as a Yowler

We have enjoyed staying here in the Miami area. We have gone to several beaches. Being in Florida, it’s difficult to pack food because the ice inside the cooler melts so quickly. Honestly, I can make whatever excuse I want. The truth is I’m not the greatest at planning ahead enough to pack. Yesterday, Brandon and I decided we needed to pack food since we were going to be gone all day. It’s unhealthy and way too expensive to eat out. When we eat out, I can’t help but feel like it’s such an irresponsible use of money. We can eat at home for so much cheaper…..and that’s even with grocery shopping in Orlando(where a gallon of milk costs 4 times as much as it does in michigan).

Anyways, I packed food. I sealed the cooler super tight. I was feeling very proud. We all rode with Brandon to his store training. We had plans to go to a drive through Safari, then the beach after the Safari. About half way to Brandon’s training our conversation took a turn.

Me: “ugh oh!”

Brandon: “what do you mean ugh oh?”

Me: “I forgot something.”

Brandon: “major or minor?”

Me: “major” 😬😬😬

Brandon: 😳

Me: “it’s swimsuits ok? I forgot swimsuits.”

A trip to Walmart later, and the money we saved from packing food spent later…..we had swimsuits. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ I tried. I really did. I was even willing to let the kids swim in underwear. Let’s be honest….it’s Miami. I have seen totally naked kids at beaches.  Brandon said “no absolutely not will my kids swim naked.” He didn’t want to end up on a meme.

I’ve got to be honest. I was expecting huge campgrounds in the Miami area. This is literally the extent of what our campgrounds have been. There’s no playground and not even a pool. With it being a huge beach area, people just want a place to park and sleep. There’s no pavement, so we can’t hover board. Bike riding is also hard. It’s SO hot to go for walks. I’ve been trying to entertain the little rugrats inside the motor home. We’ve been doing school and reading books. Then when Brandon gets home, I bombard him with “Ive got to get out of this motor home or I’m gonna sell all the kids!”

One positive thing about being here this time of year, are these amazing peaches. We’ve been eating them like crazy. I’ve actually had to hide them, because the kids ate through two huge bags in one day. I told them from now on, they need to ask mom before they just help themselves.

We’ve been eating ice cream cones to cool down.

The drive through Safari was awesome. Our tickets included a lot more than just the drive through.

A very small part of me was hoping a rhino would come charging at our car.

At the bird encounter, all the kids had birds land on them. Caed was hilarious. He was very hesitant to feed, but we talked him into it. He did great with one bird, but when a second bird flew onto him he abandoned all self-control. He screamed at the top of his lungs. He threw his nectar cup. Both birds flew away. Even the bird lady, working the exhibit, lost it. She was dying. I had a bird fly into my head and lick the sweat off my face. I did amazingly well at remaining calm, if I do say so myself. Brandon had a bird fly onto his shoulder. He also remained calm.

We finished our safari time at the Splash pad. It felt so good to cool off. We drank water like crazy, but there’s still no way to stay cool.

We drove by the guitar shaped Hard rock Cafe casino and hotel. It’s going to be opening soon.

When we first drove up to West Palm Beach, there was a news Chanel crew filming. I thought “oh no. Shark attack.” We talked to the lifeguard. He said they were just there filming the seaweed situation. The beach was covered in seaweed. There have been a lot of storms since we’ve been here, and huge waves. It’s one of those unfortunate things, that no one can help. Back a couple days ago, we were planning to go to Fort Pierce Beach. Our campground advised us against it. They said the last two days, they had to evacuate the beach for sharks. Yikes!

All of my kids love the beach. Joah loves the ocean and Brandon always takes him out. Isla and Caed love the sand. Brielle loves finding sea shells. Brielle found a huge bucket full today. We will put those shells to good use making jar centerpieces .