April 2022: The Niece and Nephew Visit

 April 4, 2022  - Arrival Day 

Chloe and Conner arrived around 7:00 pm with their parents. We greeted them at the airport with Chik-Fil-a. They were excited to ditch their parents at the baggage claim so we headed home. Conner had a rough landing so his ears were bothering him. We got home, had a snack, and it was Mario Party time. I went out to get Conner some medicine. 

April 5, 2022 - Beach Day

Chloe and I were up early. We reviewed the weather and beach options. We decided to go to the beach today because it looked like rain on Thursday. We picked Ben T. Davis beach because it was the closest beach with good reviews. When everyone was awake, we made a shopping list and then headed to Publix. After securing supplies for lunch, we were ready for the beach. We had a nice time in the shallow water at the small beach. Chloe found a tiny crab. They built a sand castle. 

We left the beach and headed to the community pool. It was the perfect temperature and we had it all to ourselves. We got back to the house and the kids wanted to see if they would handle our cold pool. (Our pool heater is not working.) It was pretty funny watching them try to get in. 

Everyone showered/bathed. Dinner was a buffet: Roasted sweet potatoes, green beans, smoked sausage, chicken fries, and veggies. After dinner, it was Mario Party time. Conner went back to his room to watch videos. Chloe, Glenn, and I played Mario Party, cribbage, and Yahtzee. A great day. 

April 6, 2022 - BusCh Gardens

We had a big day at Busch Gardens. The day started with Glenn and Chloe making waffles. Glenn also made scrambled eggs. A Mario Party and then it was time to go. We got there just in time to ride the train around the Park. The rhinos blocked the track so we got very close. 

Then, it was time for our Giraffe encounter. We boarded a large truck and headed out to feed the giraffes. 

It was very exciting. We all got licked by the giraffe. Conner found a lizard on the sidewalk. We went to lunch. Then, bumper cars. Chloe drove and then Conner drove. We arrived at the Tiger exhibit just as the tiger settled in on top of the pop up window. 

 We had a lot of fun watching Sheikra spray water. Then, we headed to the kangaroos. We got there just in time to buy food. 

We were all pretty tired so we had one last snack, grabbed some cotton candy, tried to see the gorillas, and then headed home. The kids swam in the 75 degree pool until they were too cold. We had a snack dinner, played Mario Party and went to bed. 

April 7, 2022 - Rest Day 

We started the day with headaches, leg aches, and shoulder aches. I'll call it a fun hangover. Plus the weather had 100% chance of rain so "Chillax Day" it was. I think the kids spent about 10 hours on their devices. 

Chloe did make brownies with Glenn. 

We did get in one round of Mario party and Chloe, Glenn and I played Yahtzee Turbo. I lost.

 

April 8, 2022 Zoo Day 

The kids were meeting their parents at the Tampa airport around 7 pm so we got a last full fun day. We headed to Zoo Tampa. 

We watched Secrets of the Zoo Thursday night to prepare. It was fun to look for all the animals we saw on the show. We walked through the Asia exhibit and then to Wallaroo and the petting zoo. 

Conner got up close to his 7th animal - a goat. 

We tried very hard to lure the llama over, but it didn't work. We went back to Manatee Circle for the Macaw Flyover. Then, the main event: the manatees. The manatees were the main reason Chloe and Conner wanted to come to ZooTampa. 

We had some lunch and then Chloe did a great job navigating us through the Zoo to the bats and Africa. 

A fun day for everyone.