So, yesterday I decided that it was a good day to go camping. Amanda went to the store in the morning while I stayed home with the kids getting everything together that we would need. We went to a local state park. Before we left I went for a quick bike ride. Well, it was actually 45 minutes, but it was fun. We got to the campground around two or so. We set up camp and got our swimsuits on to go play in the river. That was pretty fun. Alex and I went up river just a bit and we saw a turtle. Even though it has cooled down significantly it was still hot and very humid which made it even worse. The river felt nice though. When we got back to the campsite we tried to lay the kids down for a nap, but the attempt was futile, so we just let them play. I got a fire going so we could cook our foil dinners. I ended up burning them a little bit. One of these days I'm going to get it right. After dinner, we took a walk over and found a geocache. I wanted to do more, but it was getting dark and the mosquito's were terrible. They were attacking us even with all our bug repellent on.
It was dark by the time we got back to camp and it was bout the kids bed time, so we got ready for bed. It was too warm inside the tent, but the mosquito's were too bad outside the tent, so Amanda and I laid there with the kids. It was so hot that I slept with nothing over me until about two in the morning when I finally grabbed my sleeping bag and laid it half over me.
It was six something when we all got up this morning. After a quick breakfast of cold cereal, we went for a little walk along a trail that led through a swamp and into lots of spider webs. We went back to the campsite and cleaned up, then went over to another trail and walked around the loop. We were looking for two more geocaches. We found both of them. I carried Alex the whole way, while Ella walked the whole way, what a trooper. I thought the first trail was bad with spiders, but we saw about a hundred spiders on the second trail and they were all huge. the smallest one was about an inch and a half, the largest was probably four or even five inches. There were a couple that had built their webs right over the trail.
We got home today about ten o'clock. I would have wanted to stay longer but the mosquito's were so bad that it wasn't much fun. It was also so humid that even though it was probably only 75 degrees, it felt like 85 or 90.
After I unpacked the car, I went for a three mile run. It felt pretty good. I'm glad that I am staying motivated to continue working out. I am still hoping to run a marathon. I am probably going to run the Salt Lake City Marathon in April. I might do one in January or February. I'd like to do a triathlon or two as well. I think it would be cool to do an Ironman triathlon. It would consist of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a full 26.2 mile marathon. I'm still at least a year away from attempting one of those. It'll probably be two years or so before I'll do one. I'm still motivated to keep working up to it. It is a slow process of building up to it, but when you are starting out at practically nothing, you've got to go slow. I don't want to injure myself.
Amanda is motivated to do a triathlon as well. We've been riding our bicycles together a couple times a week. I've been thinking I'd like to get her a bike of her own. The bike she is using now is mine and it is too big for her. I'd like a new bike too, but one thing at a time. I think the first thing we will get is new tires for the bikes so they will be smoother on the road. At the local bike shop the sell them for 25 or so but they didn't have any in stock.
Well, now that you have way more than you can handle, I'll go for now. Expect some pictures soon. I'm just too lazy to go get the camera.
Alex kept running around not wanting to pose for a photo.
This little monument marks the actual high spot. Nothing in Florida is higher than this spot, except any building or tower.
Alex could care less about this thing. He notices airplanes even when daddy doesn't. I'm training him well. 
Ella is a blooming photographer. She loves taking pictures with our old camera. She manages to get a few good ones. She is a real cutie. 
Ella loves to drag Alex around. She'll pull him over, then tell him to be careful. I have the cutest kids in the world!
Alex love to put everything in his mouth. Here he is eating an acorn. 
Ella and Alex loved playing with all the moss too. They've never seen it before. It was soft and nice to stroke. 
Alex was particularly fond of this piece. He probably even tasted it. 
