Tibbitts Family

 Hope and I visit Disney Springs at the  Walt Disney World Resort Our first stop at Disney Springs was the Coca-Cola store to meet the polar bear.  Hope's favorite toy is a bean bag stuffed polar bear named JoJo.  She was very excited to get to meet the big polar bear. We then made our way over to the largest Disney store in the world, World of Disney.  Hope was a little overwhelmed by how many things there were to look at and how many people were in the store.  Hope does not like crowds, so we didn't stay long in the store. We then found some Toy Story character statues, which Hope loved.  Here she is with Buzz and Mr. Potato Head. As part of our day, we rode on the carousel, shopped for pins to trade in the future, walked around the shops in Rainforest Cafe and T-Rex restaurants, and got a sprinkles covered cupcake at the cupcake ATM (that was fun). Once we were on the road back to Tampa, Hope fell right to sleep.  We had a great day, and enjoye...

 Hope and one of the mermaids from the Weeki Wachee Springs     This past Friday, we went to the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, which is about 45 minutes north of Tampa here in Florida.  The park was built around a natural spring that has created a fresh water crystal clear lagoon and river.  We were able to go on a river cruise and see some of the local animal life, which includes turtles, birds, and in the winter months manatees (we didn't see any manatees because we went in the summer).  There is also a water park and a live mermaid show in a the lagoon.  I am hoping we can return and kayak down the river in the winter or spring time and see some manatees.      Getting an early look at the wildlife while waiting to board our river cruise boat.   Can you see our southern glow?  

    Hope and my first tourist destination in Florida was the Florida Aquarium in downtown Tampa.  I would compare it to the Steven Birch Aquarium in La Jolla, CA, with a few exceptions.  The Florida Aquarium is much much larger with more animals, an outdoor playground, and splash pad.  Hope and I enjoyed our visit, so we will definitely be returning to this place regularly.  Hope really liked touching the tops of the jelly fish. If you look really close, you may spot a lobster behind Hope.   Click on photos to enlarge them on your screen. This little girl loves to touch animals.  Here she is having an experience with the sea stars and sea enemy. Giant school of fish. Hope having fun climbing at the play ground. Hope's new toy, Gator, and yes, she does sleep with it, gives it kisses, and pets it regularly. 

  And off we go! Ray and I decided that moving out of state where properties are less expensive and cost of living all around is less is the best option for us in order to have a less stressful life and set ourselves up for retirement in the near future.  We chose the Tampa, Florida area for a couple of reasons. 1) We have good friends that live in Florida and more that may join us in the not to distant future. 2) Our church has good membership in the area and a Temple is going to be built soon. 3) Tampa has many of the attractions we loved going to in San Diego, such as a zoo, museums, beaches, and Disney is only an hour and a half away.  4) It doesn't snow and the weather although hotter and more humid than San Diego is probably as close to San Diego as one can get. 5) The cost of a fairly new 4 bed 3 bath home on a 1/4 to 1/3 of an acre is a million dollars less than what one will find in California.    PODS After much research regarding the best and least ex...

  This past Friday evening, Ray, Hope, and I took a trip to the world famous San Diego Zoo, for some after dinner animal fun.  We had never been to the zoo in the evening, so we didn't know what to expect.  What we found were a lot of sleeping animals.  Some of the animals we could see, while others were hiding.  The highlight of the night was taking the skyfari over to see the polar bear which was munching on a carrot.  Apparently the polar bears in the San Diego Zoo are vegetarian. The temperature in San Diego is so much warmer than their natural habitat, so the zoo keepers keep their body weight down by feeding them just fruits and vegetables to help keep their body temperature down.  We also were able to see the leopards including a snow leopard, some monkeys, insects, an alligator, the pygmy hippos, and zebras.  At the end of our visit, we stopped by the reptile house to see the snakes. This little girl loves to climb on things.  She is ...

  Happy Independence Day From the Tibbitts family! This year we had a fun filled Independence Day weekend.  We started the weekend off by going to the Del Mar Fair where we visited with some of the farm animals, Hope got to pretend she was driving some tractors (that was her favorite part of the fair), get some deep fried treats (deep fried Twinkie, Oreos, and cookie dough), listen to a country music band perform, and play some fun carnival games.  Hope won a Sonic the Hedgehog stuffed animal, which she loves.  We got to the fair early and left early.  Best way to beat the crowds and avoid lines.  It was a perfect morning! On Sunday, we went to church and sang some of the best patriotic songs.  Hope shared her testimony in primary and also gave the closing prayer.  I was so excited when I heard that she did all that in primary.  She is such a brave and good little girl.   Monday was the 4th of July!  We started the day bright a...

Our trip to Mammoth this year was a blast as we were accompanied by Ray's parents, sister, Emily, and her two boys, Atticus and Harper.  Our first night together, we went bowling then got ice cream at Rite-Aid.   The next day we had fun traveling to Yosemite National Park to see the sites.  While we were in the park, we took a hike to see the giant red wood trees in Tuolumne Grove and even spotted a bear having a snack in the distance.  Hope was a trooper.  She hiked the whole time laughing and having fun with her family.   For this trip, we rented electric peddle assist bikes and rode all over Mammoth.  The e-bikes sure made peddling up the hills a lot easier. After the bike ride, we grabbed some sandwiches from Nik N Willies and enjoyed a picnic at Shady Rest Park.   For our last full day of fun, we took the bus down the mountain to hike to Devils Postpile and Rainbow Falls.  Hope amazed me.  She practically ran the 3.25...