New Work Pants

I probably have 8-10 work pants I've accumulated over the years that are not for rough duty or business wear. Over the past year, I've really just started wearing a few of them and several do not fit right. I have a 33 inch waist but pants usually come in a 32 or 34 inch size so, you know, too snug or too loose. I've lost a little in the waist since Ethan was born because I'm not snacking at night and don't have much time for baking either. Anyway, I wanted pants that fit in a particular style.

My favorite brand of pants for work is 5.11 Tactical (bookmark this for my birthday!). As far as it goes, this brand is top of the line for what they make. I ordered two pair, the 5.11 Fast-Tac Cargo Pants and the 5.11 Fast-Tac Urban Pants.

What I like about them:
- Lightweight
- Water resistant (the water just beads up and you can wipe it off)
- Lower profile than heavy duty cargo pants (looks more like office pants than rough duty)
- Deep pockets
- Inside elastic waist so the size 32 stretches to size 33!!

What I dislike:
- The cut is not as slim as the 5.11 pants I already have. This is a benefit tactically for most people, but I was fine in the slimmer cut.

***Ooops: I originally ordered 32x34 and those were way too long. I returned them and ordered 32x32.

I'll be wearing these often and they will be in my regular rotation because they look and fit better than much of what is already in my closet. They also match the polo shirts that I order through work which means that no one from work will complain about me not being in dress code. The length and fit will also easily conceal a sub-compact and compact pistol in an ankle holster and of course they are durable enough to regularly wear a Blackhawk Serpa paddle holster on the hip.

5.11 Fast-Tac Urban Pants
(Selfie taken at a good work gym)

5.11 Fast-Tac Cargo Pants. Selfie taken in a closet....I mean a "gym" at work
Sorry for the trim on the wall blocking the view of the knees. The cargo pockets are low profile and don't bulge out.

Lion Country Safari

We all like the zoo, right? Now that Ethan is older we want to start taking him out to places like museums, parks, and the zoo.

The best zoo in south Florida is only about 15 minutes away from us and its Lion Country Safari. We've been a few times already and have taken some out of town family members in the past. There are two parts, a drive-through "safari" and a normal walk-through area with exhibits.

The drive through area has roads through the habitats of the animals so you can see them up close and even have to stop to let them cross the road. The habitats that are kept away from the roads are for the lions, monkeys, and white rhinoceros. The walk through area has more exhibits but much of it is geared towards children. There is even a splash zone and water slides.

Since we live so close, we decided to get a year long pass. After three trips, it pays for itself. More than just the cost, we want to go frequently because Ethan can't spend a day in the sun so we want to go frequently but for a short duration that way he can still get his naps and food at home. Also it rains a lot so we don't want to feel like we didn't get our money's worth if the trip got rained out. Now we can just come back on a nicer day. Also, some of the people we've met say they go just to take the kids to the splash zone for the afternoon and let them run around.

Ethan really liked the giraffe exhibit and got really excited seeing the giraffes. He got to feed them too.

My arms got tired holding him so long so he could see everything. He really liked it though.

Here we are watching the spider-monkeys run around.

These photos are from our second trip with him. We came specifically for the splash zone after his nap. It was his first time around a fountain like this so he was shy at first. 

Here he is exploring the water park. He likes running water so it only took him a few minutes to jump in. I stayed close by and got wet. Not completely wet, but I did get wet. 

After about 15 minutes, I had to make sure he wasn't getting too carried away because he was enjoying it so much. Just 15 minutes earlier, he was scared to go in. 

He had a great time and got nice and wet. 

Fourth of July 2018

It was time to celebrate Independence Day on the Fourth of July once again. I always enjoy the holiday. This year it fell on a Wednesday so it was a good break during the work week but that also meant that festivities were shorter than usual because many people had to go back to work the next day and could not turn the holiday into a long weekend. The weather here was bad too. It was hot and humid in the morning and then it rained thunderstorms for several hours in the afternoon. It rained all the way until 7:30 pm.

We decided to go to the park again this year to participate and even walked to the park in a slight rain. Fortunately it stopped raining shortly after we got to the park. The rain definitely kept people away, even some co-workers said that they stayed home because of the rain. We went and had a good time but this year I left my DSLR camera at home because I didn't want it to get wet in the rain.

Even though it stopped raining, the field was very wet and we all had wet shoes. Many people just walked around barefoot since the ground was so wet.

Regardless, we had a good time. The band was light-hearted and silly while covering popular 80s songs. They didn't take themselves too seriously and played for several hours. When we first got there, only about 5 people were at the stage watching, but after it stopped raining, there was a pretty good crowd and even the people all the way across the field were enjoying the band.

We all watched the fireworks together while music played at the park. It seems to me that there are as many songs that are fitting for Independence Day as there are songs fit for Christmas. They played plenty of country songs, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Neal Diamond, and traditional patriotic marching songs. It was the first time in a while I heard "Anchors Aweigh" and the Marine Corps Hymn. 

Ethan watched the fireworks this year and seemed to enjoy them. It was a little late for him and before the fireworks show was over, he just wanted a bottle and to go to bed. He ended up sleeping in the stroller for the remainder of the time we were there and went to bed when we got home. Fortunately for us all, Toby and Sparky were well behaved and didn't go crazy with all of the fireworks going off the rest of the night so we were able to get some sleep.

Here was the sky after the rain stopped. I was afraid that it was going to start raining again before we got home. Fortunately it did not rain again that night. 

Here were pictures of the band. They played for close to two hours with a break during the fireworks show. 

We searched several stores and just couldn't find a good 4th of July outfit for Ethan so we ended up getting what we could online. He should be able to wear these clothes for a while. Also it was hard to get him to stay still for a picture. I just couldn't recreate the picture of him from last year because of the rain and him not staying still.

He was tired by 9:00 when the fireworks show began. He wanted to get picked up then put down, but ultimately he just wanted his bottle before he fell asleep.