Beach Trip Number Two

We left last Saturday and spent an entire week at the beach with my family--the four of us, my parents, my grandparents, my sister, and her boyfriend.  You know you had a good trip when you didn't stop long enough to take many pictures!

We stayed at the Caribe resort in Orange Beach, AL, which is actually on the bay side, not the beach side.  It was the first (and probably last) time we have not stayed ON the beach.  While the resort was wonderful (and full of pools, slides, and a lazy river), the trek to the beach was tough.  We only made it one morning and we are beach lovers.  It was just too much.

Each night, Mal and Trey switched up between the air mattress and the pull-out couch and the girls switched up between them.

We spent a day at Waterville and the girls slid their hearts out.  Their favorite was the 6-man tube slide because they could race everyone:

From left to right in the above photo:  Mallory, Kyndall, Justin, Trey, Mark, and Libby.  (Apparently, Mark and Trey cheated and went before the lady at the top said go, but that is only hearsay.)

On the one day that we did go to the beach, the girls caught a live starfish.  They kept it and showed it off to anyone who would look for several hours, and then threw it back before we headed up to the room.

On yet another day, we visited the USS Alabama.  Justin and Trey explored every.single.inch of the ship.  The rest of us did a quick look-through and then waited, like this:

Don't get me wrong, exploring the ship was neat.  It was a navy ship that was in the fleet during WWII.  I just didn't feel the need to explore each inch (and reenact the scenes from those times, but you didn't hear that from me!)

Apparently, Justin was pretending he was a navy captain :)

We spent 90% of our time at the resort's pools and absolutely loved it.  

I forced bribed talked the girls into a beach photo shoot that lasted approximately 3.2 minutes.  This was as good as it got.

We are so extremely blessed to have been able to take two family beach trips so close together.  We are now home to enjoy the rest of our summer, but we made some awesome memories!

Memorial Day Beach Trip

Over the long Memorial Day weekend, we went down to the beach to hang out with Justin's family.  His sister, her husband, and their sweet baby boy drove over from Arkansas.  His parents drove down, too.  

We spent most of our time stealing sweet baby snuggles.  The girls turned into little mommies at the first sight of West.  They held him, fed him, even changed his diapers (as long as they were just wet).

If they weren't taking care of West, they were in the salt water.  Give these girls a net and they are entertained for HOURS, I tell you!  The first morning we were down at the beach, Kyndall caught 30 little fish and several more hermit crabs.  We released them when it was time to go up for lunch, and then she caught double that during the afternoon.

The girls caught some strange creature, too.  It was about the size of the end of my pinky finger, with five long tentacles, and it was clear(ish).  My vote is that it was either a baby octopus (yes, they have eight legs...maybe they grow more as they get older?) or a baby jellyfish.  Either way, it was something we had never seen before.  They also caught two small rays and a ton of live sand dollars.

Libby built a few sandcastles and even set up an entire sand restaurant.  She served me Starfish-Seashell-Pie and Sand-Donut-Shoppe-Coffee.  <--Her words, not mine :)

Kyndall wanted to be buried in the sand.  She really wanted to be a "mermaid with big boobies", but I did the best I could with what I had.  You can't see it well in this picture, but she has a seashell bra.

We had such a fun time, and it's always great when we get to see Kristi and Luke.  It's so hard having them so far away.  Here's to making this a yearly tradition--beach trips every summer!

Orlando Vacation, Part 2--The One Where We Meet Anna & Elsa

Our original vacation plans only included 3 days at Universal Studios.  It really hurt my heart that were were going to be SO close to Disney and not see Anna and Elsa, who just happen to be our favorite.  If you've ever been to Disney though, you know that going for only a day is much more expensive than going for several days, so it just wasn't in our budget.  As our luck would have it, one of Mallory's friends who had just begun working at Disney texted her and offered to be our personal tour guide for a day at Epcot (where Anna and Elsa are until April 1st).  AND she was able to get 3 people in the park for free, as part of her employee perks.  YAY for us :)

Chelsea met us at Epcot Monday and spent the whole day with us.  It was truly a VIP experience!  We still had to wait in a few lines, but she knew so much and was able to help us with lots.  We were in line for Epcot at 8:15, and the gates open at 9am.  As soon as the gates opened, Justin SPRINTED (sorry Disney) all the way back to Norway to get in line for Anna and Elsa.  Even with all this planning, we still waited an hour and a half.  Anna and Elsa are kind of a big deal right now.

While we were waiting, I went into the store and purchased a few Frozen books (that I think you can only get at Disney) and we had Anna and Elsa sign them.

After Anna and Elsa, we hit the rides.  We did Soarin', Journey Into Imagination with Figment, and the Seas with Nemo and Friends. We took a break for lunch at La Hacienda de San Angel, in Mexico.  From there, we saw Mulan and watched an acrobatic show in China.

We rode TestTrack and the bigger kids (including Kyndall) rode Mission: Space.  While they rode Mission Space, Libby and I sat around and did a little people-watching.  When they were finished, we rode the boat over to Disney's Beach Club Resort and had dinner at the Crew's Cup Lounge and ice cream at Beaches and Cream Soda Shop.  We made it back just in time to see the fireworks before calling it a night.

On Tuesday, we went to Universal Studios.  From everything I read, this park was going to be the least-friendly to my smaller children.  It's better suited to teenagers and adults.  We did find lots to do though!

We rode E.T.'s adventure and Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster. We happened on a dance party with the characters from Hop, and posed for a few pictures.

We saw the Spongebob parade, and characters, next.

We braved the Transformers 3D ride (the girls thought it was a little scary) and then the big kids went to ride Hollywoods Rip Ride RockIt while the girls and I, with Gra-Gra and Pops, went to see Shrek 4-D.

Leaving Shrek, we saw Fiona, Donkey, and Shrek.

Donkey was so cute!  He talked to the girls for a while and then asked Fiona to show them how to pose like princesses. When they already knew how to do it, he said "Well, look at them! Alabama royalty!"

After Shrek, we went for lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.  When our bellies were full, we came back into the park and found seats for the Superstar Parade.  (It was a really cute parade, but much shorter than the ones we were used to from Disney.)

As soon as the parade was over, we got in line for Despicable Me Minion Mayhem.  It was a 70 minute wait (because we didn't have Express tickets... boo!) but well worth it.  During the ride, Gru and the girls turned us all into minions! It was really cute.  After the ride, we were able to meet a real-life minion and get our picture taken.

Kyndall decided last-minute that she wanted to ride Revenge of the Mummy, so we hustled to the BACK of the park to let her ride.  Then we had to speed walk out to meet our bus to take us back to the hotel. (FYI:  We stayed at the Hampton Inn S. Universal.  It is off resort property, but offers free shuttle service to and from the parks.  There are certain times the bus runs, and you have to catch these times.)

Wednesday was our last day and we decided to go back to Islands of Adventure for a while.  Kyndall, Justin, and Gra-Gra waited 90 minutes to ride Forbidden Journey, while Pops and Libby rode Flight of the Hippogriff THREE times!  While they did all this riding, Mal and I did a little shopping.

We went back to Seussville and the girls rode the Caro-Seuss-El.

Just so you know how amazing Suessville is, here are a few photos.  

We left Islands of Adventure just in time for lunch, so we stopped in at Hard Rock Cafe for a quick bite to eat.  Then, we took a taxi back to the hotel (it wasn't anywhere near time for the bus to pick us up).  The girls loved it and requested that I take a picture of their first time in a taxi:

For the rest of the afternoon, we hit the outlets wide open :).  The girls both got new tennis shoes from the Nike outlet and germ-x from Bath and Body works.  (They love hand sanitizer, which is hilarious because I am the anti-germophobe!)  

We grabbed a quick dinner at McDonalds before heading back to the hotel and pack up.  We had a jam-packed, fun-filled 4 days in Orlando and, as I'm writing this, I'm already planning our next trip!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.  I am, by far, NOT an expert, but I'll be glad to share tips and tricks that we've learned along the way!

Orlando Vacation, Part 1 (Universal Studios Tips)

We left Saturday morning around 5 am and began the LONG drive to Orlando.  We stopped at the Florida sign for our traditional photo.

Don't you love the "Open For Business" sign above our heads? :)

We didn't get to our hotel until late, so we spent the first night just getting settled.  Shout out to the Hampton Inn--it's our favorite.  We try to stay at one whenever we can.  The complimentary breakfasts are the bomb.com!  (<--and that doesn't tell my age at all!)

On Sunday, the weather was a gorgeous 80 degrees and sunny.  We went to Universal's Islands of Adventure park and spent the day. 

How about those Dr. Seuss shirts? (Crafty Cookie Boutique designs)

We made our way straight to Hogsmeade for the Harry Potter rides, because everyone said (and rightly so) that they would be the most crowded.  I took everyone's advice about the Butterbeer, too.  It was REALLY good.  Butterbeer is the drink from Harry Potter--it is a non-alcoholic butterscotch cream soda drink.

Dragon's Challenge was the only ride the girls wanted to ride and weren't able to.  Justin, Mallory, and Gra-Gra rode it though and were SUPER dizzy when they got off.  I'm glad the girls weren't tall enough yet.

Flight of the Hippogriff was Libby's favorite ride.  At last count, she had ridden it 8 times before we left!  Kyndall was able to ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, but Libby was too short.  The girls loved these rides so much that I didn't get pictures.  Oh, well.

The girls met the famous Mystic Fountain at the Lost Continent.  He read the names from their shirts and then read their palms.  He predicted that Kyndall liked music and gymnastic and Libby liked macaroni and cheese and dancing.  The girls thought this was SO funny!

Next stop--Seussville!! Seussville was by far my favorite place at Universal.  We ALL had our pictures made with the characters, but I'll save some space and just show you the ones of the girls.  We saw The Cat in the Hat and the Lorax:

Thing 1, Thing 2, and Sam-I-Am:

Sam-I-Am (again) and the Grinch:

We actually missed the Grinch on Sunday, but we lucked up and saw him when we went back on Wednesday.  In Seussville, they have a Dr. Seuss show and following the show is a dance party.  The girls danced with the Things on Sunday and the Grinch on Wednesday.  (Tip:  The parks were MUCH less crowded on Sunday than on Wednesday.)

Lunch was at the super cute Circus McGurkus Cafe.

After lunch, we met Spiderman!  Of course, Mal had to have her picture made with him too :)

Then, the big kids (aka Justin and Mal) went to ride the Hulk while the girls met a few more superheroes.  Storm, Rogue, and Wolverine.

Our last stop of the day was riding Bilge-Rat Barge for all of us and Ripsaw Falls for Kyndall and I.  We were SOAKING wet, and fortunately for you, there are no pictures.  While Kyndall and I rode Ripsaw Falls, the others walked around trying to dry off.

We had such a fun (and exhausting!) first day at Universal! In case you are going anytime soon, here are my tips:

1. Buy the express ticket.  We didn't, because we were trying to save a little money, but I think it would be SO worth the extra money.  The express ticket at Universal is a lot like the FastPass at Disney, except they last all day.  When you go to get in line for a ride, there are two separate lines--one for Express tickets and one for regular riders.  The Express ticket would save LOTS of wait time!
2. Purchase the souvenir cup.  The cup itself is $11.00 and then you get free refills all day long.  If you are there multiple days, the cost is $9.99 for each additional day.  If you are drinkers like we are, this saves you a good bit of money!
3. Go to the park early (a few minutes before opening time) and go straight to Harry Potter.  The Forbidden World ride gets backed up quickly, so go there first.  
4. Try the Butterbeer.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our vacation story--where we meet Anna and Elsa, get turned into Minions, and help save Princess Fiona!

Career Change

I've decided that as much as our family loves to travel, I need to be a travel blogger. While looking up Universal information a few weeks ago, I came across blogs like Tip Junkie and I am SO jealous. I need that to be my new career.

Disney World, Hampton Inn (because it's our favorite), Sandals resort, Royal Carribean--hit me up! I'll travel, write the review, and get you LOTS of business, I'm sure! 

Seriously though, traveling for free (as my job, or with a good discount) is my dream job. What's yours?

Keeping Up With the Kardashians

Last weekend we went on yet another getaway.  I know, we're rivaling the Kardashians, right?  Only, I'm pretty sure they don't do their own laundry.... Anyways, we traveled to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee with a few of my teacher friends and their kids.  Quite a cute crew, am I right?

We stayed at the Inn at Christmas Place.  They celebrate Christmas year round!  When we got there on Friday night, they were having a marshmallow roast.  All the kids (and moms!) ate plenty of marshmallows.  I like mine just barely warmed--just enough to be melted.  I was surprised how many people liked to burn the marshmallow on the outside.  That's just gross!

Every night, the inn put out milk and cookies.  The good, Otis Spunkmeyer cookies.  (Needless to say, I gained around 25 pounds on this little trip!)  They also had complementary breakfast every morning--made to order omelets, waffles, biscuits and gravy--anything your heart (or stomach!)could want!

We spent most of Saturday at the outlets doing a little shopping.  For being such good sports, we took the kids to see the Lego movie and eat Mexican food after.

Saturday night, Santa made an appearance at the Inn and performed for us.  He sang several Christmas carols before posing for pictures with all the kids.

On Sunday, we drove up the mountain to Gatlinburg.  We walked up and down the streets, checking out all the cool stuff.  We watched them make Taffy at the taffy store, bought chocolate at the fudge shop, and watched a few magic tricks.  The kids played a round of mini golf and then we rode the lift up the mountain to see the gorgeous view.

We spent the day Monday traveling home, taking our time, not quite wanting the trip to end.  It's always so much fun to getaway with friends.  We're all hoping to make this a yearly tradition!  Now if only I can find someone to do my laundry for me.....