Schlitterbahn!

This summer we took a "close-to-home" vacation and spent 2 days at Schlitterbahn, New Braunfels and then did 1 day at Sea World San Antonio.  We left on a Thursday and arrived at Schlitterbahn around noon.  Checked in to the resort (stayed 1 night at the Resort at the Bahn which included admission to the parks from the time of check in until park close on the day of check out) and headed to the park for lunch and an afternoon of swimming.  The resort was a great pick and our room was a quick walk over to the original Schlitterbahn.  

We picked a picnic table right next to a great kiddie pool area, fed the babies and made some sandwiches for John, Jocelyn and me.  Of course Jocelyn was way more interested in getting in the water than eating any lunch.  The day was overcast but no rain - so it was actually pretty great because it wasn't too hot and the sun wasn't beating down on us.  The kiddie pool was great - I sat with the babies in the shallowest part and let them splash a bit.  Jocelyn did a few slides (made a friend about a minute after getting there) and then went off with John to do some other slides and the wave pool.  

After an hour or so, I got the babies out of the water and changed them into dry cloths so that we could walk around in the stroller and take a nap.  I must have walked that park about 100 times but they slept pretty good. 

That night we went for dinner at the Gristmill in Gruene and really enjoyed being back there.  Boy have things changed though - lots of development heading up Gruene Rd with new neighborhoods and shopping areas.  Very nice though - I wouldn't mind living there.  Headed back to our room and I hung out with the babies and put them to bed while John took Jocelyn for some night swimming (it was about 8:00 at this point - not really that late).  The room was great - it was a 1 bedroom and had a large living room with a big dining table and full kitchen.  We set up the babies' pack-n-plays in the living room and they fell asleep after just a few minutes of being in their beds.  

The next day we went to the other end of the park - Blastenhoff and Surfenburg areas of the park. Since we stayed on property we could get into Blastenhoff at 9am (we got there more like 9:20 since we stopped and got ice for our ice chest).  I also reserved a cabana at Surf Island for the day and could check in for that at 10am.  John got to do the MasterBlaster before the line got too long.  Then he and Jocelyn did the wave pool/river for probably an hour.  I headed to the cabana to settle in and put all our stuff down.  I am glad we got the cabana (although it was more than I would have wanted to spend) - it was nice to have a place to change the babies, eat lunch, and I could arrange the furniture so that they could just walk around and get out of their strollers.  Plus it had a ceiling fan and was nice and shaded.  It was very close to the kiddie area at Surfenburg where we took the babies to splash in that water and Jocelyn did all the slides there.  While I walked the babies around for a nap, John and Jocelyn did the lazy river and Jocelyn finally got her pink alligator float after asking 2 very nice girls who were so sweet to hand it over to her.

Overall we had a great time - but it was really challenging with 2 1 year olds.  One or 2 more adults would have been ideal - but hey, we live and learn.  We left Schlitterbahn at 5pm and headed to Mr. Wallace's house in San Antonio.  The next day would be adventures at Sea World and we needed some sleep. 

Disney Trip - February 2014 - Day 4

Disney day 4 was another Magic Kingdom day and we had big plans for Jocelyn....an appointment with a Fairy Godmother in Training at the Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boutique!  It was a total surprise for her and she was so excited.  The salon is so cute (of course it is, this is Disney World) and Jocelyn was so patient and did so well while her Fairy Godmother worked her magic and transformed her into a princess.  We bought her a dress from JCPenny before we left and I brought it with me to the park.  She changed into it right before the appointment (at the Rapunzel bathrooms in Fantasyland - that area is so cute - she wanted to dance and dance). 

After the BBB, we had lunch with the Princesses in Cinderella's Castle!  This was Jocelyn's first time here (we usually would go to Akershus for the Princess interaction...but we changed it up this year) and she had so much fun.  The Princesses loved the babies and gave them lots of kisses!

After lunch, John and Melanie went over to Ft. Wilderness and checked us in to our new home for the next few days.  Mom and I stayed with the kiddos at the Magic Kingdom and went on some rides and did some attractions.  The best one that afternoon was Enchanted Tales with Belle!  Jocelyn got picked to be the Beast in the story because she gave the best growl.  It was the cutest thing ever.  I wasn't sure if she'd do it or not, but she was awesome and the star of the show.

Baby Shower and Diaper Cakes

I had the wonderful opportunity to throw a baby shower (really a sprinkle) for a dear friend and really just wanted to share some of the fun decorations I did for the party.  My favorite part was the diaper cake that I thought turned out so cute.  

The baby boy's nursery was a jungle theme - but I wanted to do a hybrid of "little gentleman" with some jungle theme references.  So, that is why you see the jungle animals with mustaches.  I thought it turned out cute and I hope she enjoyed her shower.  

I also did a diaper cake for another friend's baby shower which was "bee" themed - so I'll throw a picture of that in here.

For Liam and Lizzie's first birthday I decided to do a Survivor Themed party.  Since most of the kids that were coming to the party are older (ages 3 and up), we had each select a team - either Tribe Lizzie or Tribe Liam - and they got different colored bandannas.   Then we did some obstacle course and team games - tribe versus tribe.  I think the kids had a lot of fun.  After the games was a free-for-all play in the backyard.  We had hamburgers and hot dogs.  I went for some island themed decorations - not sure if you can tell but I attempted to make a volcano stand for the fruit ka-bobs.  

Here are some shots of the kids playing the games:

Then it was cake time!  Liam loved the cake - he couldn't get enough of the icing!  Lizzie was a little apprehensive about the whole cake thing and didn't quite like it as much as her brother.  They both looked so cute eating their cake!

We love you Liam and Lizzie!  Happy First Birthday! 

Photo booth fun!