Last weekend was the grand opening of LEGOLAND Florida in Winter Haven, FL. We have been counting down the days because the kiddies are huge fans of everything LEGO.  We were able to score some media passes for a special early park preview on Friday afternoon.

It was a three hour drive from Jacksonville.  The car ride wasn’t bad at all.  The best thing about living in Florida, with children, is the access to fun places like LEGOLAND.  The kiddies were very excited to finally arrive.  I was excited about my new double jogger stroller from Craigslist.  It’s perfect for their height and weight and for the inevitable “I’m tired of walking in this hot sun” moments. The first thing we did was grab a map and make a plan.

The first thing we noticed was that everything really was made out of LEGO!

The coolest area?  Miniland USA which featured every major Florida city as well as Las Vegas, Washington, DC and New York City (Daniel’s favorite!) all made out of hundreds and hundreds of LEGO!

Then, it was time for the rides.  The kiddies did not want to try any of the roller coasters, but there were plenty of other options. There were some strict age and height requirements for everything.  One bummer was that the “FORD Driving School” was for kids ages 6 to 13, so Daniel (who is 5) had to stick to the junior track.

My favorite was the Safari Trek because I loved the LEGO animals.

There was also a Boating School where we could captain our own LEGO boats. It was fun to steer around the water, but I really wanted to jump in because it was so hot that first afternoon.

We ended Day One by touring the Lego Factory (air conditioning, yay!). We got to see how the LEGO bricks are made and the kiddies left with a complimentary grand opening LEGO brick.

We  headed to our hotel for dinner and a good night’s sleep.  Then we were back bright and early Saturday morning.  LEGOLAND Florida was opening their doors for the very first time at 10 AM.   It was crowded and everyone was so excited.  (Oh, and the general manager was super cute!)

It was another day of rides and, look, even more LEGO!

We spent some time in the LEGO Imagination Zone where the kiddies could create skyscrapers and simulate earthquakes.  They also built LEGO cars and raced them on different tracks.

We had lunch at the Fun Town Pizza Pasta Buffet.  And, yes, they served REAL food.  And it was yummy!

Then it was off to buy LEGO!  The store was appropriately called The Big Shop.  We managed to leave with only two boxes of LEGO, which was a huge success.

I would definitely recommend a trip to LEGOLAND Florida, especially if your kids love any and everything LEGO. There is plenty to do between the rides, carnival games, and various “hands-on” attractions.  There is even a super cute Duplo Village for toddlers. We didn’t have time to see any of the shows, but that is definitely on the to-do list for next time. We’ve already promised our kiddies that we’ll go back again next year.   (I think this picture alone was worth the whole trip, don’t you?)

As part of last week’s family road trip, we stopped off at my sister’s gorgeous house in Maryland for two nights.

It’s really great because her kids and my kids are super close.  We love that they are cousins and friends too.  They run around and play and color and dance and swim and are mischievous together and it’s just the best.

The first night there we had a fun make-your-own mini pizza dinner. Then my sister said we are having S’MORES for dessert. 

“Um, when did you get a fire pit in your backyard, Sis?”

NOT NECESSARY.  All you need are three ingredients and a microwave.  Hey, this is my kind of dessert.

(I don’t cook. I bake.  A little.)

My sister said the s’mores were her daughter Maddie’s idea.  So here is the super simple recipe for:

MADDIE’S S’MORES

* Take one graham cracker square

* Place two squares of Hershey’s Chocolate Bar on the graham cracker square

* Place four mini marshmallows on the chocolate

* Top with another graham cracker square

* Nuke in microwave for 20 seconds and enjoy!

The kids just loved them!

Don’t you just love the chocolate mouths?  And that’s Baby Luke having just the graham cracker. (Next year, Buddy.)

The adults loved them too.  They went great with our white wine and game of Balderdash that night.  Have you ever played this game?  It is downright addicting. 

Just like the s’mores.

We just got back from a week long road trip to visit my family in Maryland and North Carolina.

We make this trip ALOT.

But there was something very different when I pulled into my parents’ driveway this time.

The tree in the front yard was gone.

The tree was getting old and my parents were worried about the super large branches actually falling on the roof of the house so they had it removed.   Well, everything except the stump.

That’s getting picked up and taken away next week.

It reminded me of The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein which, IRONICALLY, Daniel got from his godmother as an early birthday gift.

I love that book.

I love trees.  I think it has to do with my love for old things and shade.  I love a big, old shady tree.

I’m not overly obsessive.  I wouldn’t protest and live in a tree.  But I MIGHT hug one.

My kids know how much I love trees.  We’ll be driving in the car and Daniel will point to trees all the time and say, “Mama, you like that one?  You like that tree?  You love trees, right Mama?”

I do love trees.

My dream is to have a birch tree in my front yard.  They are just so pretty.  I have the “Silver Birch Forest” screen saver photo on my laptop computer.

It makes me happy.

So it’s a little sad that the big old tree in the front yard of my childhood home is gone.  

But it makes sense.  It was a giving tree. 

It gave me and my brother and my sister some great memories.

And now it just gave one to my son.

Thanks, Tree.

I am now drowning in laundry and new toys and excess body weight, but it was SO worth it.  We had an amazing holiday road trip. 

Beep Beep! Here we go! (Thank you GG!)

I think it was because the kiddies are now at the ages where everything is just a LITTLE BIT easier.  Daniel no longer requires diapers (Hooray!) or a travel booster seat or a special cup or spoon or fork or bowl or, and this is the BEST part, a Pack ‘n Play to sleep in!  He slept on his “floor bed” – a super cute Lightning McQueen inflatable sleeping bag.  Annabel still requires all the above items, but I wasn’t gasping every single time she walked along Pop Pop’s marble tile or cruised past the hotel room’s glass coffee table. 

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at home with GG and then we were up and down the East Coast stopping off in North Carolina and Maryland to see the rest of the family.  There was one common factor at every leg of the tour: IT WAS COLD.  That was a special treat for Daniel and Annabel since they have never seen snow nor have they felt that bone chilling wind.  I was bummed that they didn’t actually get to see snow FALL to the ground, but Daniel did toss icy snow balls at my face and Annabel touched a patch of snow with her pink mitten and then screamed for me to pick her up. 

The BEST part of the trip was all the “quality time” (or rather the “running around, dancing, jumping, toy playing, junk food eating, beer and wine drinking, TV watching, comfy clothes wearing time”) with Pop Pop, Queen, Grandma, Grandpa, Miss Aunt Marsha, My Uncle Kevin, Maddie, Kate and Baby Luke.

Now we are back home in Florida and a little sad and a little sick (Bean woke up with a nasty cold and now must postpone his very first day of preschool – UGH), but I’m ready for a brand new year.  Hello 2010!  It is very weird to write that when I’m still staring at a December calendar above my desk. 

Well, we’ll miss you Christmas.  See you next year.

Carrots for the reindeer and Santa could use 'em too, right?

Kiddies with Pop Pop and Queen and...where's MY wine??

He still wants to go to the park even when it's 30 degrees outside.

Snowball!

More toys at Grandma's and Grandpa's house. Same basement I played in with my toys on Christmas morning. Amazing.

Sisters with the babies.

A godfather/godson meeting of the minds.

Cousins ready for some fun in the cold.

Happy New Year!!

I just got back from an awesome week long summer vacation with the family.  We all survived another long road trip.  The kiddies were great in the car.  I really think they are little pros at this point.  They completely get it.  Bean even shouts out “Cracker Barrel!” when he needs a break.  He knows that is where we stop to change the diapers and stretch our legs (and rock on those old fashioned rocking chairs for a few minutes).  The car DVD player is still very important to our sanity, as are all the books and the giant tote bag of snacks.

Our first stop was Maryland for my niece Kate’s 3^rd Birthday Princess Party Extravaganza.  My sister and brother-in-law really did it up right.  There was a sandbox scavenger hunt, water balloons, pool fun, and a piñata.  Plus lots of juice boxes and a big gorgeous, yummy cake. Oh, and the key ingredient: beer for the adults. 

Daniel and Annabel were in heaven.  They love their cousins and we don’t see them very often.  It was a blast to watch them all run around and play.  The following day was Baby Luke’s Baptism.  My husband and I are his Godparents.  Annabel spent most of the ceremony outside with Grandpa, but Bean was just amazing.  He stood on the church pew kneeler and watched, completely mesmerized with the entire thing.

Then we were off to Myrtle Beach for FOUR WHOLE NIGHTS.  I say that really LOUDLY because it was SO NICE to just stay in one place and not have to pack up everything up and move it into a car again for FOUR WHOLE NIGHTS.

Our days were spent at the beach and the resort’s “indoor water park” which was a lazy river pool that had some water slides.  It also had a really cool baby pool with sprinklers.  Daniel LOVED the beach and the sand.  He played in the waves with his Daddy and built sandcastles.  Annabel would hang out with me and lounge in the chair.   She really is a “Mini Mama.”  

We would try a new restaurant each night.  Annabel is still in the “picky eater” stage mixed with the “sudden urge to scream at the top of her lungs for no apparent reason” stage.  So going out to dinner is sometimes a little…challenging.  But we found the perfect place: Joe’s Crab Shack.  My kiddies love crab, and corn on the cob is their favorite vegetable.  We ordered sides of corn on the cob as appetizers for the two of them. Plus with the crabs and some Mac & Cheese and the waiters singing and dancing around, both kiddies were happy…and quiet.  That meant Mama and Daddy could enjoy our meal and have a conversation too!  (So we went there two nights in a row, of course.)

The final night we strolled around Broadway at the Beach and bought some souvenirs.  We also took Daniel and Annabel on their very first Carousel ride.  Bean also went on this really (kinda) scary looking car ride, but he loved it. 

I was also able to enjoy some quiet moments with a book on the beach when the kiddies were napping and Daddy was relaxing with them in the room. As a mom, I completely understand the rejuvenation power of just an HOUR of alone time.  Add in the smell of the ocean and the sound of the waves and it was perfect. 

The birthday princess and her cake

Daniel sneaking some cake when he THOUGHT no one was looking

Baby Luke's Baptism Day

Annabel the beautiful beach baby

Sandcastles on the beach. Annabel refuses to wear a hat..UGH.

First Carousel ride...not too sure about it

Daddy and Daniel's first amusement park car ride

It was a ”hat”-themed day on Sesame Street this morning.  My kiddies really got into it.  They love hats. And we have a lot of hats in our house:

I always say you can never have too many hats or comfy blankies.  We are a very fair and pale family, so I love to have tons of hats ready to shield us from the sun.  And since we leave tomorrow morning for our beach vacation, I have just finished stuffing one of my cute straw beach bags with nothing but sun hats.

I am excited for a week away with my family.  We have done this road trip many times before.  We are driving north to visit my sister’s family and my parents.  Then we are off to the beach for FOUR WHOLE NIGHTS.  I really hope it feels like a vacation with two kiddies under the age of three in tow.  I’m sure we will have a blast because we are leaving the house (and the laundry and the bills and the cleaning and the “to do” lists) behind.  Woohoo!

We spent Memorial Weekend visiting my parents and my sister’s family in Maryland and my father-in-law in North Carolina.  We also spent A LOT of time on I-95 North and South. I did not know I could be so exhausted from sitting in the car (and twisting and turning to entertain and refuel two kids under the age of three!)  The main goal of this trip was to finally meet my new nephew and godson Luke (my sister’s third child).  He was just as sweet and cute as I had imagined:

Daniel and Annabel had a blast playing with their cousins:

We enjoyed the super cool Winston-Salem Children’s Museum:

Daniel LOVES school buses so we had to stop for this photo op in NC:

Both of my kiddies were awesome in the car.  We have done this trip a couple times before so I’m beginning to learn what to bring.  Here is my “Must Have” item list for the car:

• Lots of snacks.  My favorite thing to do is to put Cheerios in these fun snack cups.  This is especially entertaining for Annabel.  I just refill the cups over and over and I don’t worry because the kids are downing handfuls of healthy whole grain.
• Magazines. I used to give Daniel a bunch of new books but, unless I want to constantly turn around to read to him, they lost their entertainment value pretty quickly.  So I started bringing toy, sport, and kid furniture catalogs.  We call them Daniel’s “magazines.”  He will spend 30 minutes gazing at all the pictures and picking out what he wants.  (I now have to buy him a sprinkler pool and swing set, but we’ll deal with that later.)  Also, Grandma and Grandpa gave Daniel a subscription to Highlights.  I stock pile them and bring them on the car trip too.
• Mini Photo Albums.  Annabel slept a lot but when she was awake she loved to look through mini photo albums like this one.  I filled the album with pictures of everyone she would see on the trip.
• DVD Player.  If you read my previous blog, you saw that we broke down and bought our very first car DVD player.  I was against it at first because I did not want my two kids to be completely zoned out while their brains filled with mush.  But it was fine.  We just turned the DVD player on for 30 minute intervals twice a day.  They watched Blue’s Clues, Little Bear, or Sesame Street and then we would turn it off.  They thought it was so cool and it was a nice car break for Mama and Daddy.  It was a win/win and I’m sure we will use it again. 
• Car Seat Trays.  I don’t think I have found the perfect one yet, but we used these.  Daniel would use his to play cars and color.  I also used them for lunch.  We packed sandwiches, Go-Gurt, applesauce and milk in a travel cooler.  When we did stop at McDonald’s, it was easier to park and feed them in the car than waste a lot of time in the restaurant.  When they are older I’m sure this will not work, but it’s great for toddlers.

Also, Cracker Barrel restaurants are wonderful for changing diapers in a clean environment.  And they have a cute gift shop you just HAVE to walk through to get to the restrooms.  Of course I could not resist buying Annabel a dress for the Fourth of July:

Now we are home and the kiddies both have yucky trip colds.  I’m just so glad the snots and drips waited until we got back to Florida. 

I was excited to put the kids to bed, throw in a load of laundry, grab a glass of wine and watch the season premiere of Jon & Kate Plus 8. It was SO SAD.  I loved Jon & Kate Plus 8 back in the day when it showed Kate grocery shopping, potty training, and planning fun Valentine’s Day activities for her kids.  I told my husband that I loved to watch the show because it was so relaxing.  If Kate could be a stay-at-home mom with EIGHT kids surely I could do it with two kids.  She inspired me.  I loved that she was scheduled and organized because I parent the same way. Then the show just began to document all their free vacations and outings. And NOW it’s turned into marriage counseling.  I hope they can work it out.  I really do.  I was always a Kate fan and I am still on her side.  I can’t judge her because I’m not in her shoes.  I can’t imagine the pressure she is under to support her family.  I hope that the “fame” did not go to her head.  I hope she realizes that she married her husband FIRST and they decided to have children TOGETHER.  I hope they do what’s best for the kids and WORK IT OUT.  Of course, I’ll be watching all the drama unfold….