Great Wolf Revisted!

Big thank you to the Smith grandparents for taking us to the Great Wolf Lodge. We all had a lot of fun. Since Madeleine has learned to balance with a life jacket, swimming has been even more fun for her. But she decided that it would be even BETTER if there was nothing between her and the water...so we kept a watchful eye on our water tot as she took off down the kiddie slides. And she didn't drown...maybe almost...no, not really.

Annora wasn't as sure about the water as Madeleine was, but on the second day she finally warmed up to it. Well, it might have been an actual warmth issue as the water seemed colder than it had before. Ryan and I both agreed that it was the air temp they had decreased. We remember it being sweltering and enjoying the water as a "cool off". But with cooler air and a cool water temp, Annora wasn't so sure this water thing was for her. But eventually she decided to fall in her sisters footsteps. No water slides for her yet though. Just some chill time in the kiddie pool.

The MagiQuest game was not available to us the last time we went as we were there only a couple weeks after opening. I thought it would be something fun for Madeleine...might have been, but we would have had to steal the wand from Ryan to find out. Maybe we'll have to go just for the day and do the MagiQuest game. Every spare moment Ryan had he was playing. Madeleine DID enjoy the wand and the idea of it, but a scavenger hunt is still a bit over her head. She liked pointing at stuff though. Thank you to Bob's co-worker for providing the wand!

One thing I must say, is that if you go, I recommend the grill restaurant. We tried the buffet before, and it was just fine. A regular buffet. But we found the grill to be very good. Reviews tend to point out the inadaquecy of the restaurants. It's not 4 star, but it's not terrible. I'd rather not have to pay 1.50 for fries...but the food quality for the price I felt was quite fair. Bob and Sue split the rack of ribs and they said it was very tasty. Our dinner was very good...hopefully the other diners weren't upset when our daughter decided it was time to take off her swimming suit. Really, I looked away for just a minute...probably because I was shrieking as to why our other daughter had disappeared from her high chair. (Where we found her under the table...this happened 3 or 4 times! The slipping from the high chair, not the removal of swimsuits)

Trick or Treat

I know it's a week late, but here's what we did for Halloween.

To bad I didn't take any pictures of our spooky dinner. Cause it was awesome. But also delicous, as you can tell by the lack of photography.

And now I'll share with you what Maddie did the other day while she was learning shapes and numbers through cookie baking...which shortly became castle building (which involves a lump of clay or dough piled upon another lump of clay or dough and so on...)

Don't worry, they all came off and I didn't even have to cut her arm off.

My Silly Chicas

Well. We've either been busy or tired or visiting the moon...I'm not sure which. There hasn't been a post on the Smith Home in quite some time. Thought I'd give you a pictoral representation of what's up.

And They Lived Happily Ever After...

Well, one red-eye flight with minimal sleep, a morning of dumbo and castles, breakfast with Mary and Pooh, and a 3 hour nap later...we find ourselves in the wonderful fairytale of Disney Magic again.

The plan was that the kids would sleep on the plane and we decided we'd survive no matter how few winks we got. What ACTUALLY happened was that Maddie got about 2 hours, and Annora maybe a tad bit more. Though sleepless, both kiddos really weren't that cranky. The parents on the other hand...

...actually everyone did surprisingly well.

We thought last year was fun watching Madeleine interact and enjoy the characters and attractions. This time, at 2 1/2 was even more entertaining for us. And her. Annora at 7 months was a little oblivious to everything. Nothing scared her. Things did capture her attention. But she took naps in the stroller or nursed on the rides most of the time.

Our 3rd year on the Disney dining plan was another gut busting experience. We have a lot of dining experience under our belts now. If anyone needs advice on which restaurants to go to, we have the expertise. We took in quite a few character meals this time round in anticipation that they would be a hit for Madeleine. Which they were. We also enjoyed a princess breakfast, where Madeleine wore a Cinderella dress, and wouldn't take it off. It was quite the struggle to get it off for bed, and when we went looking for an accessory...she started with the phrase "I NEEEEEEED it!" Hehe. Dad Thought it was funny. I just about thought he was going to buy the whole store. Thankfully she came away with just a light up wand. Which she used throughout the day not just as royal princess, but as a car washing tool, and a head bonker.

This was the trip that Ryan has coined, "The trip where Annora grew up". It does feel like a lot happened for her on this trip. She cut her first tooth, she started eating things like cheerios and bread, and out from her coos started coming, gaga, and dada. No wonder she was waking up 4 times a night to eat! But really, both girls seemed to do a bit of growing up. Madeleine had her first haircut and rode her first coaster.

If you don't know this about us yet. We love Disney World. We love travelling to other places, but we will always come back to Disney World time and time again. We think that everyone should give it a try. Why do we keep going back? Isn't it the same ol' same ol' after awhile? Doesn't it get boring? Wouldn't you rather go someplace else? These are questions people ask who have not tried Disney World. It's true, some people would like to only go every ten years or so. But we never get bored, there is so much to do, so much to see, so much to try. Hidden mickey's, foods to eat, different ways to tour. We like Disney World because we know what to expect. It's clean. It's fun. It's safe. The cast members treat you like royalty. You don't need a car. It's sunny. And the Pirate's attraction never disappoints.

We aren't "planning" to go till our 10 year anniversary in 2 years. But we said that last year. More than likely we really won't go until then. So, we're going to need YOU to go in our place and tell us all about it. It's really not as expensive as you might think. Even staying on Disney property can be only 82 bucks a night. So, we'll be looking forward to your vacation commentary soon!

Here are some photos for your viewing enjoyment.