Adventureland 2015

On Friday, June 26th we headed to Adventureland for a day of fun! 

I am excited that this has become an almost yearly tradition- we've gone twice in the past, skipping last year since I was incapacitated due to my twin pregnancy. This year my parents drove up early on Friday morning and then we headed to the park. We booked a room that night at the Adventureland Inn and were excited for our mini vacation. We actually parked at the hotel parking lot and then checked in to our room, letting them know we were here and they could call us when our room was ready. We also got our wristbands to ride the trolley to the park from the hotel and could leave our car there. Score- we saved $10 instead of parking in the regular lot! 

We headed into the park around 11 and walked straight towards the Raging River. This ride has the longest waits in the park due to the extremely slow loading and unloading and popularity of the ride. Even though we had to bypass some fun attractions, I knew I would not want to be spending an hour waiting in this line later in the day. As it turns out, there was no line!!! 

It was early and cool in the day and so mom and I wore our cool ponchos to stay dry on the ride. They worked well and I could tell everyone thought we were really cool and were jealous of our smarts. Lucky for me I have a huge ziploc of ponchos left over from my Disney travels that I threw in at the last minute. I actually kept mine on for a while after the ride since it had started raining just a tiny bit off and on. 

After the Raging River, Michael and I headed to the Log Ride since we were already wet. This ride also had no line, and it usually does. We got right on and had a fun time. The big drop always makes me nervous! Afterwards we hit up a few more rides in the area and then headed over to the Saloon for the Magic Show at noon. 

The magic show was a black light show that was about 20 minutes long. It was nice to get out of the weather for a bit and take a rest. We all enjoyed it and it gave the girls a chance to had their bottles. I would recommend it! 

We also wanted to watch the 1:00 circus performance so we headed towards it with stops at Puff the Dragon and the Outlaw on the way. The above photo was taken because the park looked so pretty with everyone bright and green! 

(Sorry for the unflattering photo, teenage girls.)

Michael rode the outlaw and did great! It was pretty scary but I held on tight to him. I was proud of him for being brave! The drops aren't that big but it goes fast and has some tight corners. 

After the circus we were getting hungry so we decided to head back to the hotel. At the trolley stop we ran into Scott who was meeting us after working in the morning. Unfortunately, our room was not quite ready yet so we ate our sack lunch in the lobby of the hotel and took a little break. After about 45 minutes, the front desk let us know it was ready so we hauled all our stuff upstairs, got our swimsuits on and went for a little swim. We booked a balcony suite overlooking the west pool area and it was really nice. It was essentially two rooms that were adjoined for a price that was slightly less than two actual rooms. It worked out well! 

After our little break it was about 4:00 and we headed back to the park for some more rides. At this time the rain had totally cleared off and it was a beautiful, cool late afternoon. Perfect weather!  

Scott wanted to take a turn on some of the more thrilling rides so he did the log ride, outlaw and river gulch again with Michael. I was happy to sit these out for a second round! Scott and I were brave and went for a spin on the Storm Chaser- so high and fast! Eek! 

We also enjoyed the Underground (just like minecraft!), bumper cars and a wild animal show. 

Wrapping things up, we did a round trip on the Sky Glider and rode the Carousel. Michael vetoed the ferris wheel and thought the wait was too long for the train so we headed out of the park around 8:00. It was a perfect night and there was hardly anyone in the park at all! I wish we could have made it another hour but we were hungry for dinner and getting a little tired. We did everything we wanted to do with no waits and really had a nice time. I think the cool temperatures really kept everyone's spirits up. We did not plan on doing the waterpark this trip but I think if we had we would have been bummed out that it was so cool. It seemed like a lot of the people in the park were just waiting around for the sun to come out so they could go swim. 

The girls did awesome in their stroller all day. They didn't really take any rests except for some short cat naps but were happy campers. I was worried about them not sleeping because we were going to be in the same room as them but they did great. They just went to bed the same time we did and as soon as the lights were turned out, they settled right down. 

It was so nice staying at the Adventureland Inn. Scott and Dad got takeout from Jethros for us (across the street) while the kids decompressed and mom and I enjoyed a beer on our balcony. The next morning we all had a breakfast buffet downstairs and then squeezed in a little swimming before it was time to check out. I wished we had more time for swimming but it was hard since we all slept in late due to the very dark rooms- a treat for sure! 

There are two pool areas the the hotel and lots of rooms that have direct pool access. I think it would be fun to stay in a pool room sometime this winter- rates were extremely reasonable for the hotel. One of the pools even has a swim up bar so mom and dad can enjoy a drink while watching the kids swim! I had an awesome margarita the afternoon before while Michael was swimming in the kiddie pool and the girls were with Grandma in the room. You can even charge it to your room! 

Overall, we had a great time at Adventureland and the Adventureland Inn. The weather kept the crowds away but it wasn't anything that was a pain to deal with. It was fun staying at the hotel but as always it seemed the the time seemed to fly with all the fun we were having. Thanks for treating us, Mom & Dad and we can't wait to do it next summer! 

Here's a few links from our past adventures: 

Adventureland 2013

Adventureland 2012

Adventureland Tips

Dad's 60th

Last week my dad turned 60 years old. 60? 60! Wow! 

I haven't shared this on my blog yet but he actually has been having a rough go of things lately when he fell and hit his head about two months ago resulting in a skull fracture. His recovery has been a bit rough but he seems to be doing better now. We are happy he is back to his good health and is staying safe. So it felt like a little celebration was due for his big birthday! My parents were coming to visit for the day and so I invited my brother and his family over for a meal and spending some time together as a family. 

My parents with all the grandchildren. They are pretty lucky to have the world's cutest kids as their grandchildren! 

I was glad my brother and his family came out for a visit. My niece Noelle is growing so fast and she is the sweetest baby. She is a few months younger than the girls but just about their size! She is at such a sweet age where she will play AND stay in one spot! :o) I remember those days fondly (at least I think I remember them? My poor memory!). 

Michael did a good job singing the birthday song to dad! I love his sweet singing voice- hopefully he keeps using it the rest of his life. 

I whipped up this garland in a few hours the day before the party and it turned out really cute. I was limited to the colors of construction paper we had in the house but I kind of like the festive vibe it gives. 

Dinner was also kept simple with a big pork loin on the grill, salads and some snacks. 

...and poor Brynn was all partied out! 

We were happy we were able to celebrate Dad's 60th birthday...even though it was low key, I still think it deserved a celebration. We love you, Dad! Thank you for always being a good example of how to be kind and honest. Thank you for all your support growing up and in adulthood. You are an awesome grandpa and hopefully you will be blessed with many, many more grandchildren in your future! 

9 months!

Anna and Brynn are nine months old!

They are busy, happy, sweet and loving little babies. There is never a dull moment at our house! 

(Brynn with the pony, Anna) 

We had their nine month appointment yesterday and both girls are growing! Brynn especially is growing as she jumped up on the percentages chart although she has still remained small than Anna. As you can see from the above photo-they have come a long ways from their 5 lb 8 oz and 6 lb 6 oz birth weights. Both girls had glowing reports from the doctor and we have no concerns with them at all. Other than a little ear infection from Brynn last week, the girls have been healthy and happy. It is always so fun to go in and see the doctor fuss over how cute and healthy they are- such a blessing. 

The girls are busy, busy, busy! They have both started crawling on their knees and are very fast. They are good at popping themselves from sitting to crawling and then back to sitting. They pull up on everything and anything- toys, furniture, your legs. They also got very tired of falling when standing and have gotten good at getting themselves back down from standing by putting one little hand down on the ground first and then plopping their bottom down. They are strong girls and I think they are going to be early walkers like Michael! They are busy and have things to do! 

Anna and Brynn love all sorts of toys, especially books and blocks they can knock over. I also brought out a little baby doll and was entertained by how much the girls loved it- stroking its little face and trying to hold it next to their faces. Michael was never ever even for a minute into baby dolls and I forgot that is something that girls might like. They have also started babbling and screaming and will chant, "mamamaa" while playing. They are always ready with a big smile for you! 

They play mostly in their gated in room but sometimes can have the run of the house if I am close by. They love exploring and seeing what trouble they can get into! 

It's also been fun to see them interact with each other. Usually they don't like to be by themselves when they are playing and will cry if you take sister away and leave one alone. They will also bug each other and try to bite each others heads or pull hair- definitely letting the other one know when they are not happy! 

Sleeping is going very well and we have fallen into a good summer routine. We aim for a morning and afternoon nap every day although sometimes if we are on the go the naps happen in the car. They go to bed by seven each night and sleep until 6:30 or so the next morning. They are sound sleepers and enjoy being in their cribs. We had to put the mattresses lower because we caught them standing up in their beds after nap time! 

The girls eat one meal a day of table foods. Our goal this summer is to move them to eating every meal with us but gosh darn it...it is just so much work to do meal time! They get so messy and the clean up takes longer than the meal time. They enjoying eating all sorts of fruits and veggies with favorites being peas and mandarin oranges. 

Brynn can sometimes be a little more feisty and she definitely has more energy- loves to scream and watch whatever Michael is doing. Anna is still our sweetheart- she is more snuggly and always goes right to sleep when you put her down. They are both meeting milestones at the same rate and sometimes will alternate mastering different skills. 

They have been out and about a lot this summer and I get comments daily about them. It seems so normal to me that I forget seeing cute twins is something special to most people. Usually old people will tell me I'm brave or to bless my heart. Parents with children will tell them to look at the two cute babies. Other moms will tell me their twins are (whatever age) now and to enjoy it. Lots of times people will tell me they were a twin their sister was their best friend. It is always so funny to me! I did see a mom with three month old twins at the zoo and I was happy to beam at her little babies and tell her she was doing a great job! 

We are excited to see what the next month brings!