Shrek the Halls-Ice! at the Gaylord

It was interesting. We went today, and although it was pretty pricey, we enjoyed it a lot. The Gaylord was completely packed and I overheard the concierge tell another guest that this weekend is always their busiest. Whoops. We met our friends, the Bradens, and got to experience it with them which made it even more fun.
So, I didn't know what to expect other than what a few of my friends/co-workers have shared with me about their experience. Here's the deal: you have to bring gloves, your scarf, a warm hat, and wear close-toed shoes. They provide you with a parka (my germaphobic self had to just go with it, but inside---I was reeling as I wondered what person had the parka on before me. Whatever...just go with it, right?!)
It started with an introduction about where the Ice! exhibit ideas and artists come from and how much ice is used etc. etc. Basically, they try to answer the questions they think you have. You do have to wait in line after line to get in and it was kinda slow moving throughout which was fine by me because it gave us time to snap pictures. I had a pretty positive experience with everyone else we met. In fact, this super sweet woman offered to take our pictures so we could all be in them together. As someone who is always positioned behind the camera, I was grateful to her. (and yes, I returned the favor when she needed her family's pictures taken)
Towards the end of the exhibit, there are slides made of ice. The boys took turns going up and down. The most beautiful part was the huge nativity made of ice. Caden oohed and ahhed over it. He is obsessed with nativity scenes and baby Jesus. It was all stunning really. The Chinese artists who flew in from 7,000+ miles to carve all of these sculptures out have been given a true gift from God. It was amazing. Not gonna lie, it wasn't just cold. It was freakin' freezing! (12-17 degrees, actually)
I think we've found our new yearly tradition. Pretty, pretty cool stuff going on in that place. The hotel was beautiful, BUT, we've stayed in nicer places. I think it was a little hard not to compare to those places. The boys loved every minute of it and I'm glad we kept it a surprise.
What you should know:
*wear warm clothing (scarves, hat, gloves)
*close-toed shoes are a must
*you CAN bring a DSLR in- I didn't (just brought the point and shoot because I wasn't sure how my camera would handle the harsh temps)
*parking is validated so don't freak out at the $17 price tag when you park
*go any other weekend EXCEPT the weekend before Christmas and definitely don't go the day of Breakfast with Santa
*the earlier you go, the better
*don't freak out at the lines- they really do move pretty quickly







































Hot chocolate to warm up!


We found these cookies in the coffee shop in the hotel. It's Gingy!!





















Sitting on Shrek's toilet. Yes, it's a real thing. Gross.

4th Birthday Mayhem

This is my child.

Not really, but it might as well have been. He begged/pleaded/offered up his favorite toys as a sacrifice for a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Um, not my favorite place worst place ever. But, I agreed. It's his birthday after all.

So, we did it. I'm so glad. There is no way with finishing the floor reno, the Christmas stuff out, etc. that we would have been able to throw the party here at home. It was all good in the hood though. Apparently Chuck E. Cheese's is trying to do an image makeover. The party for 18 kids (all showed! YAY!) and 12+ adults was less than $200.

Here are the positives and negatives:

Negative:

-The party tables are kinda cramped together. It made it so hard to go between and take pictures

-It was kinda hard to get everything done and settled with having limited time and the kids wanting to play games instead.

-The horrific family from Greenville who decided that any restaurant =/= class. Ew.

Positives:

-My house didn't get messed up.

-The kids had a blast

-It was Caden's first birthday party at some place besides our house

-See the pictures for more examples of positives

**Caden asked for Cars invitations, Chuck E. Cheese party, with a Go, Diego Go! and Dora the Explorer cake, and wished for "lots of Cars and Batman stuff" for his birthday.












SIDENOTE: Check out my kid's shirt. Rest assured, he will know the meaning of this when he is old enough.

December is here!

The holiday season is here in full force! EEEEK!

*We got to build our first fire of the season the other day. We made pizza, hot chocolate, and watched Rudolph as a family. I love these seemingly perfect times. No stress.

*I'm almost done with my Fall 2011 classes. I will be forever glad. These two classes were a whippin'.

*We are pretty much done with our Christmas shopping for the boys. Super yay!

*Caden had his Christmas program at school last night. It's totally a "mom" thing because I find it adorable. Well, my child singing with his friends is adorable. Sitting elbow to elbow with other parents who are snapping pictures and taking video...not so much. I kinda felt badly for the kids because who wouldn't freak out at the sight of 30+ people holding cameras with lenses the size of Hulk's fist? My kid froze a bit, but soon got into singing. He didn't dance or do a whole lot of the movements because, well, he IS his father's child. Cade will dance around the house, in public when he thinks no one is looking, and in the car. But ask him to do choreographed movements in a room full of adults standing in the front row of the stage? NO, MA'AM!

It was precious just the same. Best moment of the evening? Dropping Caden off in the room to warm up and watching all of his friends swarm to him screeching, "Caden! Caden Hoover! We've missed you! Yay you're here too!!"
Super thankful my mom, mother-in-law, and father-in-law were able to make it to see his performance. A super-awe-moment: Ethan ran up to Caden, hugged him, and told him he was proud of the great job he did singing.