Grinch on Ice!!

What can I say.... IT WAS A BLAST!!!! For those of you who wanted to know if it was worth the drive and money, all I can say is YES!!! We arrived at the Gaylord Texas Hotel in Grapevine, Texas yesterday afternoon. The place looked amazing on the outside and inside! It was all decorated for Christmas and the theme this year was "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." It looked like Winter Wonderland with Christmas trees, wreaths, lights, poinsettias, trains, and more.

We first just walked around and took in all their was to see. We did manage to get balloons made for the girls...Lydia loves balloons. Lillian got a penguin and Lydia got a candy cane balloon. Then, it was time for Lydia's nap. She was tired from the road trip and you all know my little one doesn't sleep more than 20 minutes in the car, but she surprised us with a 30 minute nap! YEAH!!! So, off to the gorgeous room to put Lydia down for her nap. She was drooling in about 5 minutes!

Then, Daddy stayed in the room and Lillian and I hit the Gaylord. We started checking the place out from top to bottom and realized quickly how big this place was! It has a jogging trail, indoor pool, 4 restaurants, riverwalk, ballrooms, meeting rooms, etc! We made it to the sight where the Ice show was going to be and bought our tickets. But, since we had some time, Lillian decided to wait in line to meet the Grinch. And what a great Grinch he was! He actually didn't look scary at all! He danced with Lillian and loved how her furry cuffs matched his. He posed for some pictures too in some silly positions! Lillian had a blast! By the time we finished, it was time to get Lydia!

Then, we all headed out to meet Santa! Okay, so Lydia didn't dig Santa this year, but we got a great picture of Lillian with Santa!!! She told him everything she wanted for Christmas and it took her a little while. Thank goodness for him she only shared a few things on her list or we would have been there all day! She even told him she mailed her Christmas list to him and he said he would look our for her name! She thought that was the coolest!

Finally, it was our time for the main event- The Grinch on Ice!!!!! It is 9 degrees in the room and everyone gets to wear these big thick jackets that the Gaylord provides. The rooms are amazing! The ice is beautiful and so colorful. It was all set up to look like Whoville and the Whos. I can't tell you how many beautiful scenes and ice sculptures there was! We walked in and it was snowing and Lillian loved it!!! She wanted to stay and play in the snow.

We started walking and looking at all the beautiful scenery and then we hit the ice slides! These were a ton of fun and all four slides were made out of ice. You had to sit on your jacket and go! Lydia couldn't do them by herself, so she couldn't do any, but they let me sneak her on one with me and we took off to the bottom! The slides were a blast and Lillian and dad were on the slides for an hour!!! In 9 degree weather! Lydia didn't like it so much. She wouldn't wear the jacket and was overwhelmed by all the lights and color. So, she made it 35 minutes and then we just let the other two play. What did we do? Watch the movie of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and drank hot cocoa! YEAH FOR MOM!!!!

We had dinner at the hotel and walked around some more to see the lights. There was so much to do! We didn't even make it to make a Gingerbread house. On the way back to our room, we ran into an Elf named Jasper. He stopped Lillian and Lydia and asked if they had seen Santa. He told Lillian to tell Santa that Jasper is looking for him and has presents and one might be Lillian's. She was thrilled and talked about Jasper all night and was hoping to bump into him again!

But, after Lydia went to bed, then mommy and Lillian went to storytime. And not just any storytime, but storytime with Mrs. Claus!!! We had milk and cookies and you got a copy of the book (How the Grinch Stole Christmas). Mrs. Claus even let Lillian do a magic trick! She read two books and told us a great story about Santa Claus. Then, she autographed the books for the children. Lillian thought she was magical! So did I!

So, in bed by 10:00pm and Lillian didn't sleep most of the night. At 2:00am she asked me if it was morning! Lydia slept 12 hours and didn't wake up until 8:00am! We quickly got dressed and went to breakfast with the Grinch. What a great buffet he had for us downstairs and we got to see him again! Lydia even took a picture with him this time and didn't cry...okay, until he touched her! ha ha

It was time to load up and head home! Lillian didn't want to leave and kept asking me if we could come back some day! She loved it and who would have thought a hotel alone would entertain the whole family for hours upon hours! We drove home and stopped by our local Christmas tree farm. We picked our tree and they tied it to the roof and then we headed home. Since Rich has to leave on Thanksgiving Day at 7:00am, we thought we would get our tree early and decorate today. We always love decorating for the holidays especially since Lillian loves it so much now and can help a lot more too!

So, off for decorating with the family for now while Lydia is napping! What a great trip and one we won't forget for a long long time! The memories will last me a lifetime along with all those smiles! Love you all!

Julie