Christmas at the Gaylord

Back in the summer  I saw that the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine was doing a Dreamworks Christmas package. It included breakfast with Shrek, VIP tickets to ICE, meet and greets with characters from Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, Puss in Boots and Shrek and a 2 night stay. Considering my kids are pretty much obsessed with all things Shrek I knew we had to try and go. Thankfully Dylan was really excited about it too.

Lets just say this place is incredible! I mean incredible! We only told the kids that we were going to stay in a Hotel and were going to get to meet the REAL Santa. Carly was super excited and talked about it non-stop.  We waited until we got there to fill them in on the Shrek part ;)

On the way up there we stopped at my cousin Laura's house so that we could introduce each other to our new babies. It was a great but fast visit and a nice little pit stop on our way.

Claire- 6 months &  Emma-1 month

When we got to the Hotel we immediately started exploring.  It was massive, the decorations were just beautiful and there were people everywhere!

Looking out from the Lobby

Gingerbread house made out of real treats. 

Standing in line for Santa. Carly brought her list with her.

The first night we were there we stood in the crazy long line to meet Santa. The kids were so excited and Carly even brought her list with her and a picture she drew of Santa. (of course when it was time to actually sit on his lap I forgot to give it to her to take to him) The kids sat in line for close to an hour and did so amazing. They didn't fuss, stood right next to us and were truly awesome. We got compliments on them from a few parents standing in line. I must say that is the best compliment I can get about my kids. They make us so proud. Santa was great and both kids sat with him and told him what they wanted. We opted out of the ridiculously over-priced picture that they tried to sell so sorry you don't get to see it, but trust me when I say they were pretty cute. Claire didn't get to meet the Jolly ol' man this year but I am looking forward to next years 18 month old Claire getting to visit him. 

The next morning we got to eat breakfast with Shrek, Fiona and Puss in Boots. 

Waiting to eat with Shrek

Ogre Baby

It was super awesome complete with green Ogre Juice and Ogre shaped waffles. They even had a green chocolate fountain.

After we got done eating I asked Carly where we were and she said, "Far, Far Away" It made me realize that they seriously thought that we had gone to Far Far Away and were actually meeting the real Shrek and Fiona. If only we could all go back and see the world through the eyes of a child again. Carly noticed that Fiona wasn't wearing her ring or her necklace and was very upset about it. We had to tell her she probably left them in her room. :)

Next we headed to go see ICE. I had heard about it before and was so excited to get to experience it. It is colored ice carved to the Madagascar theme. It was a super cold 9 degrees in the show room. We were all wearing triple layers and then they provided a parka.  I didn't bring gloves for myself and halfway through my fingers were numb and I was having trouble even taking pictures. 

They had ice slides that were super cool and Dylan took the kids up to ride it. Carly did awesome, Bub on the other hand..........

Carly sliding

lets just say the poor thing flipped upside down at the end and bumped his head. I was so proud though they they both did it. It was a pretty big slide

Clay flipped at the end :(

Amazing nativity scene carved out of ice. Incredible!

Last we got to do a meet and greet with some more of the Characters. Carly was super scared of Shrek when we met him at the breakfast so it was her chance to get to talk to him and take her picture with him. We also got to see Kung Fu Panda and the penguins from Madagascar.

The trip was just amazing and the kids did so good. Claire was such a trooper, she rarely fussed and just went with the flow. 

She fell sound asleep facing forward

Oh and I almost forgot, Walter our elf made the trip with us. The kids woke up Saturday morning so upset because he was no where in the house. I guess he didn't want to miss all the action because we found him in the car!!! The kids were so excited that he came with us!!

I always knew I had a great family but a big jam packed weekend away from home made me realize just how relaxed and wonderful my kid are. So blessed that my husband works extra so that we can enjoy these family trips and make wonderful memories with our kids.