March 30 - Annabelle Blue

Annabelle Blue

You guys, I forgot a key detail from Universal day 2-Luke and I walked over 10 miles! Close to 26k steps. And zero complaints from him. Great day!

On our last morning, we packed up the room and car, then headed back to the parks to get in some last rides. It was a gorgeous day! Jillian's favorites: Flight of the Hippogriff, Woody Woodpecker, ET and Spider Man. Luke and JD's favorite: Velocicoaster. Me and Julia: a tie between Velocicoaster and Hagrid's. Overall, fabulous all around. We had lunch at the Toothsome Chocolate Factory, one of our favorite City Walk restaurants. They have the best desserts and macaroons. Mmmmmm. After that, off to Tampa!

Traffic leaving Orlando was heavier than expected but we made it to Grammie's just before 7pm. Best part of this evening? We got to meet the newest baby Yamo, Annabelle Blue! Jillian was especially excited to play with her new little cousin. It was great seeing Grammie, Uncle Chad and Aunt Michelle after 2+ years. Fabulous evening!!

Last day at the parks

He ate almost all of this..

She ate the rest

March 28 - Ten Plus Miles

Luke, Julia and I woke up bright and early on day 2. We wanted to be at the parks for early park admission and left the hotel by 6.50am. We were in the parks a little after 7am and started powerwalking to Hagrid's. We overhead people say the wait time was already posting as 2H so we decided to go to Velocicoaster. It ended up being a great decision as we walked right onto the new rollercoaster! It was awesome!! After that we hit as many rides as we could before meeting back up with Uncle Greg, Aunt Nicole and Leah. Vacation is always fun but even more fun with family! We did a bunch of rides together and I finally called JD at 9.45am to see if he and Jillian were on the way to the parks.

Well, turns out I ended up waking them up! They finally met up with us around 10.30am. We parted ways with Greg, Nicole and Leah around lunchtime as they ate and headed back home. JD took Julia and Jillian back to the hotel for lunch and a swim while I stayed in the parks with my new roller coaster junkie, Luke! After a few hours, we met everyone at the hotel and then went to dinner at Vivo, a good Italian restaurant. After that..back to the parks we went. I really wanted to ride Hagrids as I missed out on it a few summers ago (Julia's girls trip) and JD rode it with them on Sunday. So Julia, Luke and I hopped in the 2h line and waited. We played 'Heads Up' (charades) in line and it was actually really fun. I also overhead the people behind us talking about the requirements for superintendent scholar award and I said to Julia "those people must be from CCISD" (our school district) and wouldn't you know-I looked at their name tags and they were from our district! A high school a couple miles away from us. What a small world! After 2h we finally made it on the ride and it was awesome. Worth the wait!!

Park fun!

Pool fun! (she actually refused to leave the pool area and ran away from JD..ended up in trouble)

 

March 23 - Cold Day at the Parks

First day at the parks! I was worried everyone would be super tired Sunday morning with the time change (from central to eastern time zone) plus spring forward. Never fear! I woke everyone up around 6.30am and they were ready to go. Who was the most ready? Luke! He literally sprinted with the stroller from the hotel to the park entrance (no exaggeration). I couldn't believe how fast he was going. Apparently being tall enough for all the rides is a great motivator! We went to Universal Studios first and knocked out a lot of rides pretty quickly during early park access. Minions, Jimmy Fallen, Simpsons and Men in Black. At this point, Uncle Greg, Aunt Nicole and Leah made it to the parks so JD took Julia and Luke to meet them at a big coaster while Jillian and I went to the little Woody Woodpecker coaster. She loved it-we went on it 5 times in a row!

After that, we met up with the rest of the family, did some more rides and took the train to the Islands side. We all did Gringotts together and then I split off again with Jillian. We did all the adorable Dr. Seuss rides while the big kids did coasters. After a quick lunch, we did-you guessed it-more rides! It was a fabulous, albeit cold day (40 degrees most of the day, brrr). We all had dinner together at Bubba Gump in City Walk and then went back to the hotel the kids...went swimming (well, not me and Nicole, too cold for us). Yes, the pool is heated but it's not that heated! 

It was an awesome day. JD and the kids even got to do the new Velocicoaster ride (2 hour wait, they said it was worth it) and the Hagrid's ride (wait time was posted as 2h but they waited 1h). 

High tailing it to the parks!

Pool time!

Cutie Pie

Great day!!

March 22 - Za Moon

Spring Break 2022! We've had a trip to Universal Studios planned for about a year now. The dates kept changing due to Covid but we finally made it happen last week. The kids had a half day on Friday so we started our journey Friday afternoon. We hit 2h+ of traffic delays in Louisiana (seriously I-10 in LA is the worst stretch of highway) plus a huge storm. We finally made it to our hotel in Pensacola Beach at 1.30am. Luckily JD was able to do mobile check-in so we went right to the room. Unluckily, the mobile key didn't work so I was standing in the hallway with the kids for about 10min while JD went to the desk to get it straightened out. At this point, you would think the kids would just pass out, right? No, they took the opportunity to argue about who would sleep on the couch. JD was so tired of the arguing, he slept there. 

We woke up Saturday morning to a beautiful blue sky but it was COLD! I snapped a quick picture of the ocean and hustled back inside. We went to an adorable diner for breakfast and then started the rest of the journey to Orlando. We played the alphabet game for part of the drive and Jillian was adamant she get the letter 'z.' When we finally made it to 'z' she said "Za Moon!" You guys, how adorable is this little sprite? After the alphabet game, Luke created 'the number game' where he repeatedly changed the rules. But we had a lot of good laughs! 

After some rough traffic from Gainesville to Orlando, we finally made it to our hotel! I upgraded to a 'deluxe queen' room and wow I am so happy I did, the room was enormous!! It was cold out (40) but we went to the pool and walked around. Luke, JD and Julia played ping ball while Jillian checked out the slide at the pool. 

Next post-Universal day one!

March 11 - Curling Headband

The grass is always greener, right? As someone with naturally curly hair, I prefer my hair straight. I have a blow dryer, flat iron and a hair dryer brush (the hair dryer brush is the BEST thing ever, I love it). I also have velcro rollers if I feel the need for some volume. I don't have a lot of hair so a few of those rollers and my whole head is ready to go. Julia on the other hand, has a head full of thick, straight hair. She wanted me to curl it for the Valentine's dance and after watching a few Youtube videos about 'how to curl hair using a flat iron' I thought I had it figured out. In reality? I didn't form one single curl. Darn! 

Last week I ordered a 'heatless head band' to try it out on Julia. Years ago I had done something similar with a bathrobe belt and it worked surprisingly well. But how well would it work on straight, super long hair? We tried it Wednesday night:

And the results Thursday morning were simply amazing!!

Jillian was so impressed she wanted to try it last night. Jillian has extremely thin, limp, baby fine hair so it mostly fell out while she was sleeping but she still had some waves this morning!

Definitely worth the $9 purchase!

March 9 - We Love our Bell Bells

Bella Rose. Bella. Bells. Bell Bells. Chunky Chunky Bella. We love our flurry girl and Jillian especially loves to snuggle with her and put headbands on her. Such a cutie!

March 7 - Kemah & We Are the Sea

Friday night fun! After a long week, I took Julia, Gracelynn (school friend) and Jillian to Kemah Boardwalk. The weather was nice (although a tad humid) and it was pretty empty, so we got a lot of rides in. Turns out Jillian LOVES the spinning rides. We went on one four times in a row. I finally had to cut her off LOL! After two hours of rides, we ate outside at a burger place and the girls all had ice cream sundaes. It was a great night!

Saturday was a busy day. Jillian had a soccer game in the morning and she did fabulous. Seven goals! She also went missing mid-game. You may be thinking, how did you miss this Christine? Well, I was talking to other parents and almost everyone on her team is blonde and had pigtails. So I didn't even realize it until the coach asked me "Where is Jillian?" I found the little stinker 2 fields over cheering for her friend Penny from school.

I had to explain to her "you can't just leave the field mid-game. Your team is counting on you." She had a special visitor this game, Bella! I took Amelia to one soccer game yesterday ago and it was not a good experience (she wanted to be on the field playing and cried loudly the entire time). I'm happy to report that Bella was the perfect soccer dog. She sat/laid next to me the entire game and little kids randomly came over and snuggled with her. She had a great time. 

After soccer, Julia's theater class participated in an intermediate school "One Act Play" competition. Her school performed "We Are the Sea" by Laura Lundgren Smith. She played the part of Iseult and did an amazing job. They placed 3rd out of 4 schools and several actors won awards for their acting. Julia was not recognized but I think she was clearly top 3 (of course I'm biased). I told her art is subjective. But Uncle Chris, if you are reading this, I think you would have been very proud. She had a long monologue and did all her lines in an Irish accent (the only one who even attempted it). She even cried on stage! I'm very proud of her. 

February 28 - Hamilton

Last night Julia and I went to the Hobby Center of Performing Arts to watch Hamilton! This was her big Christmas gift and she was super excited to be there. The set was beautiful and we had great seats. The verdict? The show was amazing! In true Christine fashion, I fell asleep during part of the 2nd half (I'm sure the people next to me couldn't believe some crazy woman was sleeping) but overall, I still enjoyed it. We both agreed that "The Room Where It Happens" was the best musical number and the king had the most fun role.  

February 25 - Soccer & Zoo Fun

Sisters

Jillian's second soccer game was last Saturday. It was a perfect soccer day-clear blue skies and beautiful sunshine. Julia, Luke and I were at the fields cheering on our favorite blonde. Jillian did great, scoring 2 goals (one was in the wrong goal..but she was still excited LOL) and one assist. Great job Rainbow Unicorns! After the game, we headed to the shoe store to get Luke some new sneakers and then Jillian and I spent a few hours at the neighborhood park. It was a great day!

On Sunday, Jillian and I headed to the Houston Zoo. It was overcast and a tad chilly, but we had a great time seeing the animals, riding the carousal multiple times and riding the train. Jillian said she wants to go to the zoo together every Sunday, little cutie. 

Soccer Fun

Zoo Adventure

 

February 21 - Valentine Dance

The Brookside Intermediate 'Valentine Dance' was Friday and Julia had been looking forward to it for weeks. Eli, a boy from school and XC teammate asked her to be his date (which meant they met at the dance and danced to one slow song LOL). We carpooled with one of Julia's friend's, Ruthie. Ruthie's parents drove them to the dance and I picked up the girls, then took them out to eat at Chiptole and Menchies. The girls had a blast! They said almost everyone in the school was there and there was a lot of dancing. So happy they had a fun time!

In terms of the dress-we tried the mall and were not successful. I bought a really pretty pink one but she decided on this purple one that she borrowed from a friend. Meanwhile, she really wanted me to curl her hair but I couldn't figure out how to do it (attempted it with a flat iron and velcro rollers). I might need to invest in hot rollers or a curling iron. It's hard working with super long, heavy hair!

Julia and Ruthie

Julia and Eli

Julia and Gracelynn