Massanutten Winter 2017

5 months later, we "vacation" at Massanutten Resort again...  Different cousins, different grandparent, and different season.  Much of the same stuff.

It was fun to reminisce about our first trip to Massanutten with the Thomas family.  Jen was pregnant with Heidi and we looked forward to the day we could take all the kids to the waterpark...

From

August 2013.
3 kids, 2 and under, Jason with some hair

To

Jan 2017
Independent Braylen going down waterslides solo

Just look at these "big" kids at the waterpark

Opening up the place is awesome,
except with 4 kids who are impatient

Go Heidi!  (and Aunt Jen)

Speaking of "big" kids... look at that hunk
of a husband of mine.  Everyone is getting
bigger and stronger!

An old pro at the waterpark this time

Someone is finding it hard to keep it together with no more naps

There were the same antics back at the rooms like last time... everyone beating up on Uncle Jason

2013

2017

And of course extra swimming sessions in the whirlpool tub

Goggles required

Actually, goggles were more of a fashion statement

When with Mema and the Thomas family, cards will be played and illnesses will circulate 

Such cute siblings plugging their noses

We had hoped Massanutten would have been a winter wonderland this time of year, but no luck.  The snow tubing scene wasn't what I hoped it would be, yet it was still a super fun time.  The forecast for the day we wanted to go snow tubing was for freezing rain, which ended up stopping shortly after we arrived.  The freezing conditions made the ramps fast.

The tubing crew.
Little Heidi wasn't tall enough this year, so she stayed
back at the rooms with Mema.

Getting all set for our first run

Many runs in

The kids wanted to go down alone, until they realized they could go faster and farther with the weight of the adults.  Only small children and parents were allowed to be tied together due to the fast, slippery conditions.   The kids were troopers for our 2 hour tubing session.

The dads being the heaviest, gave the best ride.  The kids were fighting over Uncle Matt.

Uncle Matt was the popular one in 2013 too

Mema shopped specifically for matching outfits for the kids to get a good group shot of the cousins...

The teeny-tiny girls in pink

The same-sized boy in blue

Heidi (2.99), Evie (5.5), Luke (5), Braylen (4)

I think we had better success when they wore superhero costumes

It is really enjoyable vacationing with cousins so close in age and height; they all played so happily together.  And best of all, no one ended up with the stomach bug on this vacation, so we'll call it a winner of a vacation!  This marks the end of the timeshare era for Mema; onto new vacation destinations in the future!

Disney: Going Home

Friday marked the end of our vacation at Bonnet Creek Resort and Disney World.   We had some time between check-out and our flight, so we took the crew back to Disney Springs.

Braylen was in hog-heaven at the Lego Store

Buzz Light Year, Lego style

his super fast car

While the boys created and raced cars, the girls wandered around the enormous Disney store.  One of our family traditions is to buy a Christmas ornament from each of our vacation destinations for our tree.  I typically wait until the last possible minute to grab one before we head home; thank you huge Disney souvenir shop stocked with Disney ornaments for coming to the rescue (not like I can't buy them on Amazon...).

We took a quick stroll around the lake.

Evie came across a penny souvenir machine at Disney Springs.  The kids were able to get 3 pennies for their penny souvenir passport books; one from each "park".  51 cents, that's a cheap thrill as long as we have quarters and a penny!  (we came prepared with lots of change)

Another cute find for Braylen was the left-handed store.  It was eye opening to me things I never considered a easier for a righty and than a lefty.  And we'll add all those things to his Amazon Christmas list...

Off to the airport for our afternoon flight back to BWI.  We came home with less energy, but many memories and a few new friends

Safely back in Baltimore

Obligatory childhood trip to Disney World.... Check.

Disney: Animal Kingdom

Our second and last park was Animal Kingdom.

Funny/Interesting/Pointless fact:  The last time Jason and I were at Disney World was in 2000.  The Shippensburg Concert Band took our show on the road.  (LOL).  I knew of Jason since he was the "hot one in the trumpet section".  I was dating someone else at the time who didn't like rides.  Somehow we both ended up hanging with the same group of people and having one unforgettable nightmare dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.  It's funny to be back here 16 years later with the same guy ;)

The awesome Tree of Life

Seeing all the animals in the tree is
simply amazing!

The kids got to be Wildness Explorers for the day.  Their job was to collect "badges" throughout the park, which were earned by completing activities, finding animals, and meeting people from far away lands, learning about animals from a troop leader.  It was a great way to keep my kids interested as we meandered through the crowds.  (there aren't many rides at AK)

But first learning the Wildness Explorer pledge

A map of all the badges to earn!

Earning her Music Badge

The main attraction at Animal Kingdom is the African safari.  I remember being blown away by this when I visited in college.  This time, not so much.  I blame my years of visiting the Maryland Zoo with the kids for our lack of awe for seeing these amazing animals.  Our zoo doesn't have hippos or crocs; those I was excited to see.

Hippos!

Such small ears for such fat animals

Braylen was amped up over these guys

pretty cool to see without a big barrier between us

Holy horns

"little" elephants

In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight

Speaking of Lion King... that was our next fast pass.  And since there were hippo stuffed animals outside the show, I kind of gave in.  So here's the story after Lion King Simba had a cub named Kion who is part of the "Lion Guard", a Disney Junior series.  I didn't know the hippo and cheetah names, but you bet my kids did.

Our new friends-
"Beshte" the hippo and "Fuli" the cheetah

I loved the Lion King show:  good music, Timon and Pumbaa, acrobatics, fire, and lots of dancing.  I think the whole fam enjoyed it too.

Pumbaa just makes me laugh

Even though our kids haven't seen most of the movies, or even read the books, of the characters at AK, they still wanted to see them.  Evie was really into her autograph book; I think it gave her something to "say" to them without having to speak to them.

Flik from Bug's Life

Tarzan

The original wilderness explorer, Russel
from "Up"

Dug from "Up"

That's a lot of badges!

The longest line and the shyest girl

A smile is in there behind her cheetah

Now these guys... I didn't even know their names, but they were worth the 25 minute wait!

King Louie from "Jungle Book" snuggles B's hippo

Somehow these characters were allowed to parade around with Braylen's newly bought "Beshte" without Braylen crying.  He thought it was funny.

Baloo thought Beshte was treasure

LOL.  I loved how they interacted with Bray

Silly crew

We never made it to Dino Land or finished finding badges due to tiredness, but Jason and I did sneak away for our final fast pass on the Everest roller coaster.  A fun one!  

We all took late afternoon naps to gear up for a special treat that night; a mom I met briefly in MOPS invited us to the Contemporary's Top of The World Lounge to see the MK fireworks.  It sounded like a fun way to finish out our last night in Disney.

All ready for the night with our glow bracelets,
glow sticks, and glow glasses (can you see G in the back with
the yellow glasses?)

First playdate ever and it was in Disney.
Yes, we live 15 minutes from each other

The castle was white.  Stunning

The sacrifices parents make for vertically challenged kids

Pretty view overlooking the Magic Kingdom.
The fireworks... eh, nothing super impressive.
But I guess when they are set off every night,
they can't be over the top.

And cue meltdowns.  Even with our naps, staying out to see the fireworks start at 9 PM pushed my kids over the edge.  Props to the families that attempt going back to the park at night.  We are clearly years off from being able to do this.  Braylen wanted more fireworks, Evie wanted her thumb.  I'm glad we waited until our last night to keep the kids up late; tomorrow is check out day.

I forgot to include my favorite part of the day- the close up of the hippo!