I don’t like being scared. It makes me angry. My blood pumps and my heart races. I figure it comes down to control. I can’t control what I’m feeling or what comes next.
Actively walking into scary situations is confusing to me. You want to be scared, you don’t want to be scared. What is it?
We were invited to Sea World for Howl-O- Scream, and I am not one to say no to new adventures. Although I may have second guessed it…
One of the best things about spending the holidays in Florida is that you can really experience multiple seasons in one day. My family and I recently spent the weekend at Fantasy World Resort in Kissimmee, Florida and went from ice skating and drinking hot chocolate to relaxing in the pool. The best of both worlds.
We have stayed with Fantasy World Resort a few times now, and each time there is something new to experience. The staff really does feel like family now, and during our entire stay they do whatever they can to keep the kids entertained. That means parents can actually relax for a bit, which means the world this time of year.
Check out all of the fun from my Instagram stories on property here.
This year, along with the ice skating and tons of Florida snow, they added fun photo ops. If you know me, you know I love a fun photo location.
There are four different to choose from, including this one from The Christmas Story. Which happens to be one of Billiam’s favorites. I personally loved the large tree and twinkle lights, but I’m a classy kinda gal. Hehe.
Photo backdrops at Fantasy World Resort
Fantasy World Resort goes all out for my favorite holidays: here is a post about their Halloween activities too!
As the property has grown, there really is no reason to leave throughout your stay. Each time we go, there are new activities to explore. Mini golf, volleyball, basketball… the lazy river and water slides.
Plus, they are pet friendly, with a dog park too!
Poolside cotton candy at Fantasy World Resort
Pool games, cotton candy, teddy bear building, pool side tie dye. Only a few of the activities they offer, and each hour there are more surprises. Let’s not forget trivia, which is my personal favorite.
Living Room at Fantasy World Resort
No matter what your plans are for the holiday season, make sure to include a stay at Fantasy World Resort. You may just want to make it a tradition (like we do).
No time to go until after the holidays? No worries…their Winter fun is available until January 2nd. 2022.
I remember going to the theatre ages ago to see Elf in between college classes at FAU. I had a huge gap on Mondays and always popped in to see something new. I honestly had no idea what to expect and had probably seen every other movie they had to offer.
I don’t remember any of the other movies I saw then…but I remember Elf. Of course, it is one of our favorite holiday movies and we still watch it every year. Multiple times.
“Buddy the Elf, What’s Your Favorite Color?”
This was the easiest treat to make, and the boys ate half of it while we were making it. I did too. We will probably make it a few more times in the next few weeks too. These are a great and fun surprise at holiday parties or neighbor cookie swaps.
Depending on what you want to add to yours, you might have most of the ingredients already.
Of course, there are no real measurements with this and it’s only a hyped-up rice crispy treat. Minus the rice crispies.
2 cans of Chow Mein noodles
1 bag of chocolate chips
1 bag of white chocolate chips
1 stick of butter
1 bag of small marshmallows
1 canister of Freeze-Dried marshmallows bits
M&M’s
sprinkles
Anything else you may want to add.
Melt half stick of butter with a full bag of marshmallows.
Melt other half of butter stick with bag of white chocolate chips. When bother are completely melted incorporate them together and stir.
Pour into a bowl of chow mein noodles. Mix well and pour onto a cookie sheet or other flat surface.
Pour chocolate chips on the top while still warm. The chocolate will start to melt as well.
While everything is still warm flatten the noodles and add your toppings.
Once the treats come to room temperature and harden, cut, and serve.
Make for someone special of course.
Both of my sons are obsessed with Minecraft. I’m not really sure how it started with the oldest, my youngest of course loves what his older brother loves. With that in mind, I wanted to find a few things they would enjoy for Christmas without it actually being more video games.
Continue reading “Screen Free Minecraft Gift Ideas – Get these before Christmas”Both of my sons are obsessed with Minecraft. I’m not really sure how it started with the oldest, my youngest of course loves what his older brother loves. With that in mind, I wanted to find a few things they would enjoy for Christmas without it actually being more video games.
Continue reading “Screen Free Minecraft Gift Ideas – Get these before Christmas”
I absolutely love the magic of Disney… I can say the same thing about toys. When I’m able to find toys that tie in with our lifestyle and get the boys excited about the next trip I grab them. I’m also “that” Disney aunt. You know…the one that always gives Disney gifts… guilty as charged and not one regret about it.
Sometimes I feel like I can’t find any new one though, or run out of ideas for them. As I was looking for holiday gifts I can across a few that I wanted to share in case you might be looking for some too.
One gift that never gets old is a game to add to our game night rotation. These came in perfectly during quarantine and now that the world is a little back to normal, we’ve decided to keep our game nights. Finding games that all of our family can play and enjoy can sometimes be a challenge, but these are two I was excited to add to our collection. Mad Tea Party and Meme the Game.
I wasn’t sure how the Doorables would go over, but after I grabbed the Villans set for Halloween, I knew I needed more. My youngest loves little figurines and the fact these are all different versions of Mickey is awesome. Again, depending on what your child is into — there are probably Doorables for that.
I love Melissa and Doug toys because they are a quality product and hold up well for years. My boys love spending time in the kitchen and have a play kitchen too. These pizza and cake slices are amazing for little hands.
Bath toys are great for siblings. Either they can play with them together in the tub or one on one – but there is no fighting with them outside of the bathroom. I actually grabbed both of these sets for my nephews. Here is the Finding Nemo bath set – and the Mickey Mouse Basket Ball set.
Something that drove me crazy is that I could never get LEGO bricks that were Disney unless it was a princess. I wanted classic Mickey but non in DUPLO form. I was so excited when I saw these. There are actually quite a few to choose from. I’ve put these on our holiday wishlists for other family members to grab too!
I asked my husband what his favorite holiday flavor was going into the Christmas season… and was a little surprised when he said Egg Nog. Now, I absolutely love Egg Nog — always have–but I try not to buy it because I will non-stop drink it. Do you have any food like that?
So when he mentioned Egg Nog, I was glad I could buy some and use it to bake with.
Continue reading “Egg Nog Blondie Bites – Fun Festive Food”
Let’s talk about SUMMER. Your favorite parts… the best parts… the memory makers. For us, that is hands down Gaylord Palms Summer of More.
Even though school is already back in session for most Florida kids, you can still celebrate the summer with a weekend away. An amazing weekend away your family will talk about for quite a while. I know because everyone in my family absolutely loves it.
By far the atrium view completely changes a typical hotel stay. This is such a sensory experience. The trees, the waterfall, the porch to sit and people watch. Early in the morning, the middle of the night, and as a great way to end your day around the resort. Check to see when their atrium light shows are. You can watch from your room or grab an ice cream and watch right below.
One of the amazing thing about Gaylord Palms is that they have awesome family events throughout the year. This summer we going in on the Explores Club.
It is a small socially distant tour throughout the atrium with a tour guide. As your family walks and explores, the guide points out native plants and trees to Florida, as well as fun facts about the turtles and alligators there.
Our tour guide was able to answer even random questions about the property and history of Florida, that it felt like a truly inclusive experience.
There is a travelers guide that the boys traveled with and marked off each location as well as gathered small Polaroid pictures from our guide. Give anyone in our family any type of scavenger hunt list, and we accept the challenge.
Hear about the true Florida ghost story of Colonel Garcia Marti and his young wife Dolores in 1794. Read more here. Just the right amount of spooky and strange.
This was our first time to actually feed the fish too! My little one could have stayed here for an hour and he would have been happy.
Once you finish the tour there is also an Explorer’s Bar with refreshments and a themed lounge to enjoy. It for sure gives off Halloween vibes and I loved every minute of it. They have non-alcoholic drinks for the little explorers too.
Something that we can’t wait to do is take advantage of their on property waterpark. They by far have the best children’s splash pad area. Grown ups and join in on the slides and fun there too.
Take a minute to see more in our vlog of the Gaylord Palms Water Park here. They have really considered everything a family would enjoy on a getaway… including their brand new “lazy” river… Crystal River Rapids. It’s not really your classic lazy river, and the next day I could feel it everywhere in my body.
Take your family away, or take a girls trip for the weekend. What are you waiting for? The holiday season will be here before you know it and these days of summer are flying away so quickly. Take time to make more summer memories.
Christmas tradition.
Quite a few things have changed for us this year, I’m sure in your family too. One thing that was have made a habit of doing each and every year was ICE at Gaylord Palms. (see last year’s post here)
Missing it was actually something that I was worried about as the summer rolled around and things were canceled or postponed.
Once I saw Gaylord Palms announce it’s holiday lineup I knew we had to go.
Continue reading “I Love Christmas Movies – Gaylord Palms 2020”
I feel like it’s a toss up when you ask people what their Halloween plans are. I know most of it has to do with the area they are in… but also so many of our favorite Halloween events have been canceled. I already know with a 95% certainty we will not be trick or treating, simply because our neighborhood isn’t doing it. (Most of our neighbors keep to themselves anyway – imagine a street with all of the porch lights off…that’s where we live.)
Continue reading “Not Trick or Treating??? 4 (Not So Scary) Halloween Ideas for Families”
Our Fall must do list has dramatically changed from previous years. I think the frustrating part is I don’t know what will be open, what will be limited and what will be so overcrowded that we would need to avoid it all together.
Continue reading “Fall Family Bucket List – 7 Easy things to plan this month…”
This Florida Mom 