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Taking Your Toddler to an Amusement Park

Posted on August 28, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Growing up, my family went to amusement parks a lot. We traveled to Disney World, Sesame Place, Hershey Park, Six Flags, Busch Gardens, and countless other locations up and down the east coast. I have heard stories and seen countless photos of myself with Mickey Mouse as a toddler and even younger. Most of my personal memories of trips are from the time I was in kindergarten and beyond.

With the summer winding down and families planning trips for next year, many parents find themselves wondering if their child is too young to go to an amusement park. The answer in my mind is not to wait. You will make memories for your child to look back at in scrap books, and more important ones that you will hold close to your heart

When my husband and I were married, we said that one day we wanted to take our children to Disney World in Orlando. Our oldest son was born in 2003, so we said we would wait until he was ready to appreciate the experience. In December 2008, we made a decision to go on our first big family vacation to Walt Disney World the following spring. We knew that five year old NHL would adore it, but what about JSL who would turn two while there?

I spent countless hours researching restaurants, stroller rentals, diaper changing areas and other toddler must haves in an amusement park. I made a list of rides that would be suitable for my toddler, others that my older son could go on and we learned all that we could about child swap option (many other parks have similar policies). The child swap allowed us to get a pass for the other parent to ride on without a long wait while we swapped out staying with our little guy. This was fantastic and helped to cut down on more wait time with a toddler. Finding resources online from other parents, reading books and knowing my child were the most helpful items.

The truth is, toddlers will have fun in any location that you take them. If they see you laughing and smiling, chances are they will too. My son adored his time at Disney World. Will he remember that trip years from now? We may never know, but my husband and I will. We often look back at the trip photos with our now three year old and he points to the objects and cheers. If the opportunity to go comes along, take it and enjoy the special time with your family

Have you ever brought your toddler or younger child to an amusement park? Let me know how it went and please leave tips for others in the comments below.

If you plan on going to Walt Disney World, let me know. I have a slew of resources that are amazing in addition to my posts here on The Angel Forever.

Disclosure: This post was previously published on a project I worked on. The text is the same, but I placed additional photos and the question at the end for my blog.

Categories:
decisions Disney family fun jsl looking back photos Six Flags travel vacation

CowParade Las Vegas – 2002

Posted on August 10, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Quick note about this week’s Wordless Wednesday. Photos were taken in Las Vegas throughout the city during the 2002 CowParade exhibit. We had countless other photos on TechyDad’s digital camera. Unfortunately, that camera was stolen on our way home in the airport (right off my back). These were pictures that I took and scanned with my now dated film camera. Wandering and seeing all of the CowParade pieces was amazing in itself.

Categories:
cousins family fun interesting jl looking back photos TechyDad vacation

Time for Couples is Important Too

Posted on August 8, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Ever have one of those days where you wonder how you got to where you are? It seems to be hitting hard here over the last few months. Drama on many levels have left TechyDad and I quite stressed this year. When we celebrated our 10th anniversary with massive plumbing troubles and moving into my parent’s house for several days, it was a sign. Then, thanks to a little push from Amy (aka Resourceful Mommy), we decided to do it. Yes, we booked a kids free getaway. We tossed our senses away and decided that WE needed this. WE, as in the couple, were in great need of time to ourselves without worrying about the kids, stressing over the house, and bickering about this, that, and the other thing.

Since NHL was born, almost eight years ago, we had only gone away without the boys once. That was last summer to NYC for BlogHer. Although it was a wonderful trip, it was not exactly the romantic destination. There were many times that we were on opposite sides of the city at different events.

Could we really afford this trip? Probably not, but WE the couple could not afford to let this opportunity go. What I have learned over the last year is that you can not wish, hope, and wait for things to get better. You must be proactive and stand up for what you need and want. TechyDad and I need to be selfish for us. The kids will be fine with family, they will get to know their Bubbe and Grandpa a lot more, and we will get to be a couple again.

The last real hurrah for us was when we went to Las Vegas in December 2002. We had celebrated out 1st anniversary in June by going to Boston. Then, when some health concerns in the following months left us deciding to start our family, we booked a getaway. Thankfully, we learned from our honeymoon and took more photos of the two of us together. Check out how young and carefree we were:

Our time in Vegas was amazing and we saw so many beautiful items (more posts on that another day). Here are a few photos scanned for now:

When we arrived home, we found out that we were indeed expecting our first little Ewok. NHL was born the following summer and changed our lives. While NHL and JSL are two of the most amazing parts of lives, we, like so many other couples, have hardly had time to be ourselves – husband and wife. Our roles of B and J have morphed into Mom and Dad and rarely seem allow us to get off and remind ourselves of who we used to be.

So, have you ever been just a little selfish in the name of your marriage? Please share tips, thoughts, or anything else in the comments below.

Categories:
decisions family jl looking back losing my mind me moments photos TechyDad travel vacation vent

Wedding Day – 10 Years Ago

Posted on June 24, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Wow. Ten years ago today I married JL. Way back in the day, he was not TechyDad. The Angel Forever was getting ready to become the Mrs to her Long Island Love.

At that point in our lives we knew that one day we would be parents, but were young, naïve, and focused on our wedding day. The stresses leading up to our magical day all melted away on that beautiful Sunday morning. Before we knew it, our ketubah was signed and we were standing under the chuppah in front of all of our family and friends.

Most of the actual wedding day events are a blur to me. I hardly recall eating, drinking, or much. Thank goodness we have photos. Here is a rare moment when we sat down at our wedding table. Note that even Mickey and Minnie were invited to celebrate before we went to visit them on our honeymoon.

The next morning we left early for our long awaited Disney World honeymoon. This was JL’s first time there and I was determined to make him as crazy about Disney. I do believe it worked.

We had a magical ten days at Disney dining, exploring, relaxing, and romancing. I think JL saw that Disney World is not just for kids. We went to see Cirque du Soleil La Nouba, and did several behind the scene tours and were spoiled as newlyweds. Yes, we were Disneyfied!

Since we stayed at The Beach Club Resort, we walked from our resort into Epcot a lot to dine. We would enter the park via France in World Showcase. Almost ten years later, we stopped for a rare photo together while visiting France

My letter to TechyDad from last year still holds true. I am beyond lucky to have an amazing husband and best friend. It has been quite an adventure the last 10 years, and I look forward to many more magical moments together. I love you with all of my heart and look forward to the rest of our lives together.

So my question to everyone today:

Where did you go on your honeymoon and have you ever been back? If you are waiting for the honeymoon of your dreams, where would you like to go?

For more wedding photos and memories:

Pssst . . . be sure to stop by my Cars 2 giveaway to enter for a chance to win some great items.

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #157

Categories:
Aloha Friday Disney dreams fun jl looking back photos summer TechyDad travel vacation

Opening His First Vinylmation

Posted on April 9, 2011 9:42 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL,

Before we left for Disney World, we were all really curious about the relatively new collectables called Vinylmations. Basically, artists have created art pieces on a standard Mickey Mouse vinyl figure. The results are a multitude of series of these fun critters.

When we looked at them online, you were really interested in the Muppets, Toy Story 3, and Animation options. Daddy was curious about the Star Wars one (which we never saw in person). I wanted to see the Nerds and figure out which one to begin my collection with.

When we switched resorts, you were an amazing helper. Thanks to being really great at the conference, we offered to buy you your first Vinylmation at Pop Century before we went back to our room. We asked you to wait to open it in our room so I could capture it on video. I wanted to do this since Scott on InnerMouse had featured a video of a little girl doing something similar. I figured it would be fun to capture this memory for all of us. Here is what happened:

As you can see, you were VERY happy with the Swedish Chef Vinylmation – thank goodness! By the end of our trip, you had a few additional friends to add to your new collection.

What I love about Vinylmations is that all four of us enjoy looking for them, reading about them, and saving our money to get more. I can not wait to see which one you add next. I love your passion for Mickey collectables – you should be proud of being NDK78!

Love,

Mommy

Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World, we were given an incredible deal thanks to Disney. The sweet conference fee included 3 nights at the Grand Floridian, several meals for the entire family, 7 day park hoppers for everyone, conference/meals for me and some other items to take home. Also note that Disney never asked us to blog about this event. As a long time Disney fan, it is my pleasure to share my experiences from the event.

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