• Travel & Vacation: Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort (Orlando, FL)

    Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort Hotel

    Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort

    Our “Home Away from Home” during our stay in Orlando was at the Walt Disney Swan & Dolphin Resort.  We didn’t spend a large amount of time actually in our room, although it was nice to crash some place comfortable every night after a busy day of exploring.  Our room (I think each room had the same) had a mini-refrigerator and plenty of space to put food and snacks.

    We did all our breakfasts and dinners (except one) in our hotel room.  For our lunches we packed sandwiches to take with us in our backpacks so we wouldn’t have to stop and eat.  I shared a few tidbits about earlier resort and the neat pools they have on the resort.  The only thing that really bothered the girls about the resort was that the fish on the signs and around the hotel did not actually look like a dolphin (something they pointed out to me on multiple occasions).  They still loved it though!

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    Fun jungle gym.  Great place to vent out any extra energy the kids may have had.

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    The ducks were very friendly.  We were walking on the sidewalk when this duck decided to take a stroll with us.
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    Waiting with smiles for the bus to arrive.  Sometimes we didn’t wait very long and other days it took longer before the bus arrived.

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    I had fun hanging out with the girls while Jake was in his conference!

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    Wild crew.  Not sure how the girls sustained all their energy throughout the days and late into the evenings.  We had a blast!

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    The girls were standing in the walkway for our hotel.  It was really beautiful at night.

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    Our Mickey and Minnie Mouse in front of the fountain after a very long day at the park.

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    Our balcony overlooked this walkway outside of our hotel.

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    It was mesmerizing watching all the lights change colors.

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    It was very relaxing to sit out on the balcony at night, listen to the music from below, and watch the different lights fade in and out.

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    Pretty trees….

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    Several nights the kids would eat there dinner on the balcony so they could watch the lights.

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    You could even smell some of the great food from the restaurants nearby as you relaxed on the balcony.

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    I don’t know if it was the pretty lights, music, smell of good food, or the fact we were sitting down after walking around all day, but we spent a good bit of time hanging out on our balcony every night as everyone relaxed for the evening and got showers done before hitting the bed.

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    Goodbye Orlando….until next time!  We had a great trip!  Many fun activities happened and memories were made.  Now it’s time to head on home!

  • The Kids Christmas Tree

    When Jake and I were first married we didn’t have a Christmas Tree so his Mom gave us a small one that she had and wasn’t using anymore.  We used that little Christmas tree for several years!  It was easy to put up and take down.  Plus, a lot of the Holidays we were traveling to visit family so a real tree didn’t work well for us.  We were in an apartment at the time and the tree was perfect.  When Jake’s Mom moved to Seattle she gave us their family tree.  It has been nice being able to decorate a full tree for the Holidays, especially now that we have kids, even though it is more work we have a grand time.

    Since we no longer use the smaller tree as our main one we have let the girls adopt that tree to put up in their bedroom.  We put the tree up on a small folding table and they do all the decorating.  The ornaments on their tree are wooden or plastic so if they should fall off they will not break.  It has been a lot of fun seeing them decorate and re-decorate their cute little tree.  Every year they have gotten better at spreading out the ornaments and decorating. They love falling asleep with the Christmas lights glowing on their tree.  It has been a fun Holiday tradition we started three years ago that has really been a hit for the girls.

    Do your kids decorate their rooms?  What do they do to get their rooms ready for the Holiday season?