The Lee Family: ICE!

Yesterday the girls and I went to ICE! at the Gaylord Texan. Actually, we haven't been to it in a few years since our last visit was on a Friday afternoon and we ended up standing in line for at least 2 hours and then froze inside and I think one or both of the girls either needed to go to the bathroom and/or started crying because they were hungry. Anyway, we left swearing we would never be back. But, I do think it's pretty amazing and I figured it would be a fun thing to do over the Thanksgiving week. I was also hopeful that if we visited early that it wouldn't be as busy. Since Grandpa and Grandma planned to arrive on Wednesday, we bought tickets for Monday thinking it might be the best (and least busy) day to go. CK said he didn't want to go with us given the last visit, so I bought tickets for the three of us and tickets for the girls to go sledding on the snow mountain that is next to ICE! We've never done the sledding before and I wasn't even sure Olivia would decided to do it or not, since she tends to waiver on things like that.

We made it to the Gaylord Texas just after noon, as our tickets were for 1pm. It was actually pretty crazy in the parking lot, so we were a bit nervous that it was crazy inside too. We parked and headed inside the hotel. We stopped and enjoyed the Christmas decorations and watched the trains for a bit before heading on to ICE! Thankfully the wait wasn't too bad, although we were all bundled up and ready to go into the cold so we were all soon very hot. We slowly moved toward the entrance and the big blue coats they were handing out. Of course, the girls started arguing over the green handmade hat my Mom made since they both wanted to wear it. It was made for Sofia, but it really fits Olivia much better now and she decided to wear it, which caused Sofia to protest and want to wear it herself! We finally worked it all out just as we arrived at the blue coats. We each put on our coats and got bundled up once again. We had to stand in line again for a short time but were soon ushered into the ICE! exhibit. This year ICE! featured "The Night Before Christmas" and was very well done, as always. It was breathtakingly cold as we first entered the exhibit but we actually became comfortable as we wondered through the exhibit!

The coolest room had Santa in his sleigh with his reindeer and was really well done! This year, ICE! included a bar inside where adults could get an alcoholic drink...and then walk around with it. So, we had to dodge adults with their drinks for the rest of the exhibit. Olivia started getting cold and I told her we were over halfway through. Sofia, as usual, wasn't cold at all. Once we were done looking at Santa, we moved into the room with a Christmas tree and slides, but for some reason the slides were closed! We walked through the room - after a few photos - and made it to the last few rooms. By this time, Olivia was done and ready to go and Sofia was actually starting to get cold. We went through the final room which is the clear ice nativity and is so beautiful! Once we were done, we headed out of the cold of ICE! Olivia was shedding a few tears by then, so it was a perfect time to leave. We took off and returned our coats and wanted to get hot cocoa, but the line was crazy long, so we agreed to get some after. We bought our "official" ICE! photo and then headed to the ice slides. The ice slides were crazy busy and we stood in line for probably 20 minutes without moving before the girls asked if we "had to do this." We decided to go for a snack and hot cocoa break instead of standing in line for who knows how long.

The girls ordered hot cocoas and I got a coffee and we got a container of cheese and crackers as well as a hummus and pretzel packet. The girls loved it and it was what we all needed probably before we arrived at ICE! I think they were much hungrier than I thought they were, so after their snack they were different girls entirely! We snacked and enjoyed people watching inside the Gaylord. It was just as fun snacking and talking as it was going through ICE! Once we had enjoyed our snacks and drinks, we wondered through the Gaylord and took a few more pictures. Once we were done, we headed to the parking garage. Unfortunately, getting out of the parking garage was a complete nightmare! It took us nearly an hour to get out of the garage and headed home! It was frustrating, especially considering the parking cost $20! It seems they could streamline that process. We headed home and the girls told their Papa all about ICE! It was a fun visit, despite the frustration of the parking garage.

Watching the trains