ICE! Round II

This is our second trip to the Gaylord Hotel at the National Harbor to see the ICE! show.  The girls just love it!  As a mother, one of my favorite things to do is start traditions like this and hopefully create life long memories for them to carry on to adulthood.

We got a hotel room with a balcony for the girls to see the Atrium.  Last year, it "snowed" a few times and the girls just loved watching it.  This year, we did not see any.  I am not sure if they did away with it or if we just timed it wrong.  We did get to see one or two of the shows from our room without having to fight the crowds down below.

After we unpacked, we quickly got ready for the ICE! show.

The lobby of the hotel was decorated so nicely.  On the way out, I snapped a quick picture of Addisan.  Campbell wanted no part of the picture.  

This is how Campbell sometimes feels when the camera has been out for too long!  She is such a ham.  I am so worried about missing a moment with my kids because they grow up so quickly.  For that reason, I always have my camera with me.

We had better success with these parkas this year.  Addisan HATES being bulky and had a huge melt down last year.  This year, we all knew what to expect and we prepped her better for it.  

This year's theme was the Penguins of Madagascar.  The girls were not too familiar with it, so we made sure that we watched the movie beforehand.  All of the TONS of ice are sculpted in China and brought over here to the States.  Each of the Gaylord Hotels has a different theme each year.  They also have ICE SLIDES for the kids to go down.  

This year we were smarter.  The wait for eating at the hotel and nearby restaurants was about 2 hours last year.  This year, we had a heavy lunch at Fosters Grill in Old Town and brought ingredients to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the hotel room.  You cannot keep Campbell waiting when she is hungry...like mother, like daughter.

In the morning, we were able to get on the road pretty early and eat breakfast in Old Town.

There are so many fun and eclectic places to see and eat at in Old Town.

Breakfast was a hit!  We tried a new place down on Duke Street and it was fabulous! Everything they served was organic. I had one of the best omelets I have ever had.

Starting traditions with the girls makes me smile!