Disney, American Girl, Legos, Oh My!

This past weekend was full of family, friends and many big brands. It’s kind of wacky how busy and fun filled we packed into less than 72 hours.

The fun started when I got an email from Disney saying I moved into the second round in the search for members of the Disney Parks Moms Panel. It’s a website full of men and women who help answer questions from people planning vacations at Disney resorts. I applied to be a Disney World volunteer because it’s one of my favorite places. I’m also really good at packing awesome adventures into visits to the park. I also feel like Disney is a special place for our family. There’s no worries about getting kicked off rides because of Jordan’s limb difference. There are people who stare but it isn’t an uncomfortable place. It’s just pure happiness for the whole family. I will have to answer additional essay questions and shoot a video to try and move into round three. The third round is a phone interview with Disney management. I’m excited because I absolutely love to talk Disney and especially share my knowledge.

With that excitement, it followed with our St. Louis Cardinals moving into the World Series and then getting up early to tailgate and watch our Missouri Tigers win another game. This time it was against the Florida Gators and our team is now 7-0. This is not something we see every year… and beating the Gators was kind of a big deal.

Right after the game, Jordan and I hopped into the car and drove to Kansas City to meet up with a friend she made during the BlogHer conference. Her mom and I have been friends for years through the blog and social media world. (To be honest, we don’t really know when we first met in person. That’s the strange thing about this digital world we live in.) Jordan and her friend are awesome together and it was quickly obvious they get along super well almost right after they met this summer. Jordan’s friend lives in California but her grandma lives in Kansas City. So we headed over for a sleep over! Pretty cool, eh?

We started it out with a trip to American Girl. We’ve visited the store in Chicago a number of times but this was our first in Kansas City. It was also the first time Jordan has ever gotten her dolls’ hair done. We actually learned you should spritz the dolls’ hair with water before you comb it.. no matter what. It’s amazing how that water helps the hair! Plus, we closed out the store and it felt like all employees were excited about the girls getting to have a sleepover. They gave the girls extra crafty gifts to help make their night extra fun.

The kids didn’t sleep much. They played dolls and talked and giggled and read books and who knows what because I went to bed!

The next day, the girls were treated with an awesome Grandma breakfast and then we got to explore Kansas City’s Legoland Discovery Center and Sea Life Kansas City. The two spots opened up last year but we haven’t had the chance to visit until this weekend. The girls had a BLAST together. One of the coolest things we got to do was try to build pumpkins out of huge pools of orange legos. Jordan and her friend came up with creative designs. The races around and built cool stuff with legos. There were fun play arounds and even a 4D movie. It was tough getting them out of the building to go next door to the aquarium. At Sea Life, there were two challenges that really kept the girls motivated: A pumpkin counting contest and a quiz that they could turn in completed for a special medal. It was a lot of fun – but be warned, both locations empty out into a huge store full of amazing Lego and aquatic-themed toys.

We ended our super fast, fun-filled weekend with a quick trip to a park and it was time to head home. The girls packed in dozens of play dates within 24 hours. I keep telling my kids how lucky they are for the great people we get to meet who live all over our country and beyond. It’s extra special when we get to spend extra time together.