Cleveland Fun

Well, we took another trip to Cleveland last week.

Jeremy had an in-state missions trip meeting on Thursday and then I was scheduled to see an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor at the Cleveland Clinic on Friday.

As always, we stayed with his aunt and uncle.

And, like last time, Christa went with us to the doctor. 

And, like last time, they were like kids in a candy store when the nurse left us in the room to wait for the doctor.

They couldn't resist the gloves... and all those cool looking tools...

My phone couldn't capture their antics fast enough. Next time, my camera goes in with me. They are just too funny NOT to take pictures.

Really, imagine if the doctor had walked in while all of this was going on?

Thankfully, they were just thinking about opening a locked cabinet when the doctor walked in. They both pounced in their chairs like nothing had happened and smiled.

Hilarious. The doctor's face said she totally knew they were doing something crazy before she walked in.

Anyway, the doctor said that neither of my tubes were in the ear drums. The right one has barely healed. The left one must have ruptured with the last infection that I had at the beginning of February. She saw a large hole in my ear drum and said that is probably causing the hearing loss. She wants me to put Cipro drops in my ear until she sees me again in June. Hopefully, at that appointment, the hole will be smaller and she can patch it in the office. If the hole is still this large and hasn't healed, I'll need surgery to reconstruct my ear drum. Since that doesn't sound the least bit fun, I'm praying that it has healed and is smaller by June.

She also said that the ear infections could not have caused all of the numbness and other MS symptoms that I've been having. She thinks they are unrelated and only seem related because MS is an autoimmune disease and it makes sense that it would get worse or seem more symptomatic when my ears are infected or filled with fluid.

We really liked the ENT and I'm so glad that we made the trip up there.

After my appointment, we headed to a Chinese food restaurant in downtown Cleveland that has been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We had the best time there!

This is a family that loves to try new foods and so they were all over the Hong Kong menu.

Me? Well, I stuck to what I knew... Beef and Broccoli over rice.

The soup below is made with 1000 year egg and pork. Guess who ordered that one?

The food really was delicious... we had a ton of food and we all were quite full when we left!

Then, on our way home, we met up with Christina from Get Joy and her husband. We have been friends for a long time and it is always wonderful to see them! Even if John does tease me like crazy... I suppose he does know some pretty funny stories.

We had a double date at Cold Stone, which made a perfect dinner.

Our time was much too short!

Looking forward to what adventures our next trip to Cleveland brings! The girls will go with us next time and I'm sure we will have all kinds of fun.

 

A Kalahari Vacay

This past week, we had the opportunity to visit Kalahari in Sandusky, Ohio.

We were there as part of our Ohio Ministry Network's Minister's Retreat, a relaxing and fun retreat for pastors and their families.

Our family joined up with the Lazy Family from imalazymom.com and we all shared a Village Suite. Can we say, "NICE!" 

I had a little bit of kitchen envy going on... seriously, the kitchen was nicer than mine. *sigh

In our homeschool, we have been studying the continent of Africa over the past few weeks. Going to Kalahari was the perfect ending to our study! This homeschooling mom fully appreciated the artwork, the pictures, the information, and the culture of Africa that was displayed around the resort. Not to mention real-live animals in the lobby!

The view of the sunset from our balcony was just gorgeous. We had the perfect spot to enjoy it!

I met up with my friends: Stacey, the Lazy Mom, Julieann, the Ministry Momma and Heather, Proud Mommy 3! We all met up with some other women in ministry for a yummy breakfast.

Speaking of food, Kalahari ROCKS in the gluten free food department! That right there friends is a GLUTEN FREE WAFFLE. to. die. for. Check out their allergy menu. The staff was helpful, knowledgeable and downright agreeable about gluten free food. For a large resort, that is a HUGE thing. Great job, Kalahari!

My girls had a blast running around the resort. With animals everywhere, my little monkeys were enjoying themselves at every turn.

You can't go to Kalahari and not visit the indoor waterpark. They can boast to being America's largest indoor waterpark and it is large and FUN! The girls spent hours with Daddy riding rides and then going in the wave pool and then warming up in the hot tub. Kalahari is clean and spacious and a great place for a family vacation.

If you want to just stop and chat with friends, which we often did, there are some gorgeous places to sit around the resort.

You really do feel like you have slipped to a world away... which is just what the doctor ordered for this ministry family. Well, the doctor really didn't order it, but I know he would have if I'd thought to suggest it to him. And I'm sure that Kalahari would have been on the prescription!

After our fun retreat had ended, we hit the arcade for an hour or so before heading home. We needed MORE time in the arcade. The girls (and Daddy) were having just too much fun playing games and winning tickets.

If you followed along on twitter, you saw Stacey, Julieann, Heather and a few other friends chatting away about our amazing getaway. From the conference center to the gluten free food, Kalahari shined in service, cleanliness and funness (is that a word?).

This Goodwin family had a wonderful time!

And, if I'm not mistaken, Kalahari had a lot of fun with us as guests too! At least this tweet says so! (I think they like us :)

Before I go, I would be remiss if I didn't share this last Kalahari moment with you.

There was a talent show during our minister's retreat and our husbands decided to join in.

Take a listen... I know they will make you laugh!




Are they not just toooo funny?

I hope you enjoyed reading about our Kalahari adventure! We can't wait to go back. This is a resort that you want to put on your family's calendar... soon!

Thank you to Kalahari for providing a room upgrade and a night's stay to us for our honest review. We truly did have a GREAT time away.

A Tennessee Sunset

Beauty

Majesty

A display of our Powerful God

Time held in His hands

In His wisdom, He sets the pattern of our days

Magnificent 

Awesome in Splendor

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Psalm 19:1

*Great Smoky Mountains, Clingman's Dome Trail, Tennessee, November 2011

The Dixie Stampede

Ok.

If I could review this experience with one word it would be "Amazing."

But I can't just leave it at that because it really was SO much more!

We had the opportunity to visit the Pigeon Forge Dixie Stampede last week while we were in Tennessee.

I have always wanted to visit the Dixie Stampede and I was beyond excited to be able to go.

Blessed to share my first time there with my girls.

I have to say it was kind of cute how my girls literally had no idea what they were in for at the Dixie Stampede.

We didn't tell them anything before we went so they could be surprised at every turn during our visit.

Almost a week later, they are still talking about that special afternoon.

Today, someone asked Abby what her favorite part of our vacation was and she said, "The baby turkeys!"

I didn't know what she meant and then she said, "You know... the one I ate with my fingers!!"

I told her it was a chicken but yes, that was a highlight of my vacation too.

So what is the Dixie Stampede?

It is the "Smokies most fun place to eat!" including a spectacular experience with Carriage Room entertainment, a fabulous four-course feast and a full scale arena show!

We had the special opportunity to visit the Dixie Stampede during their Christmas show.

I was incredibly pleased with the emphasis on the real reason for the season: Jesus.

"Marvel at our live nativity, a portrayal that is both dramatic and spectacular. Three kings arrive atop real camels while shepherds guide their flock, all reminding you of the true spirit of the season!"

The show also included a great mix of holiday fun. From the dancing Sugar Plum Fairy who made toys come alive to the friendly North Pole vs South Pole games to the incredible horse riding tricks to Santa's sleigh ride around the arena at the close of the show.

Every part of the show was high quality and fully entertaining for the entire family.

It was refreshing to not have to worry about language, crude jokes or immodest entertainment. The whole show was completely family-friendly.

When we first arrived, we visited the stables. The riders were getting the horses saddled and ready for the show. One rider took the time to show us a few of the horse's tricks. Her horse shook his head "yes" and "no" depending on the question. The girls had a blast asking the horse questions.

Everything was festive and decorated for Christmas.

The staff was friendly and so welcoming! My FIL and Elayna had to get their picture with this pretty southern belle.

The pre-show was entertaining with fun Christmas songs and beautiful gospel harmony.

My sweet tea was delicious and they served my meal Gluten Free! 

I am so thankful that we were able to make the Dixie Stampede a part of our Tennessee vacation.

It was well worth every effort to get there.

If you have a chance to go, be sure to make it a part of your travels. Your family will love it!

Visit them on facebook and twitter! And, their website is full of information to help you plan your trip.

Have you ever been to the Dixie Stampede?

*the Dixie Stampede provided us with 2 tickets to the show. All opinions are completely my own!

The McDonalds Hotel

The Sunday we left for our Chicago/Iowa trip...

"So, Jen, are we leaving today?" my husband asks with a hopeful tone in his voice.

"Well, since I'm not even done with the laundry and haven't started packing and we are about to leave for Sunday church, uhm... I wasn't really planning on it." was my poor attempt at keeping him home just one more day.

"Let's try to leave today, k?" he said.

Now, I'm all for vacation but Jeremy is still just a little bit better at spur of the moment fun than I am.

We got home from church and Jeremy went to work on getting us some cheap hotels via Priceline.

I got the laundry done, finished packing, cleaned the house and made sure the girls were ready to go.

We packed up, piled in the truck and headed out of town. Again. for like the 50th time this summer.

We are pretty good at packing these days...

We stayed our first night in Indianapolis and then got up the next morning to drive the rest of the way to Chicago for 2 days of city exploring.

After touring the Willis Tower, we drove to our hotel. Remember, we booked our hotel using Priceline. When you use Priceline, you really never know what you are going to get. It is risky but it usually pays off.

This time Priceline did not let us down. Our hotel printout reservation said "The Lodge at Mcdonald Campus". We had literally know idea what that meant.

Until we turned onto the road that was supposed to have our hotel. The road was long, full of turns and wooded on both sides. We drove past a security station where our GPS said, "You have arrived."

Arrived where? No hotel in sight.

So, we pulled into another check point and pushed the talk button.

"Uhm... our GPS said that our hotel is here?"

Seriously, that's what we said.

We heard, "Pull through." from the speaker.

Ok...

We drove down the lane and saw this... our hotel.

That's THE M. Like the McDonald's M. The restaurant. The Golden Arches. That M.

What kind of hotel did we get? I'm picturing fast food...

But, we pull around to the front entrance where there is valet parking and this amazing big old tree.

The hotel sat right next to Hamburger University. Did you even know there was such a thing?

I walked in the entrance and approached the front desk.

"Excuse me... what hotel is this?"

"It's a Hyatt but we are on McDonald's Headquarters property so we are also called The Lodge."

"Ok, well, we have a room here... I think."

Sure enough, we scored a room inside McDonald's Headquarters.

The rooms were amazing...

The decor fully McDs but yet very elegant and clean.

And the scenery was amazing... being the Goodwins that we are... we journeyed ourselves right outside to explore.

We found fountains and trails and ponds...

I handed Jeremy the camera because I had little people to chase after on the rocks.

Come on... Get back up here...

We crossed over a bridge and down the other side they went...

Yes, that is me pulling on the hood of Abby's sweatshirt. She was all set and ready to dig out some pretty "shells" she saw in the water. Uhm. No.

Once torn away from the amazing rocks and water, we followed the path to see what else we could find.

What did we find? A helicopter pad?

Pine Trees...

And, apple trees...

Yes, we have fun wherever the path leads.

After a little exploring, we met up with Stephanie, one of our college friends, for dinner!

We really were impressed with our McDonald's hotel. I wasn't feeling well so I didn't make it down to the pool/spa area but Jeremy and the girls said that it was totally awesome. Steam baths, Jacuzzi tubs, swimming pools, saunas...

If we are ever through Chicago again, it is seriously the place to stay!

We sure had a great time!

*linking this post up with Christina for Wednesday's Walk