Karlyn’s Wish Is Coming True ***1st hair tutorial***

[bigdisgrandma]

Okay, here's my first attempt at "The Karlyn" This is on day 2 so it's not in prime form but Lindsey, I LOVE this hairstyle! You are right, it stays in really well! I mean day 2 on a 3 year old that naps and pulls blankets over her head--not bad! Thank you! Maybe someday I will be brave enough to attempt "The Gabby" bun, but it looks hard!

Jeanne, it is darling. You will become a convert in no time to the do-ahead hair! I think Lindsey is working on some kind of tutorial for a variety of styles!

Denise

 

[Lambflock]

Okay, here's my first attempt at "The Karlyn" This is on day 2 so it's not in prime form but Lindsey, I LOVE this hairstyle! You are right, it stays in really well! I mean day 2 on a 3 year old that naps and pulls blankets over her head--not bad! Thank you! Maybe someday I will be brave enough to attempt "The Gabby" bun, but it looks hard!

OMGosh!!! You did such a great job!

Ok, I think I am going to give it a shot!!!

 

[teresajoy]

Jeanne, it is darling. You will become a convert in no time to the do-ahead hair! I think Lindsey is working on some kind of tutorial for a variety of styles!

Denise

I can't wait for a tutorial!! I have a bunch of hairstyle blogs bookmarked in my bookmarks, but with Lydia in school full time, I don't have time to do it in the morning. A do ahead style is just what I need!!!

Loving the report so far Denise!!! I like that Pluto shirt too! I'm so sorry about the snowglobe, that had to be so disapointing!

 

[bigdisgrandma]

Warning, if you are heading to GKTW for a wish trip and do not want to know what the Christmas party looks like, please skip this episode. I thought about not sharing these pictures so as not to spoil the surprise for future wish trippers but then there are a few readers who are not wish trip families and would love to see pictures of Give Kids the World so here we go…

After our slightly soggy day at Seaworld, we were really hoping that the rain would go away and we would have clear skies but it wasn’t to be. Any spots you may see on clothes are leftover raindrops. They had cancelled the carriage rides because of the rain and also the snow. Being a little damp, we grabbed the umbrellas, we had given up on the ponchos for the time being and headed toward the theater where we would get to see Santa. The theater is amazing, brightly painted jungle walls with not so scary jungle animals.

I guess you could call this picture “Karlyn with her entourage” because whatever she wanted, one of these big guys would get it, do it or be it for her.

Santa had a comfy couch on the stage with giant snowflakes around him where the kids could sit with him.

The GKTW photographer took pictures of the kids with Santa and then one with all of us. I just am not really good at downloading them yet.

After the chat with Santa, he told each of the kids that now it was time for presents. He told them he had special elves who would help them pick out a wonderful gift and he was right. At the back of the theater, there was a long row of racks of toys for the kids to choose from for their gift.

Brody chose a Dallas Cowboys Nerf Football. (None of us were surprised) The girls chose newborn kittens. Gabby was quick to tell Grandpa and Aunt Mandy that they were not real kittens because she is always worrying because she knows they are very allergic to cats. I love the picture of Bryan taking a picture of the girls. He is using the camera that Make A Wish sent along on the trip for pictures for the scrapbook they keep at the wishing place.

Also in the theater, they had face painting, snow cones, a complete theater snack bar with nachos, popcorn, drinks and slurpies. The girls got faces painted; well actually, Karlyn had a rainbow painted on her hand. Several people got snow cones and we headed off for a new adventure at the ice cream palace.

It was a hard decision for Brody because he wanted to play football but he also wanted some ice cream and knew there was no throwing the ball inside the store. We all had some ice cream but somehow only have pictures of some of the skinny people eating it. I love the tabletops in there. They are so fun.

Also inside the ice cream palace that night, they had elves that would let the kids choose a storybook and then the elves would read it to them. After they finished reading the books, the kids got to take the books they had chosen home.

Next up, cookie decorating. The girls wanted to do this but Brody went outside to toss the football back and forth with Uncle Jason, Uncle Tim and Dad. As you can see, there were lots of colors of frosting, lots of choices of decorations and a good time was had by all.

More to come in just a few minutes...

 

[bigdisgrandma]

Christmas part 2

After the fun at the ice cream palace, we went over and got a little dinner but no one remembered to take pictures. They had a turkey dinner with green salad, turkey, carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing (or stuffing depending on where you live), rolls, sweet potatoes and dessert. For those of us not staying at GKTW, dinner cost 1 bunny buck ($1) a real bargain.

After dinner we found a giant gingerbread man, Mayor Clayton and Merry Clayton so of course, more pictures.

At first Karlyn didn’t want anything to do with them. She just wanted the grandpa.

Then the kids all wanted to ride the merry-go-round. It is a most wonderful merry-go-round easily accessible for wheelchairs and lots of fun choices for riding. The first trip, Karlyn fell in love with the turtle. It is actually one of the wheelchair accessible animals but the great lady running the ride quickly changed it to a seat for Karlyn and she was in heaven.

On the next trip, she decided that she wanted to go up and down on a horse. Now going round and round is not Grandpa’s favorite thing to do but for Karlyn, he would do almost anything so off he went again.

Dad and Brody

Mom and Gabby

When we were done with the merry-go-round, we went into the Castle of Miracles. Inside, Mrs. Florida and Ms Florida were playing with kids and dancing and having a great time. These ladies were as fun as they were beautiful!

Of course, Gabby had to have another handstand picture.

Next, off to make pillows. The pillow-making machine is very cool. Each one of the kids got to make their own pillow.

As you can tell, Karlyn is really a pink and green kind of girl!

Everyone loved the slides inside the castle, even Mom.

Aunt Mandy wanted everyone to realize that she truly is the queen!

Here are the pictures of the real King and Queens!

Karlyn and Uncle Jason loved the room with lots of drawers and doors to open, each one with a surprise.

Who do you think could fit in this little suit of armor?

Finally, we were all exhausted and so we trudged outside to head home. Next up Bippity, Boppity, Boutique and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

 

[Robin+5]

Great report
I love reliving GKTW. I wish we had done more there. But the place is just so awesome
Robin

 

[AURORA73]

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! for the GKTW Christmas Party pictures. I cried the whole way through them until I got to the Queen Mandy picture and then I laughed. What a wonderful place GKTW is!

I want the hair tutorial. I have always wanted to know how you do the Gabby and Karlyn's hair like that Lindsey. It is so darling. I want to try it out on my niece.

 

[Khalana]

Great update, Denise!!! My chin just about fell to the floor when I saw the rows and rows and ROWS of toys!!! That is just crazy! I know I maybe shouldn't spoil the surprise but I knew about most of the Christmas activities already (though not about all those toys ). I eagerly await more!

 

[inkedupmomma]

wow! what a wonderful expirience for you all!! and dont you know im the queen of kids crazy hair styles and i have never done that one on my daughter! it would be perfect for cheerleading and soccer games!

 

[bex271]

Thank you for showing that now i'm even more excited, I'm just not gonna tell Jonah about the toys. I can't wait to read more.

becca

 

[Lambflock]

I am soooo glad that I looked at the Christmas pictures at GKTW!!! I loved it!! It makes me even more excited to go in about a month!!!

I love all your pictures!! They really are great!!

 

[teresajoy]

Great pictures Denise!!! Thank you for sharing these! I am so enjoying reading your report!

 

[hotmamac]

What a fabulous trip report so far!!!
Thank you for all the wonderful photos! I'm the kind that likes to know all the details before I go somewhere, although I'm not showing the kids the pictures cause I do want it to be a surprise for them.
Keep the updates coming!!!

 

[bigdismom]

It is not as hard as it looks. The more we do the hairstyles you have seen we have come to the realization that it is all in the elastic that you use. I use the small rubber elastics and not the one covered with thread. The rubber elastics told the hair tighter and that is what allows you to do it at night and it will still will look good in the morning. I get my elastics at WalMart in the baby department. The girls like the colored ones.
Here we go:
I like to have the girls hair damp as it helps you to part easier.
Make a part approx 1.5 inches long down the middle of the head.

Make a part all of the way around the head 1.5 inches from the hair line.

Pull all of the remaining hair on the top of the head into a Piggy tail to keep it out of the way.

Go back to the original part and start parting off small sections of hair. The smaller the part the more sections you will have. You can adjust the size depending on how long you think that your girl will stay still.

Continue this process until you reach the backside of the ear.

Go back to the original part and repeat the process on the left side of the head. Doing one side at a time will allow you to keep the parts and # of "piggys" even on both sides.
At this point you will have a section of hair at the back of the head. I like to have Gabby turn around and face me and tip her head down. The elastics will lay a little flatter by doing this. But it is not necessary if your girl will not cooperate.

Part the remaining hair in half

Part each one of these setions in two. Creating four sections.

Place elastics in each one of the remaining sections.

This is what you should now have.

Take the hair on top of the head out of the elastic and comb all of the hair into a Pony tail.

From this point it is all up to you. This day Gabby wanted it left in a pony tail. You can do also do a braided bun like we had Gabby's hair on the first day of our trip.
We left this hair style in for two days. You may need to smooth out the piggy in the mornings but that is eay comapred to doing a whole hair style.
Hopefully I will get a few minutes to post another sytle a little later today.

 

[teresajoy]

Thank you for the tutorial, I can't wait to try this out!!!!

 

[twinmum]

Hello! First of all, let me tell you, I absolutely LOVE the girls' hair! They look so beautiful! Now...could I find the patience to do this myself? Um...no. So perhaps this is why we have been blessed with twin boys, not girls. I know this will make me sound like an awful mother, but I think we end up brushing the boys' hair, em...well...about...once a week?!? Yup, they are wash 'n go guys, lather up that hair, rinse it off, towel dry, and - occasionally - one of them will like the fun of the blow dry and - once in a blue moon - a little dab of gel to make it stand up. That's it.

If I may, I have another question, just curious. I saw that Brody found a neat nerf football at the Christmas party. I'm not telling our boys about it in advance, but want to prep them just before as needed. Are there many options for (somewhat) older kids, especially boys? (Eek! Can my boys really be considered somewhat older?!? You can see I'm taking the upcoming 10th birthday (Oct.23rd) somewhat hard.) If most of the wonderful toys are for the little ones, of course that will be fine, but I'll want to explain that to the boys so they'll understand.

Thanks!
Alison

 

[bigdisgrandma]

Thank you for the tutorial, I can't wait to try this out!!!!

You're so talented, I know you will be an expert in no time!

Hello! First of all, let me tell you, I absolutely LOVE the girls' hair! They look so beautiful! Now...could I find the patience to do this myself? Um...no. So perhaps this is why we have been blessed with twin boys, not girls. I know this will make me sound like an awful mother, but I think we end up brushing the boys' hair, em...well...about...once a week?!? Yup, they are wash 'n go guys, lather up that hair, rinse it off, towel dry, and - occasionally - one of them will like the fun of the blow dry and - once in a blue moon - a little dab of gel to make it stand up. That's it.

If I may, I have another question, just curious. I saw that Brody found a neat nerf football at the Christmas party. I'm not telling our boys about it in advance, but want to prep them just before as needed. Are there many options for (somewhat) older kids, especially boys? (Eek! Can my boys really be considered somewhat older?!? You can see I'm taking the upcoming 10th birthday (Oct.23rd) somewhat hard.) If most of the wonderful toys are for the little ones, of course that will be fine, but I'll want to explain that to the boys so they'll understand.

Thanks!
Alison

We usually just buzz our boys hair so that it is easy for them to do. However, because Aunt Mandy is a licensed Cosmetologist, she frequently will do some fun things with the boys. She has put little bits of color in their hair, blond in the boys with dark hair and dark in the boys with light hair, spiked hair and sometimes totally buzzed right off. It is so wonderful to have her around. I can get a haircut late at night and she never complains (well, hardly ever because her dad loves to tease her that haircuts are how she pays us rent!)

As far as gifts at GKTW, they had lots of different types of board games, electronic games, walkie talkies, I think even I-pod like things. Because they have kids all different ages, I believe there were things that older kids would like. I know Brody had a wee bit of a struggle deciding because there were several things he would have chosen (He will turn 11 on October 13th) if they hadn't had that Cowboys football. I will check with Lindsey and see if she remembers any of the other things he was debating about.


Denise

 

[mickimousemama]

My DD LOVES her hair done like that I realized this summer tho that Sunscreen eats the little elastic bands, so now I put those cheapy stretchy ones over the rubber ones or little clips just in case.

I just found your trip report so trying to read from the begining, but had to comment on the cute hair before I go back to reading again.

 

[revrob]

I missed the hair tutorial. Can someone tell me what page it's on? I'd love to learn how to do this hairstyle.

 

[bigdisgrandma]

I missed the hair tutorial. Can someone tell me what page it's on? I'd love to learn how to do this hairstyle.

It is on the bottom of page 25. I know Lindsey is going to do another one soon.

Hope it works for you.

Denise