Three Wolf Moon

 

Days 2 and 3 of "Stay-cation Week 2014" were spent at the Great Wolf Lodge.  It was a hit.  We only stayed one night, but the water park passes were good to use for the day we checked in AND the day we checked out.  Bam!  What???  Hahahaha.  The kids LOVED pretty much everything about this experience.  Really, the only thing they hated was when it was time to leave.  Apparently we didn't stay long enough to satisfy their needs.  Haha.

I have to say, the Great Wolf Lodge is a pretty sweet set-up.  You've got awesome indoor slides, a wave pool, kiddie slides, regular pools, all KINDS of stuff for water play, and an outdoor pool as well.  Not to mention, there are other activities within the resort, such as miniature golf, a video arcade, places to eat, and a spa -- where I had to pass on the $80 mommy and me pedicure, much to Sophie and Jane's dismay.  There was also an organized scavenger hunt for the kids that we missed out on last night, and a bedtime story read by the Wolf, which we also missed out on because I was unsuccessfully trying to get Jane and Alex to go to sleep.  Unfortunately, the excitement of our "Cabin" was too much for everyone to handle, and it was almost midnight before EVERYONE was finally asleep.

 Getting ready for our trip -- his bag is packed, he's got his spiderman towel, and he is READY to party.

 "What?  I'm just here to party."

 "And so are they!"

Alex was exhausted both days thanks to no naps and late nights, but he was a trooper and still partied his hardest regardless.  Hahaha.  I spent more time with him than any of the other kids while at the Lodge, mostly because we don't like the fast stuff.  We {me, Scott, Sophie, Jane, and Alex -- the limit was 5} attempted one "Family Raft Ride" together, and that was all for me.  I think I've stated on here before that I am one who does NOT do amusement park rides.  I pretty much HATE them.  Like as in they terrify and freak me out to the ultimate degree.  I have tried to stop MULTIPLE rides in my life because I realized too late that I wasn't going to be able to handle whatever thrill I was on.  Seriously -- I have had the Tilt-a-Whirl people stop that ride for me at least twice.  {Although the big question here is, why on earth did I try and give it a second chance???  Hahahaha.}

Anyway, as soon as we got to the top of that line and I realized what this family raft ride was going to be like, I knew it was NOT for me no matter how much Scott tried to reassure me that it really wasn't too fast.  Yeah right!  A giant raft with five people in it is going to pick up some speed.  That's just basic physics, folks.  Sophie was freaking out, too, but after the life guard desperately called out that she wouldn't be able to hold onto the tube much longer because it was too heavy, we summoned our courage and hopped in.  It was the worst.  At least for me.  Sophie was fine once we were in and kept trying to reassure me that it was going to be okay; Alex crashed into me and buried his frightened little head on my shoulder; Jane was having the time of her life; and meanwhile Scott was stuck directly across from me in this giant circular "raft," having the guilt trip of a lifetime as he watched my terror-stricken face all the way down the slide.  As I shakily got out at the bottom and tried to hold back the tears, Scott apologized profusely while Sophie still tried to convince me that it was fun.  Hahaha.  Sorry, Sophie.  Not my thing.  :)

The wave pool?  Now, that's my thang.  :)

 Oh, you know -- just brushing up on his Spidey moves.

We ended up staying until 3 o'clock this afternoon, and even though the kids said they weren't ready to go, I think we made the right call.  All day water play is exhausting.  Alex and Jane were SOOOO tired, and it's not like the older ones got an awesome amount of sleep last night anyway.  We got home, ate some more junk food {Oreos, Nilla Wafers, Pop Tarts, Powdered Donuts, chips, Fruit Roll-ups, and Capri Suns -- thank you very much}, and finished off the day with a movie {or two -- "The Mighty Ducks" was the first feature film, and after getting Alex and Jane in bed ultra-early, we caved and told the older girls they could watch one more and they're now watching "Ella Enchanted"}.  And that, as they say, is a wrap!  Now that we're all caught up on everything, I'm off to play some more Settlers of Catan.  Thank you and goodnight! :)

 Poor little lamb, all tuckered out.  Both days resulted in him wearing out before the others and asking to take off his Puddle jumper and go wrap up in a towel.  Poor little guy -- it's so inconvenient when you have no body fat to keep you insulated!  Hahaha.  After warming up enough and drying off, it was back to business as usual with his Party shirt.  :)