Monday, November 24, 2008

Great Wolf Lodge

If that wasn't one of the coolest places to go, then I don't know what is. It wasn't the best indoor water park we have been to (the best one is in Massanutten Virginia) but it is the coolest resort with so much to do.

We had an absolute blast this past weekend. If you have one of those resorts somewhere near you, save your money and go. It is pricey, but so worth it!! It was about a 4 hour drive for us, so it wasn't close. But definitely doable.

We checked in, dumped our bags, changed into our suits and headed straight for the indoor water park. The older 2 ran off and found their cousins and started attacking the waterslides. Youngest son wanted to do the same, but is too young for my comfort level to be running around unsupervised by an adult. So we had to rein him in a little, and babygirl took a long time to warm up to the idea of it all. She doesn't like splashing (LOL, now that is funny at a waterpark. Poor girl, you just have to deal with it.)

We spent about 4 to 5 hours there. I really wanted to do the Howlin Tornado, but was too chicken to do so. My 3 sisters and their families went as well. We all took turns watching each others kids so us adults could go down the slides with our spouses alone as "dates".LOL. Well, I send my baby sister off with her hubby to have a "date" down one of the slides. They end up running into their 2 older kids who were off with one of my other sisters. Too make a long story short, my baby sister and hubby take their 2 kids to go down one of the slides.
My hubby told them, "When you get to the fork in the stairs go LEFT."
Ok.
So off they go and they get to the fork and go RIGHT (OOPS you are supposed to go left). They get to the top and realized they got in line and waited for the Howlin Tornado. One of her kids was too short to go, but the attendant said
"He is really too short to go on this, but I won't make you go back down. Just hold on to him really tight. Have fun."
And he pushes them down the slide into the pitch black abyss. They did survive, but with a kid who is now scarred for life. Poor little nephew did not like the ride and cried the entire time. So much for that date. LOL.

After all that time in the water park, we go to dinner at IHOP. There was a resturant in the resort, but it was way too expensive and the wait was too long. While we were at IHOP, it gave us some definite down time as just our family of 6. Whew! We needed it. Plus the resturant at resort was still hyped up with tons of activity. And to top it off, at IHOP, someone came over to us and gave us a coupon for 20% off our entire bill. WOOHOO!

After dinner we spent time at the clock tower where they do a bedtime story. That was good for the younger 2, but the older 2 wanted to go slay the dragon with the magiquest wands. So they ran off doing their quests and we watched they story. Then it was time for birthday presents (it was the family quarterly birthday party). And then off to bed. We were exhausted.

Then more excitement happens around 5am (so much for sleeping in). The fire alarm goes off, and we all need to evacuate the resort. It is 17 degrees outside. YIKES!!!!! We are all outside and the fire trucks and ambulances are there. We see the firemen come in fully decked out in their apparrel. The resort employees start handing out sheets and blankets to those who were not dressed appropriately. Fortunatley for us my sister grabbed her keys to her truck and we all piled in her heated truck. I remembered my purse and kids motrin (LOL- why I don't now), but not the keys to our truck. It was ironic, Babygirl was the most scared of all of us, but she remember in all of it to grab her blankie, pillow, her stuffed bear, an extra pair of warm pants, and her back pack of toys. She grabbed it all in the matter of seconds. Amazing!!! After about 30 minutes we were allowed back in. Apparently there was excessive smoke detected in the game room. Just more memories to add to our trip.

The next day was filled with Hubby and I riding the tornado. I DID IT!!! I was scared to death, only to find out it wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. We spend the entire day at the water park. Then we let the older 2 go run around for about an hour and a half finishing their quests with the magi quest wands. When they finished up we headed for home. What a great time. By the end, even babygirl was going down the baby slides. Now that is some huge steps for her.

The ride home was a pleasure. The kids were grateful and loving. They all were getting along, no fights, and just the best attitudes. What an awesome trip.

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