Mid- Week Adventure

The Colletts have had company this week- Nana! She came to help with the kids while I finished up my summer work. The kids have been good and I know they enjoy having her, and I know that she enjoys spending some time with the kids.

This week was an interesting week for us because in addition to having a visitor, we also had a new fence installed today (Jack was all about watching the men work on the fence- he even got his toy hammer so he could bang along with the guys building the fence), and we got the opportunity to go on a mid-week adventure!

My sister and her kiddos: Sloane (5) and Wyatt (8) are in town visiting and they spent a few days atThe Great Wolf Lodge. Kerry was nice enough to invite our crew out to swim for the afternoon. So, Nana and I loaded up the little ones after their nap on Tuesday and we headed out. Neither my mom nor I had ever been to Great Wolf Lodge, so we weren't sure quite what to expect. We knew that there would be an indoor and outdoor water park with an attached hotel, but it was much bigger and more "resort-ish" than I thought it would be.

When we walked into the hotel, the interior looked like a forrest and Jack and Harper were wide-eyed taking everything in- and there was quite a bit to take in. As we walked to the pool area, we noticed there was an arcade, a place to build-your-own stuffed animals, a huge gift shop, a pizza parlor, a laser tag center, a place to get temporary tattoos, and a place to buy all sorts of personalized gifts- these are just the things I glimpsed as we walked through the corridor. The place was like a casino for kiddos- lots to do and no clocks anywhere to tell you it's time to go to bed!

We started our water park adventure in the outdoor beach entry pool for little ones. Both of the kids liked being able to walk into the water and held our hands while they tested out the pool.

Harper took to the water quickly and walked all over before deciding to stick her face in the water- she was a little shocked when I pulled her up quickly, but didn't seem upset about having her head underwater. Harper also spent quite a bit of time stepping up and down on the steps in the pool and walking up and down the stairs in the indoor kid play area. It scares me that Harper has no fear of the water; I think that swim lessons will be in her future- near future.

Jack wasn't quite as excited about the water as Miss Harper. He liked to walk in the water until he was in about knee-deep and then splash around. Jack also put his head under water, though his move was unintentional. Jack also did not cry, but he stuck out his "boo-boo lip" and thought about it. Jack's favorite thing about the water park was in the indoor section. There was a small fake "jet-ski" that he liked to sit on; it had a water gun mounted to the front and handles that turned the gun back and forth, and a "trigger" to shoot water. Jack had a great time shooting water at Wyatt and making "vroom, vroom" noises.

We swam for about an hour and then our kiddos were tired, so we packed up and headed out. Mom and I remembered seeing a Chick-fil-A on the way into the water park, so we stopped there for dinner. The twins were so hungry from swimming that they put down 12 nuggets between the two of them and a few french fries. They were so well behaved at dinner and laughed and talked; it was a really nice time.

I'm so thankful that my kiddos have had an opportunity to see all their cousins this summer and we can't wait to see them again. Here are some cute pictures of the kids with Wyatt and Sloane; the "big" cousins are so  great with little ones and the little ones are so awed by the "big" cousins.

We are so lucky to have family on both sides who make time for us, and help create wonderful memories for our kids.

P.S. Here are some pictures of our kiddos eating with "real" salad forks. They were both SO excited to be able to use a fork that could actually pick something up (instead of the plastic ones with rounded tines). Harper even stopped mid-meal to clap for herself and her good eating. Way to go, Jack and Harper! When did you get so big?