March getaway

I have been trying to get our family on a little overnight to Great Wolf Lodge for about four months. We have had three different dates reserved. And we have cancelled all three for various reasons. 

Finally, two days that worked. 

We slept in and then told the kids that we'd slept through our alarm. We got them all ready for school. We packed backpacks and even went back for Molly's clarinet. Then, instead of turning right for school, we turned left for the border. And waited for the kids to notice...

...it took a little longer than we expected. But finally, the kids noticed we were crossing the Oak Street bridge and said, "huh?".

We had a great lunch at Cheesecake Factory (even though Finny found a staple (!!) in her broccoli...one free kid's meal and complimentary piece of cheesecake later...).

How sweet is that little face...? 

 We made it to Great Wolf, threw on our suits and robes and hit the waterpark.

Just pretend I am not in that picture, alright?

 The inside of the waterpark was warmer than I remember. In a good way.

A fierce basketball battle

After a full evening of waterlogged fun, the kids caught the (slightly creepy) animatronic show in the lobby of the Lodge before bed. 

A bit creepy, right? Is it just me who finds those things slightly unsettling?

A good sleep after a couple of episodes of Friends online, then back to the water.

Last time we came, Lukey was pretty hesitant to try any of the slides. This time, he overcame his reservations and went on everything. Including this crazy Howling Tornado ride that I went on twice, but both times was certain we were going to flip... 

Such a Lukey face...

Finny *patiently* waiting for her turn on the lilypads

And right before we left, there was this crazy half hour battle:

Ha! Both girls thought they won. It was entertaining.

The great thing about these types of trips is that they always feel longer than two days. It was only about 28 hours, but it felt like a true getaway.

One more quick note: on our drive home, we stopped for dinner at Denny's in Arlington (the Denny's in the US are really pretty good...and they offer free kids' meals on Tuesdays). Our meal was great, we were relaxed and happy and there were some big tic-tac-toe battles fought. Then, at the end of the meal, our server informed us that our bill had been paid! How nice is that? An elderly couple sitting close by had taken care of our meal. We had a nice, long conversation about kindness and how it makes you feel. It was the perfect end to a great two days.