Great Wolf Lodge

What a summer so far!  It certainly has been a whirlwind.  Many changes and new experiences, mostly good with some not-so-good, have kept us at a fast pace since school let out in May.  Right now I have a terrible cold and therefore had to forego some plans for this weekend.  What better time to blog, right?  I know that I'm so far behind in the life and times of the Deetz family that I won't ever be able to catch up, but I plan to go back and hit some of the highlights at least in the next couple days. 

 

We will start with our latest trip to Great Wolf Lodge.  Lily's one request for the summer was to go to Great Wolf Lodge.  We had a bigger family trip planned for this week but that had to be put on hold due to Carl's back issues.  It was a disappointment for us all, but Lily handled it like a champ and was super-happy with the "runner-up" activity of going to Great Wolf Ledge with her cousins!  A big thanks to mom who had the foresight to see this coming and planned our big adventure together.  You can't get any better than that grandma, I tell you.  William, Emilia and I ended up getting sick during the trip, but I don't think it dampened their fun in the least.  Kids and their resilience...if only I had the same!  Now on to the trip...

 

 Arriving at the lodge.  It was hard to tell who was more excited, mom or the kids

 

 

 Well, and look who happened to be right there when we walked in, Oliver himself.  And can you get a load of that little charmer on the end?  My William.

 

 Pretty darn cute in her own right.  Little Emilia settles right in.

 

 Mom booked the Kids Cabin room which featured a separate area for the kids with bunk beds, a daybed and their own tv.  The kids were over-the-moon with this arrangement.

 

 Girls walking hand-in-hand, ready for some crafting fun

 

 Our little artists

 

 ...plus one!  Such concentration on that little face.

 

 The adorable Kissock girls showing off their spectacular sand art.

 

 C'mon, that is about as irresistible as they come (even when she's sick)!

 

 What amazing fortune to have close cousins to share in these childhood memories.

 

 William and his Mary. 

 

 Photo op with Violet

 

 William was only satisfied with this slide until he spied the bigger slides.  He was able to go on two out of the three big slides with me.  I have to admit, they are super fun.

 

 Lily and Katie after coming out of the slide.  Those two went nonstop in the water park.  Just watching them made me exhausted!

 

 There's that little girl.  I didn't get too many pictures of Emmy swimming.  She hung out with Grandma most of the time while I hung with my little man.

 

 Eating at the restaurant.  Everyone knows that I love a good theme, and Great Wolf Lodge does it right.

 

We officially saw all the characters.  Above the kids are posing with Wiley. 

 

It was an awesome trip, no doubt.  Sure, it had some bumps.  We may have encountered some high temps and restless nights.  Emilia may have thrown up all over me during a story time.  I may have had to drive to my sister's house at 2 am with Emilia and William in order to isolate the sickies and make sure that everyone got their much-needed sleep.  Emilia may have had an encounter with a garden decoration that could have left her with sight in only one eye, but what is a vacation without a little color added to it?  We are making memories here, people.  It may not be perfect, but it is wonderfully imperfect.  The very best story from the trip happened to -- you guessed it -- Suzanne. 

 

There is nothing like a good Suzanne story so, of course, I must share it with the world (or at least the 4 readers of this blog). Getting onto the rafts at the top of the slides can be a bit tricky.  Getting into one of those things honestly makes you feel about one of the most uncoordinated, ridiculous people in the world.  There is just no graceful way to get your bottom in that hole with your legs up in the air.  When at the top of an enormous water slide with a mountain of people waiting behind you, the pressure is on to get in and get going.  Feeling the pressure, Suzanne hastily mounted the raft, but a little misstep left her hanging on for dear life to the raft while her legs dangled into the watery blackness below.  As the prepubescent worker diligently tried to hoist her raft back up onto the platform, Suzanne calls out to him, "Just let me go!"  With determination in his face, the dutiful worker calls back, "I can't".  Now you must know, the only thing I can think of in this scenario is the scene from Backdraft when Ax is hanging onto Kurt Russell over the firey pit below and says, "Let me go Bull".  And naturally, Bull heroically responds, "You go, we go".  Who would of guessed that this very scene would play out with an unsuspecting lifeguard at Great Wolf Lodge on an average Monday afternoon with my sister?  Now that is one for the memory books.