There was no school so we surprised the kiddos by taking them to the Great Wolf Lodge.
We didn't tell them where we were going, just packed up the car and took off.
We stopped at the base for lunch and they thought that was fun because of the play area but could not figure out the final destination. It was a hoot because we stopped for gas right across the street and told them we were finally headed to the final stop. They were shocked when we crossed the street and parked. As soon as we walked in the excited little giggles and squeals began :-)
As we checked in, the bigs checked out the lobby and figured out there was a water park.
Needless to say, they couldn't wait to swim!
We went up to the room, which they loved as it had bunk beds, changed and headed for the water park where we spent the next 2.5 hours playing hard.
The boys loved the little area and basketball hoop pool, while Alli fell in love with the wave pool.
Garrett's favorite was the Howlin' Tornado slide and I had fun going on the tube slides with Alli.
All in all, the water park was a huge hit but after 2.5 hours, the kiddos were ready to be done.
After changing, G took the bigs to explore the Lodge while I put Lukey down for a nap.
The bigs loved the obstacle forest and coloring!
After naps, we were off to dinner ~ yummy and fun :-)
The biggest excitement came after dinner when the kiddos got in their costumes and went trick or treating through the Lodge ~ they LOVED this!!! I loved seeing the fish costume out again :-)
After gathering candy and treasures, we hung out in the arcade, which we all loved ~ ski ball was a hit for all five of us, though some are better than others ;-)
After using up all our "tokens" we enjoyed the lobby show and story time.
Then the kiddos did a costume parade and had pictures with Wiley the bear.
We finally got back to the room and in bed by 9 p.m.
Everyone was ready for sleep except Lukey, who wanted to entertain his big siblings!
We had to move him out of the Kid Cabin until he fell asleep, then moved him back in.
The next day was spent playing in the arcade and water park.
We finally decided we had enough water fun around 12:30 and stopped for ice cream on the way out.
It was all going so well . . . G took Lukey to decorate a cookie while the bigs finished their ice cream.
Eli finished first and wanted to play on the cupcake bear (see pic above).
Alli finished her ice cream and started playing on the bear, as was another little girl.
Then it happened, Eli slipped, rolled off and hit hard ~ instant screams.
I scooped him up to assess and noticed a drop of blood so I tried to get him to stop crying long enough for me to check his mouth, where I assumed the blood was coming from, it wasn't.
More and more drops of blood were falling and I got him to lift his head . . . oh boy!!!
His chin was split open big time.
Fortunately, I remained calm but told A and E would have to go to the hospital.
We gathered our stuff and went down to the lobby in search of Garrett.
The staff used butterfly closures on the chin and gave us directions to the ER.
Off we went. Luke fell asleep so G stayed in the car with A and Luke while I took (a much calmer!) Eli into the ER, where he proceeded to tell everyone he "rolled off a bear" basically true :-)
Luckily, they could use glue stitches and we were on our way home.
Eli was/is one tough little guy and all three kiddos want to go back to the Great Wolf Lodge again!!!
Surprising them was so much fun and we had a great time!
No tears and everyone happy!!!
