Great Wolf Lodge

Since it had been SIX weeks since our last trip with the kids, we decided to check out Great Wolf Lodge in North Carolina this past weekend with a few friends and their kids.  And I have to say, I was really impressed with the lodge and all the activities for the kid's.  Not that I wasn't expecting to have fun, especially since I am a complete sucker for a water slide, but it was really, really fun and something we will definitely do again.  If you haven't been before, I definitely recommend it!

If you are not familiar with Great Wolf Lodge, it is one of those indoor water park hotels.  We have been wanting to do one of these for years and finally decided to go since we can use the kids as an excuse now. :-)  (Note: I would not ever recommend going to this place if you do not have kids. There are kids EVERYWHERE which is great since we had 6 with us, but not so great, if you don't have any).  I love water slides and although there aren't a ton of slides (remember, I basically grew up at Wet n' Wild so it's hard to beat the quantity of slides at a park like that), the slides are really fun!  Little Kahn was big enough to ride on most of them and he loved it!  In addition to all of the slides, there was a wave pool, a kiddie section with slides for Olivia and Madeline and a toddler play structure with water effects, water guns and slides.  My kids thought the wave pool was the coolest thing ever.  We spent a lot of time in there.  

In addition to the water park area, there is story time and dance parties for the kids, character appearances, an arcade (think Chuck E Cheese), a kid's bowling alley, a kids club with arts and crafts, a simulator ride and MagiQuest which apparently is a huge hit for kids just a few years older than mine.  They also have an outdoor pool and outdoor miniature golf, but those were not open in the winter months.  And of course, there is a bar for the adults so Kahn and I were happy.  

Here's a few pics I took on my iPhone while we were there...

All in all, a SUPER fun weekend trip with the kids!  We can't wait to go back!

Oh December!

Well, apparently December happened...and so did friggin January!  I can barely keep up with things these days.  Life with 3 kids and a full-time job is busy and chaotic!  And December was no different, it was jam packed and flew by!

But here's a very quick look back at our busy end to 2013...

Putting up our Christmas tree...which is definitely one of my highlights each year and becoming a tradition!  The kids love it and it's our official kick-off to the holiday season!  Jack the Elf makes his appearance the following morning too and brings the kids some gifts to get them ready for the season!

Visiting with Santa...the Millennia Mall Santa, to be exact...which in my mind is the BEST Santa around!

To add a little country to our holidays, we took the kids up to Nashville to experience A Country Christmas at OpryLand.  We went with some of our good friends and their kids and it was a super fun weekend!  We saw the ICE exhibit, toured the hotel, had breakfast with Shrek and hit the bars on Broadway!

Kahn and Olivia had their Christmas pageant at school.  Olivia's class sang a few songs and Kahn's class sang and put on a little play.  Kahn was a shepherd and was definitely the most animated singer on stage!

We then headed to Orlando for the actual Christmas holiday.  My kids love Christmas down in Florida and I have said it before, but there's a reason I go home for Christmas...despite being in the 80s, it's a winter wonderland!  My dad spares no detail for Christmas and still makes it super special for us each year.

We were actually really busy when we were there...we went to the movies, bowling, miniature golf and just hung out at my mom's house.  I got to see all of my high school friends and just hung out with family.

On Christmas Eve morning, we went to breakfast with the characters at Disney...

(Note: Madeline did not like the characters; however, she did like the buffet.)

We attempted a picture of all 6 of the grandkids on the beach at the Grand Floridian...FAIL!!!  I can't get my own 3 kids to look at a camera, I'm not sure what ever made me think we'd get 6 kids to look at the camera, especially when 3 of them are one-years old!!

...Then there was Christmas morning...one of my favorite days of the year!  These little kids that we have been blessed with really do make the holidays so much more special.  

And our final night of 2013, was spent how it is every year...WITHOUT kids, with our very best friends, in the Minihan's basement!  It was ridiculously fun and we danced our way into 2014!

Wow, what an ending to a fantastic year!

More fun stuff to come in 2014!  Stay tuned...