At the end of August we went on a little family getaway to spend some intentional time together as a family of 4, knowing that we'd soon become a family of 5! Because it's every 8 month pregnant woman's dream to be seen in a bathing suit in public, we figured what better place to go than an indoor water park - a trip to Great Wolf Lodge (In other words, momma took one for the team this time). Because the girls are so young and because we'd never all slept in a hotel room together before and weren't sure how that would go, we opted to only stay one night. I was concerned it wouldn't feel like enough time, but it actually worked out perfectly. We had plenty of time to swim and play at the water park during the afternoon and evening, came back to our room for pizza, and enjoyed a fun "storytime" put on by the staff in the lobby before bed. Our concerns about how the girls would sleep in a hotel room were unfounded... they were so exhausted by all the water park fun that they both slept straight through the night without a peep. The next morning we had breakfast and then headed back down to the water park for one last visit before packing up and checking out. I wouldn't say Norah was a huge fan of the water. She mostly tolerated it as she clung to Erich or I for dear life. Avery, on the other hand, could not get enough and went down the largest water slide they would let her get on (she was too short for a couple of them, but the one she went on was still big enough to make her momma nervous!) at least 10 times. She and Erich had a great time doing all the crazy, adventurous stuff together while Norah and I chilled on the lazy river most of the time. She's my kind of girl. On our way home from Great Wolf Lodge we stopped by the African Safari Wildlife Park which is an animal preserve/zoo type place where you drive your car through and the animals come right up to you to say hello (and try to eat you). The staff provide grains and carrots for the animals (for a cost) and let me tell you, those animals KNOW you have food for them. Even when you run out of food, they aren't about to let you off the hook. It was hilarious and nerve wracking and fun... and I'd be okay not doing it again any time soon. But the girls loved it. Erich was a champ as he drove the van and fed the animals at the same time since the rest of us were too chicken to put our windows down. The pictures below speak for themselves.
Avery and Norah thought the hotel room was so much fun. This photo was taken about 2 minutes after we arrived. They had already completely unmade the bed and climbed all over it like a jungle gym.
I would like you to think this is a peaceful photo of Norah and I chilling out in the water. Actually, Norah was flailing around and crying because she was very unhappy to be in the water and Erich snapped the photo at just the right second so you can't totally tell. Sorry if I just ruined it for you.
the lazy river was by far my favorite part of the water park. Norah liked it too. Avery thought it was okay, but she much preferred the water slides. We didn't take hardly any photos in the water area because we didn't want to bring our camera in with us. I wish I had a photo of Erich and Avery zooming down that slide!
Aside from photos of our newborn baby Paige, this is my favorite photo of 2013. Hi buddy.
Avery thought the wildlife park was awesome and spent most of the time right up front between Erich and I. She did run to the back of the van screaming in terror when that bison decided to join us by putting his head in Erich's lap.
This was Norah's face all the way through. She was hilarious. Total awe.
Even though we were really only away from home for 24 hours, we crammed so much fun into that time and made so many fun memories it felt like we were gone much longer. Life has been a whirlwind since baby Paige blessed us with her presence, so I'm thankful we got to spend that time together before things got crazy. It's fun to think that the next time we take a little trip like that, there will be another kid in all the photos!
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