oh...that was just what we needed

First, I want to ask. Why is it that we cannot leave our house clean? What is it about walking out the door to go on vacation that chaos must flow in our wake? Everytime we go somewhere, I vow that this is the time we will leave and therefore come home to, a clean house. I cleaned our house top to bottom Monday before we left, and yet still, somehow we trashed it as we left. I guess there is always next time.

So, I highly recommend the Great Wolf Lodges to anyone needing a family getaway. The entire hotel is set up to accomodate children. I can't emphasize enough how relaxing this is. Kids are everywhere. This completely puts the parents at ease. They have a storytime every night at 8pm in front of the big clock in the lobby. There is a craft and game room, where the kids can go and well, make crafts and play games. There is a giant arcade that has arcade games for all ages. The restaurants on site are all child friendly. (When we went to breakfast, they sat us in the "bar area" and they had Dora on the big tvs behind the "bar.") There are a couple of shops and a little store where they sold Starbucks (though we are boycotting) and Krispy Kreme (which we are decidedly not boycotting. yummy!) There is even a Pizza Hut on site that delivers to your room.



But the main attraction, of course, is the indoor waterpark. It was so much fun! Even Ladybug had a blast. There is a little kiddie pool with little kiddie slides, a lazy river, a giant tree fort, 3 huge waterslides that go outside and then back inside, and a deeper pool with basketball hoops. There was truly something for everyone.




Check-in is at 4pm, but you can get in earlier if your room is ready. You can start using the waterpark at 1pm. Check-out is at 11am but you can keep using the waterpark until 10pm. Honestly, two nights was the perfect amount of time for us. The rooms are really big (well ours was.) We had a room that sleeps 7 people. It had a little kid's "room" with bunkbeds and a daybed which was perfect for Meatball, Jellybean and Porkchop. They even had their own tv in there! Plus a queen-size bed and a sofa sleeper. The living area had a nice sized dining table and a cozy little fireplace. The rooms have refrigerators and microwaves. I suggest you bring your own drinks and snacks because they charge $2 for a bottle of water/soda. We actually packed our lunch in. There is no free continental breakfast, so I suggest you pack that in as well. During the week they are not as busy (which is another bonus to homeschooling) but I imagine the weekends to be a madhouse during the winter months.

I didn't think the price was bad. Our room was $209 a night and that included all of the waterpark passes and other activities. The website says they have the lowest price, but when the online reservation system wasn't working I called them directly. The internet price for out room was $228. but the phone guy gave me $209 without much convincing. I might have been able to get an even better deal! oh well.

I had only my sister's camera (since mine, alas, has passed on) and I never quite got the hang of it. It took forever between pictures and if anyone moved, they were a blur. These were the best of the bunch. Yes, Skaterboy was there, but the two pictures I got of him were atrocious and he would be mortified if I put them on the internet.

all said, glad to be home!