Happy Great Wolf Birthday Julia!

Paul and I decided that rather than have a birthday party for Julia this year we would take the family to Great Wolf Lodge for a night. I've been telling Paul forever that I wanted to go (well every time I see the commercials on TV) and with the upcoming birthday and my lack of interest in planning yet another birthday party it totally made since. I called up our good friends, the Dickey's (who have 2 little girls with birthdays this month) and filled them in on our plan. They too thought it would be a great way to celebrate birthdays and were definitely game. In a wise move we also invited my mom along - which turned out to be the best idea we've had in a long time (though she may be regretting it). Since it was somewhat last minute decision the lodge was pretty booked for Saturday night so we decided to take the girls out of school a little early and go on Friday. We kept the whole thing a surprise - only telling the girls we were going on a trip. They kept trying to guess the destination: Hollywood (they've been watching a lot of American Idol)? Hawaii? Florida? Disney? It was funny to hear what they were thinking!

We got down there about 5 on Friday afternoon. The place was packed! Recession? Not at the Great Wolf in January. Paul took Emma in and she said "This is the best day of my life" after viewing the water park! Lily said "This is the best place I have ever been!" The smiles on their faces was priceless! We checked in and headed to our room. Since my mom was with us and we have so many kids we had to have a Kids Cabin room which was adorable. It had bunk beds and a single bed in a separate area with their own TV. The room was very spacious and all the rooms have a fridge. They also come with kids body wash in the bathroom which I thought was super cute. After we put down our stuff we went exploring around the hotel while we waited for our friends. Of course the kids were dying to get to the waterpark but it was fun to see all they had to offer there. There is a cute "Cub Clubhouse" where you can play and do arts & crafts, an arcade, Magiquest, Kids Spa, various restaurants (including a Dunkin Donuts - thank you!) and of course some gift shops. The lodge is decorated very nice and of course everything is super kid friendly. We were in the Cub Clubhouse when our friends arrived. It took the girls a minute to realize it was their friends and they were so excited to see them! We ate dinner at the buffet there on property and then got down to business of exploring the waterpark.

The waterpark is great! I was a little concerned about Jacob and if there would be things for him to do there. No worries - he had a blast. They have plenty of lifejackets available for all the non-swimmers. They had a great kiddie are with a zero-depth entry, lots of play things and slides just for little kids. Julia loved, loved it. There is a wave pool that Jacob liked a lot too - he loved the waves crashing on his feet. The big girls were tall enough to all but 1 of the waterslides! And they had a blast doing everything. Paul & Steven even watched the littlest kids so Frances & I could do the big adult ride - the Howlin Tornado. It was fun!! We played in the waterpark until they closed then we went back to our room to have cupcakes for all the birthday girls.

After an interesting night of sleep (or lack of) we got up and were very thankful for the Dunkin Donuts in the lobby. We had decided that Frances & I would take the littlest 2 kids and go to Ikea for a couple hours in the morning. I mean how could we be that close to Ikea and not go? Paul took the younger girls to the waterpark and Gagi & Steven took the older girls to do Magiquest. Emma has been dying to do that since Gagi introduced her to it at Myrtle Beach. Apparently they had fun though I'm not sure how much of the actual game they did - I think it was mostly just some wand pointing. Ikea was great and we brought lunch back to the masses and enjoyed some more time in the waterpark before we had to head home. Day 2 in the park was a little more exhausting with Jacob - he's just so busy and wanted to explore so much! He loved it though which I'm so glad!! He was so exhausted that he slept almost the whole ride home!

Overall it was a great, great weekend. The girls all had a wonderful time. As Emma remarked at breakfast "Great Wolf is AWESOME" Indeed it was! My only complaint is that it was cold in the park. It wasn't bad until you got wet and then it was freezing. I actually heard a lot of people complaining about how cold it was - it was hard to believe it was really 84 in there. I think Julia's teeth were chattering the whole time but it didn't bother her or any of the kids. The adults on the hand were bothered. Some of the pools were warmer than others but definitely colder than I expected. Otherwise it was totally worth it. We will definitely go back - I think when Jacob is older but definitely one day I hope!

PS - here are a few pictures from inside our room - I didn't take my camera into the waterpark (boo to me!)