Great Wolf Lodge

Last Friday we headed up to Charlotte/Concord, NC to surprise our friend Mark Bell. His wife, Melissa, months and months ago sent out a secret e-mail to see if we would join them to surprise Mark on Friday while he did his Rusty Wallace driving experience at Lowes Motor Speedway.  Melissa said she knew she would be unable to surprise him with where they were going and what they were doing but was able to pull of surprising him with who was going to be there.  

Mark's Mom and Stepdad drove down from Indiana to surprise him as well.  I think they trumped our 2 hour drive.  Either way it was super nice to meet them.  

After Mark got a race car ride-along he got to drive a race car around the track for 10 laps!  Our kids were super excited to see their friends and knew that we were doing something else fun but had no idea that we were taking them to the Great Wolf Lodge.  Following the excitement of surprising Mark and getting to see our friends, we all grabbed a bite to eat at Jim N Nicks., one of my new favorite BBQ places.  The kids had no idea where we were headed next and were itching with anticipation.  Here’s the reaction we got when we pulled into Great Wolf Lodge…

We got to our room, put on our bathing suits and made a beeline for the Waterpark.  We only had an hour and a half before the park closed but the kids hit every waterslide they could and had a blast.  

The place itself was really cool.  The water park was fairly big with lots to do for all ages.  They have 5 different slides, a wave pool, a pool to play in, kids area, and an outdoor pool.  

Time Friday evening seemed to fly by, but the kids love staying in hotels so they were excited about getting to go back to our room.  Saturday morning Kevin found a local F3  group and convinced Mark to join him for a little work out torture to start the day.  Even though I wasn't ready to get up quite yet, the kids were ready to rock and roll...

The kids each received wolf ears when we arrived.

Henley is not big on keeping things on her head.  Our room was very big with vaulted ceilings and that "lodge" feel.

The place is so family friendly they also have cribs available if you ask.

There is so much more to do than just the water park but we didn't have the time or budget for all the extras. You can pay for a magic wand and go on a magical scavenger hunt through the halls.

Once Kevin was back from his workout and we were up and moving we loaded up our car, checked out of the hotel, and headed back to the waterpark for a full day of fun.

Henley is a wild child and loved every minute in the water.

Chase and Leah both conquered the lily pads...

We had a great time at Great Wolf Lodge and will look forward to going back sometime again in the near future!

Back logged

Life is so busy but so fun as we continue to grow and learn everyday!  With the craziness I am a little back logged with my blogging but as usual I will do my best to catch up.  This fourth of July we had a fun weekend with friends and family.  Before we embarked on our journey, Kevin made his annual fourth of July cookie pizza and I threw in a peanut butter pie.  

Friday morning we got up and headed to Columbia to visit our dear friends The Bell's (Mark, Melissa, Sierra, and Brady).  They moved to Columbia a year ago from Anderson and we miss them but we are glad that they are willing to put up with our crew for visits every so often.  The day was a little rainy/overcast, but it didn't stop us from having a little fun pool time.

 We were supposed to go visit the Bell's at the beginning of the summer but a couple days before we were supposed to go our kids got sick so we had to stay home.  So this time we were thankful for heathy kids.  After pool time Henley took a little nap and while the kids played outside, the ladies enjoyed some inside quiet time.

Melissa made a similar holiday spirited dessert for us to enjoy after dinner but hers included jello and cake chunks.  It was pretty darn good!

Although short we really enjoyed our time with the Bell's.  The kids had a great time and us adults enjoyed our time catching up.  It was very refreshing to soak in some wisdom from our good friends! Saturday morning the 4th, after a yummy breakfast Mark and Melissa fixed for us, we loaded up and headed to Charlotte to visit with Grandma and Grandpa.

We had a very yummy charcoal cooked lunch and were excited to meet new friends and spend some time with my Grandma Barb and Papa Dick.

 Henley was loving her corn...

Oh my gosh that little girl is so cute!  Papa Dick was so excited about lunch being ready and finally getting to fix his food that when he sat down and mom offered some chili for his burger he realized that he forgot to put the burger on the bun.  He had taken one bite and not noticed the meat missing but I'm willing to bet if it wasn't for the chili intervention he would have noticed with the next bite.

Chase and Leah and their new friends, Caden and Izzy enjoyed some lunch together.

When the desserts rolled out Mom had made a really cool watermelon cake that was super yummy.  She cut the watermelon like a cake and covered with with a cool whip mixture.  It was a hit!

After a little digestion, we headed out for some swimming time.  We had a lot of fun playing in the pool!

For dinner Mom made a low country boil that was super yummy and even the kids chowed down on sausage, potatoes, and corn.  Chase tasted some shrimp and crab but I couldn't get Leah to to take a bite.  Baby steps I guess.  Thank you to everyone for such a fun fourth of July weekend.