Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Great Wolf Lodge Vacation

On December 25th, we headed down to Great Wolf Lodge in Texas.  We were EXTREMELY excited to be returning to one of the best places in the whole world!!!  We would be staying 2 nights this time instead of just one.

The kids were also excited because this year we got the log cabin room which meant the kids had their own cabin with bunk beds and an extra captain's bed.

Aliya slept on top, Kiahna on the bottom, and Niah took the single one.  Isaiah was interested...but he liked the idea of sleeping in the big bed with Momma.  Daddy got his own bed all to himself.

The excitement for the room only lasted so long. Then they began to remember that a HUGE water park was right outside the door. We hurried to eat, get dressed, and off we went to the water!

Niah and Aliya loved the lazy river and spent a lot of time floating around and around. They also went together to ride some of the big rides while Daddy and I kept up with Kiahna and Isaiah. Sometimes Daddy would let me go sit in the "adults only" hot tub. It was nice to have some quite time.

Last year Kiahna didn't want to go on the big tube rides, but this year, she decided that she was going to give it a try!  She had a blast.  Isaiah could ride the BIG water slides in the playground area.  He was happy to give up the baby area for the big kid's stuff.

We slept well that first night--in fact, Isaiah didn't want to get up.  I could have slept in a little bit more myself, but the WATER FUN was calling our names!!!

While we were walking around, we would see kids with wolf ears.  After some inquiry, we found out that the wolf ears came with a kids meal if you ate at the upstairs restaurant.  Daddy treated us out for a meal, and each of the kids walked away with wolf ears.  When Isaiah put the wolf ears on, he immediately transformed into Wiley the Wolf.  He crawled around on the floor and howled.  It was too cute.

On display in the lobby was a Lego replica of Great Wolf Lodge.  We all thought it was pretty impressive and deserved a picture.

This year there was also a HUGE gingerbread house.  The house was edible, though you wouldn't actually want to eat since it had been sitting around for several weeks!

With a donation and a reservation, we could have eaten there--we opted instead to just admire the house and take some pictures.

We had a great vacation.  It's always nice to take a break and do some extra fun things.  These vacations are special to the kids and to us.  Good memories.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

My Birthday

Today is my birthday. Today has had big highs and big lows. I received some devastating news today...I will share more on that in a future post. So for now, I will share this birthday with you. It's a birthday I won't ever forget.

One of my top favorite places to eat is an Indian restaurant. It's been my favorite for years. The kids decided that this is where they would take me. I was very pleased. The kids loved the Indian princess crown that I got to wear since it was my Birthday. A hat is much better than the whole restaurant singing 'Happy Birthday'!

The kids had several very special presents for me. I treasure each one of their thoughtful gifts. As I looked around the table, I had much to be thankful for.

After dinner, we went to look at Christmas lights--another birthday tradition. The kids enjoy the lights so much, and I always enjoy watching them enjoy them! Tomorrow we will be leaving for our Christmas Vacation at Great Wolf Lodge. I have a lot to do, and a lot on my heart. So for now, I will treasure these moments...

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Aliya Simone--9 yrs old!

Normally, I try to take the kids pictures on their actual birthday, but we had to wait for warmer weather.  We had attempted to take her pictures in the colder weather, but it just didn't work. These were worth waiting for though!