Road Trip (#2) Part 1 - Great Wolf Lodge

I've been quite the blogging slacker since Jake came home. Part of that is because Jake's deployment was my biggest motivator to keep the blog going, and part of it is because we have just been incredibly busy since Jake's homecoming. After two weeks of being home together, we hit the road for a 2+ week road trip. Our first stop on this trip was the Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte, NC. We had never been to a Great Wolf Lodge before, but we had a blast! The whole resort is geared toward family centered fun. The main attraction is an indoor water park complete with slides, wave pool, and a kiddie section. We spent a lot of time at the water park. The only negative aspect was that Will was too short to go on any of the bigger rides, and he was constantly being left behind while his siblings went off to have fun. Poor guy. Sometimes it is really hard being the little one.

Next to the water park, our second favorite activity was definitely this adventure called MagiQuest. Each child got a wand that was essentially a remote of sorts. They started by choosing a quest at the main computers and then had to search the resort to find certain objects: pictures, treasure chests, etc. When they waved their wand at all the required objects, they completed the quest and went on to choose another quest. We spent hours doing these tasks - running down the halls and going up and down countless flights of stairs. But the kids loved it, and I must admit I enjoyed it, too.

The children with their wands, ready for our next quest:

At the end of the beginners level, we got to slay a dragon. We had been very motivated to get to this point. If we ever go back, we get to fight other battles as we progress through the levels. This is Bella slaying the dragon (with help from Daddy):

When we weren't living it up in the water park or going on a magical quest, we stuffed some new animal friends, colored pillowcases, played putt-putt golf, enjoyed story time, and went to the arcade. Sorry about the lack of photos, but we didn't grab many because we were too busy playing and having fun. Although it was pricey, it was worth the memories and I think we definitely earned some indulgences after 8 months of separation. I will say though, we don't plan on going back until Will is tall enough for the water rides... so it will be a couple years before we make it back. I'm already looking forward to it.