Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Waterpark

Last year we stayed overnight at the Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Waterpark and on the drive home vowed that we would wait at least a couple years before trying it again.

And then we decided to go again anyway.  MiniM.E. has been subtly dropping hints that she's like to go to the waterpark again by doing things like loudly jumping around and singing about the waterpark and spending long hours asking repeatedly when we can go again.  Finally we bit the bullet and booked a night with the underlying plan to get the good deal on Great Escape season passes so we can use the indoor waterpark and the outdoor waterpark and the theme park whenever we want. It's so close that we could just drive up for a couple hours and it will be nice to have another activity.

Even though we also said last year that we would just drive home to sleep since it was ridiculous to try to put two kids to bed in a hotel and we woke up so early with nothing to do, we figured it couldn't be as bad as last year... 

So we packed up all our stuff and left yesterday afternoon to arrive for check in.  MiniM.E. was SO excited.

We arrived and the girls were trying to get their bathing suits on before we'd even set everything down.

While we finished getting everything settled and got ourselves ready to go to the waterpark the girls played the iPad.

LittleL.G. was a little timid at first

But MiniM.E. jumped right in!

Maybe a little too quickly because a knee scrape after one of her first slides almost had us heading home after less than half an hour at the park.  It took a bit, but we finally convinced her to stay and keep playing and we had a great evening.  

The girls were tired after two hours so we went back to the room to order pizza.  Definitely an improvement over eating at Johnny Rockets like last year.

Putting the kids to bed went well too!  And for a few hours we thought we had it down... 

Until LittleL.G. woke up and WOULD NOT go back in her crib.  For hours.  And then, after finally going back to sleep, woke up an hour later and WOULD NOT go back in the crib.  After finally going back to sleep again, at least the girls slept in until 6:30.  We did our breakfast at Denny's and instead of heading right back decided to take a walk around Wal-Mart for a while to kill some time.

It worked out well because as soon as we got back it was time to get dressed for the park!

Another great day of playing (and napping for LittleL.G., who was tired for some reason...).  MiniM.E. even did some of the big kid slides this year!!  And we more than doubled our previous record of 1.5 hours for day 2 and stayed until after lunch!

Even though we weren't planning on it, we all had a great time this year (forgetting about the sleeping part).  See you again soon with our season passes!!

And Then There Was a Week...

Where, yet again, I have nothing to show. It has just been that kind of winter. MiniM.E. started the week with a cold and LittleL.G. was up all night Wednesday with a fever that turned into a full on miserable cold so we cancelled all our end of week plans with friends.

The wii has been a lifesaver.  Might as well get some exercise while being cooped up inside.

We did manage a weekend morning bowling excursion with Daddy but it only lasted one game because LittleL.G. wasn't really up for it and got pretty cranky towards the end. (Boy our kids are cute bowlers though!)

I did get to celebrate my birthday with a pretty fantastic ice cream cake and adorable singers.

The beginning of this week has been about the same as LittleL.G. is still under the weather.  We have plans to go to the Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Waterpark tomorrow, so hopefully she is feeling better really soon!

fun with selfies

feeding the alligators

"ahh-paane!!"

Adorable Little Dancers

Yesterday was MiniM.E.'s last dance class of the short winter session.  Since there was no recital to end it, we got to go in for the last part of class to watch them dance.  Of course that would be the exact moment when my phone was full and I couldn't take a video.  Fortunately, I had just taken a video of the practice one, so even though it is sans music, it is pretty adorable.

A Work Weekend

Over the weekend Gram and Grumpy came to help us put new flooring in our rental property after damage from a pipe burst.  We are so grateful they offered their assistance because it was impossible to find someone to do the work for us.

Much bigger project than we anticipated and we ended up working into the night Friday and Saturday and finished late last night.  We worked in teams of three while one of us watched the girls.  It was tiring but we are so glad to have it done!  And even though it was busy I think the girls had a good time too.

Even though we were busy, it was MiniM.E.'s last skating class so we all took a break to go watch.

Sunday I took the girls to church.  It was so nice out we got to play on the playground afterward.

Gram had the bulk of the kid watching duty and sent some pretty adorable photos to update me while I was working.

 Thanks again Gram and Grumpy!  Now to get some sleep!

Just Hanging Around

waiting for Daddy at the airport

special delivery!

balance bike race

"Hey, wait for me!" 

all twisted up

practicing pre-K

triple hammock swinging

best buddies

MiniM.E. getting her baby-fix

Lake Placid

Last year we went to Lake Placid for the first time and loved it.  We couldn't wait to go back and were excited to visit in the summer but almost a year later we still hadn't been back. 

Daddy came home Friday and we wanted to do something fun as a family so we decided since we had such a great time last year, Lake Placid was the place to go.  In typical "MiniM.E. fashion" we did our best to recreate last year's visit; half for MiniM.E. because she is a creature of habit and repetition and would have been disappointed otherwise, and half for us because we had a great time and wouldn't have changed it at all!

We invited the same family to go with us and met at the same restaurant for brunch.  The wait was long so all the girls took a walk while the guys waited on the table.

MiniM.E. slept on the ride there and was ready to enjoy the day as soon as we got there, but despite being up for three hours in the night, LittleL.G. fought sleep the whole trip and conked out right as we sat down to eat.  

Breakfast was delicious and after our bellies were full we were ready to find the dogsled rides.  The weather wasn't quite as pleasant this time- cooler and SO WET from rain and warm temperatures Saturday.  We weren't expecting all the puddles and inches of water on the frozen lake and unfortunately MiniM.E.'s attraction to puddle jumping had her feet wet and soggy before we even got to the sled rides.  Usually it would have meant a tantrum of epic proportions but the car nap had her in good spirits and she was so excited about the dogsled she hardly noticed. 

The older girls were giddy with excitement but LittleL.G. wasn't so sure.

The ride was fun, though a little "stinky" (because of the wet dogs) according to the girls. LittleL.G. seemed to have fun while we were riding but definitely did not want to take a second ride.  

The girls got to go twice (lucky!), once with each mom.

Next it was time to skate.  MiniM.E. was glad to be in ice skates and out of wet boots and was even more excited to actually be skating.  All the skating lessons have paid off and she's really great on the ice.  There was a lot of falling, but judging by the way she was rolling around that was half the fun! LittleL.G. just wanted to walk around and slip and slide on the ice... and eat the snow.

For the first time in a while I felt extremely unprepared even though it felt like we packed our whole house for the day trip.  The one thing I forgot was a change of clothes for MiniM.E.  And the poor kid was SOAKED from rolling in the puddles.  The good news is that there is plenty of shopping in Lake Placid.  MiniM.E. was a good sport about walking all the way back to the main street in her soggy clothes and we bought a new outfit and changed before walking back to the Lake Placid Brewery, the same restaurant we ended our trip with last year because it has delicious food and beer AND a playroom.  Even better than last year, the girls went into the playroom and played together by themselves!

Another great trip to Lake Placid!

Just Being Little

LittleL.G. is developing her own little personality and it is amazing to watch the transition from baby to toddler.  She is headstrong and determined; admirable traits when learning to do something new, terrifying when refusing to go down the stairs any other way than forward stepping down like everyone else.  She is quick to snap when things aren't the way she likes, but just as quick to get over it and give a hug or have a laughing fit.  And she keeps us on our toes and entertained all day long. I am most amused by how attached she gets to certain things and how long she is able to hold onto them throughout the day.  Currently she is attached to a small milk jug which she carries around while playing in the kitchen (appropriately), but also while reading books, riding in the car, and taking naps.  It began with baby dolls- first playing with them and then not wanting to put them down for anything.  But it moved on to other things like a stuffed Elmo, a sippy cup, and to stranger items like a tiny measuring cup, the milk jug, and an apron. Wonder what crazy item she'll take to next!

this day it was the sippy cup and she insisted on napping with it- upright

here it was Elmo (and aren't they cute reading together!?!?)

and here it was the milk jug- pouring milk from it

and just hanging onto it while making coffee