A Break from Routine

The Lodge At Night From Our Room

We spent the beginning of this week on a little mini-vacation.  It was much needed for me as I feel like I have been skidding to the end of each day on fumes.  Although I am personally not a big fan of water parks or rides, I enjoyed our time at Great Wolf Lodge, just as much as the kids.  This out of the ordinary trip was a fabulous Christmas present from my Grandma.  It is much appreciated and we all had a fantastic time.  If you have never been to GWL and you have kids I would have to recommend it.  There seems to be something for everyone and they definitely cater to families with kids.  Our crew all had a blast and even though our kids span ten years (age 5-15) they all loved every minute.  Our room had beds for all six of us, a microwave and fridge.  If you want to get even fancier then you can book one of their wolf dens or kid's suites.   We brought all our own food although they do have all inclusive packages if you don't want to cook.  We did get to experience the buffet on our last day for dinner.  Since it is all you can eat our kids could hardly wait.  Again there seemed to be something for everyone.  I loved the ravioli with mushroom sauce, mussels and salmon since I never get those things at home.  Caroline loved the salad bar, Daniel loved it all and TJ and Liam were big fans of the huge dessert buffet and the make your own ice cream sundaes. The only thing that I would recommend is that you make sure you rinse off after the park and take lots of cream for your skin.  The chemicals in the water park are really strong.  If you are allergic to chlorine than GWL is not the place for you!
This particular trip is organized every year by a fellow homeschooling mom who sees the benefits of having a mid-winter break.  She does a fantastic job of getting us a terrific rate and it is really fun to see all the kids playing and laughing together. 

TJ at the PJ Dance Party

TJ colouring her t-shirt at Cub Club

I took lots of pictures but I did not venture into the water park with my camera for fear of getting sprayed or dumped on by the many buckets and water cannons that kids find such a blast.  TJ spent the just as much time out of the park as in the park.  She loved the PJ dance party, night-time story and the wolf howl walks.  She also loves to have her photo taken so she makes sure I bring my camera whenever I am with her.  Daniel on the other hand spent almost every moment in the park and is a little photo shy and although he let me get some pictures he did not want to see them on my blog. 

Liam with Slim the Tree

Caroline and TJ camping out

Dinner under the tree house

So we have had a great start to the week.  Even our re-entry into our routine hasn't been so bad.  Maybe a little time out from our regular life was just what we needed.