Eighty-Four Degrees

Most people here had a four day weekend and with record crowds expected in DC today a lot of people left town. We went to Great Wolf Lodge. I think everyone else there was from the DC area or at least everyone we talked to said they were from this area. We went with friends and we saw three other families we know. We got there at a little before 1:00 and there was a huge line to check in. We got our wristbands for the water park but we were unable to get into our room until after 4:00. After about two and a half hours at the water park the kids were ready for break. We were pleasantly surprised that we were assigned a room with bunk beds. Lydia refused the pack-n-play and insisted on sleeping in the lower bunk while Wesley had the upper bunk. The bunk beds were kind of a trial run because we plan to get bunk beds for them when Lydia transitions out of the crib.

Neither kid relaxed enough to go to sleep before dinner.

At the Lodge, you are paying for the water park. The only way you can use the water park is to reserve a hotel room. You can use the water park starting at 1:00 the day you check in and all day the day you are checking out (I think). The rooms aren't the nicest and the place is rather loud, but it did get quiet during quiet hours. If you are a light sleeper like me, pack your earplugs.

The kids slept very well last night; they were exhausted. This morning they played in the room while waiting for the water park to open. (It was open from 9AM to 9PM. ) Here is a cute picture of Lydia doing one of her favorite activities - coloring.

When it was so cold last week, I kept thinking, "It is 84 degrees at Great Wolf!"

In this photo, Wesley is waiting for the little yellow bucket to drop water on his head.

Here are the friends who went with us to Great Wolf - Leslie, Gabriele, and Sofije. Steve and Chris were riding the Howlin' Tornado when I took this photo. Leslie and I had a turn on the Tornado also. It was pretty fast. This is the only waterslide that Wesley didn't ride - he didn't meet the height requirement.

Jody (Chris' coworker) and Melissa and Layton were also there. Wesley and Layton were very excited to see each other. It was Melissa who gave me the idea to go to Great Wolf yesterday.

Lydia and Wesley loved all the waterslides they went on. This is one of the little kid slides.

Here is Wesley going down a body slide by himself. (Lydia didn't do these slides.) Yesterday after Wesley and I climbed up the nets, we got drenched by the big bucket, that dumps out 1,000 gallons of water, as we were waiting in line for this slide. Today, the line was shorter so we didn't have to stand in the danger zone.

After three hours at the waterpark, Lydia fell asleep and slept for about an hour. During her nap, Wesley and I rode the waterslides again so Chris could take photos of us while he held Lydia. We didn't get a chance to take photos of her on the bigger slides.

Wesley and Lydia both loved the tube waterslides. We rode in figure 8 inner tubes. Wesley sat on my feet and legs because he was too short to sit on the tube and hold onto the handles. Lydia basically rode in Chris' lap. She was the smallest/youngest child we saw on these slides, but she loved it. The first time down, Chris was afraid she was scared but then he heard her say, "Fun!" Wesley also enjoyed these slides when we went a couple of weeks before he turned two.

They also enjoyed the family raft ride where we all rode in on big round tube. While waiting for this ride you really get blasted with the heat that comes out of the pipes at the ceiling. After you get really good and toasty, the water on the slide is a big shock. The kids didn't complain.

The last time we waited in line for this waterslide, Lydia told us she wanted to go to the car. This meant she was tired and ready to take a nap. She fell asleep within five minutes of getting off the waterslide.