Spa Day and Happy Birthday, Raymond - 146/365

It was our last day at Great Wolf Lodge. 

This morning, we went outside to take our annual cousin's picture. Every year we get Jillian and Reagan matching dresses, Evan something that blends and take their picture. The photoshoot went really well at first! It was great! We got some great shots. 

Reagan was resisting taking a "running" photo, but eventually she joined in. We ended up just letting them run around and chase grandma and papa.  

After pictures, we hit the pools for a little bit and Reagan went down her favorite slides a few more times.

After we got cleaned up, we headed over to the Scoops Kid's Spa for Reagan's mani/pedi. She just loves having her nails done. She does a great job sitting still, too! 

The place was pretty adorable, the benches looked like huge banana splits. They gave her a little robe and tiara when she first sat down. Once they got started, she was able to pick her colors and flavors. All the bath bombs and scrubs they used were ice cream scented. Reagan chose chocolate and strawberry and she chose purple for her toes and pink for her fingers. Towards the end, they even gave her a spritz of watermelon flavor for her hair and grape lip gloss. She looked and smelled fantastic. They finished her off with an "I'm a princess sash", and a scoop of ice cream! YUM! She had a ball! 

Eventually, it was time to head home. We were going over Ray and Jenn's this evening for Raymond's birthday! We had a great time and they had quite the spread. Jennifer grilled chicken and steak and had a ton of yummy sides. She even made buttered noodles, especially for Reagan, how sweet! 

Reagan helped Uncle Raymond blow out his candles on his awesome ice cream cake and also helped him open all his presents! He loved it! We had a blast! 

This evening, Reagan turned into a "crazy banshee" as we called her. She was so exhausted from her weekend of fun, that she just decided she was going to do the opposite of everything we wanted her to do tonight. In the words of Jim, "we had to hold her down as if she was a wild animal or mental institution patient." We could not get her pajamas off, we both had to hold her down while she was kicking and screaming. We went through the same thing trying to get her dressed again after the bath. She wouldn't use the potty, wouldn't brush her teeth, nothing. It was totally shocking and exhausting all at the same time. She had never behaved that way before. We were both like, "what just happened?" Hopefully, that will be a one and done episode! 

Overall, we had a awesome day! 

First up, the kiddos!

Next, Reagan at the spa! 

Next, Reagan helping Uncle Ray blow out his candles...

Finally, a group pic!

Great Wolf Lodge Day 2 - 145/365

Today, was day two at the Great Wolf Lodge. 

We were going to start our day at Goofy Golf! The kids were excited! It went pretty well playing with nine people, albeit, a little slow. LOL. The kids really had a fun time putting around! By the end, it was all pretty random, but that's what made it fun! 

After Goofy Golf, Jim wanted to take Reagan on the Go Carts. She was LOVING it! She had a huge smile the whole time and was waving away! It was so fun to watch them! 

We eventually headed back to the lodge for some more swimming. We spent a little time in the outdoor pool this time! Last time we were here it wasn't open, so it was nice to be out in the sun a little bit. The pool was great, because it was only two feet deep, so the kids could run around a splash. Evan and Reagan had a fun time finding little water rocket toys and throwing them back in. 

For dinner, we all headed out to the Outback. It was so yummy and we had a great time! 

We hit the pools again one more time before bed. The kids spent most of the evening on the little oak tree slides and the blue slides. They went round and around and around. It was fun to watch them! After they would go down the blue slides, they would walk over and high-five Jim, Greg and Jake. It was too funny! 

 It was a successful day number two at the lodge!

The first picture is Jillian, Reagan, Grandma and Evan waiting for their turn!

Next, Jim and Reagan enjoying the go carts.

Finally, the Jillian and Reagan passing out high-fives.

 

Great Wolf Lodge - 144/365

Today, we were off for a weekend with Grandma, Papa Greg, Adrienne, Jake and the kids. 

We decided to check out Great Wolf Lodge again! We liked it last time and thought it was perfect for the little kids. We got checked in and immediately hit the pool! 

Reagan was excited, because she could ride the big slide with us this time! She couldn't go last time we were there. She absolutely LOVED it and just squealed with delight all the way down! Almost every time we took her, she would yell, at some point on the way down, "This is FUN!" We had such a blast with our little thrill seeker. 

Jillian, Evan and Reagan had a great time on the little blue slides, too! They had to go round and around about 100 times! Grandma was loving being the catcher at the bottom for them! 

For dinner, we just ordered some pizza and appetizers and had a little private party in grandma and papa's room! It was nice just sitting around chit-chatting! 

After dinner, we headed down to the arcade for a while. The kids really took to this little yellow bus "ride". They had to go at least 6 times! Jillian and I had a fun game of Air Hockey and Reagan was a pretty intense skee-ball player. She was hurling the ball up the ramp!

Before bed, we hit the pools for one more quick dip, had some ice cream on our balcony and hit the hay to get ready for another fun day tomorrow! 

The first is Reagan's first trip down a "big" slide!

Next, the kids in the yellow bus!

Finally, our little skee-ball player...

Great Wolf & Parker's Birthday -271/365

Another busy one today! 

We woke up around 8:30, grabbed a snack and hit the water park again! 

Reagan just loved it there. She wanted to go straight to the water slides! Grandma played catcher at the bottom while she went round and around. Jim and I decided to hit the two GIANT slides. Adrienne and Greg gave them a go, too! I have to admit being a little nervous. You had to go up nearly three flights of stairs to get up there. You sat down in an inter-tube, the lifeguard gave you the OK and then, you were GONE! They were SO FAST, it was crazy! You came out of the shoot about 100 miles an hour, then suddenly stopped. I tried to hop out of my tube, flipped out and went underwater. I'm not very graceful. LOL! We ended up going a few more times! 

After that, Jim and I decided we would try to stand where the GIGANTIC bucket dumps an avalanche of water. It's on top of a four story, water, tree house. The bucket would fill up every 5 minutes or so, then dump an avalanche of water on the people below. We watched people get dumped on, time and again, so we decided it was our turn. The force of the water was amazing, but it didn't really hurt like we thought it would. After we tried it, we made Adrienne and Jake do it, too! It was a hoot! 

We swam for about an hour and a half, then headed home. We had another birthday party to go to. Today was Parker's second birthday party! Where does the time go? We were just at his pirate party! We've had fun watching Parker grow up and especially, watching he and Reagan form a little friendship. They are really starting to have a good time together. It's so cute! 

Parker's theme was Mickey Mouse, so of course, we were thrilled! Jim, Reagan and I, all wore Mickey shirts to help keep the theme. 

Rachel had everything decorated so cute! The centerpieces were paint buckets, they painted yellow in the shop, put vinyl "happy birthday" stickers, a Mickey and tied balloons to them. Then, they filled them with popcorn! They were too cute! We were lucky enough to bring one home. Reagan already put it in her playroom. They had lots for the kids to do, too. A water table, bounce house, ball pit and of course the swing set. All the kids played so good together. Reagan made quick friends with Rachel's sister's daughter, Jillian. She even said to her "are you like the Jillian I know", referring to her cousin. LOL! The only time there were tears, was over the pinata. They broke it open and all the candy fell out, but they wanted to keep hitting it! 
After the pinata, Parker got his new car! He got a Cadillac Escalade! A couple of the kids tried it out, but the car kept getting put in reverse. They would try to go forward, then get scared when it went backwards. Reagan took it for a little spin around the front yard. She seemed to like it. Won't be long till they are cruising for real.
They had the food catered and it was excellent! The meatballs were everyone's favorite. They were absolutely amazing and I'm not even a big meatball person!
Rachel had the cutest little favors for the kids. Each one got 3D sidewalk chalk. They also got, a little Mickey bag filled with a small coloring book, crayons, candy and cup. It was a great party and of course, Reagan was pooped, yet again.
What a busy couple days!
The photo of the day is Parker celebrating his second birthday!

Here is Parker and Reagan attempting a ride in his new car...

 Next is, Jim, Adrienne, Jake and I getting drenched by the bucket drop. 

Finally, Reagan and Jillian having a little conversation...

 

Great Wolf Lodge & Evan's Birthday - 270/365

 What a busy day today! 

We started at Gymnastics. Jim was off today, so he got to finally see Reagan in action at Gymnastics. She did great and loved having daddy there to watch. She kept running over to him and giving him high-fives. 

After Gymnastics, we went over to Family Garden day to FINALLY get her hand print on the fence. It was a gorgeous day, so they were able to do it. When we first got there, they were doing their craft. It was an adorable little craft. They were making fall trees out of lunch bags. We cut strips, twisted them and puffed it, so it looked exactly like a tree. They had little squares of tissue paper, that they cut little leaves out and glued them on. It was adorable!
After the craft, it was time to do the hand prints. Reagan did hers just perfect, her fingers were perfectly spaced. They each got to pick a color and she picked white, which went perfectly on the maroon fence. It looks fantastic! It will be wonderful to go and see how her hand grows as we continue to visit the garden. We're so excited! 

After the garden, it was time to head up to The Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate our little nephew, Evan's second birthday! Time goes so fast, we can't believe he is two! He is such a sweet little boy!

The drive was great and we made it in exactly two hours. 

Evan had a nice little group to help him celebrate. Adrienne, Jake, Jillian, Greg, Nikki, Jim, Reagan, Nikki, Andrew, Ally,  Hugh, Alicia, Desmond and I were all there to help him celebrate.

The lodge was BEAUTIFUL! As soon as we walked in the lobby, there were activities for the kids. There was a lady with hula hoops and twisted animal balloons. Reagan was in heaven, she got a pink dog balloon.

We got situated in our room, then were off to the water park. It was huge an there was so much to do! The kids just played and played in the splash pad. They had a great time. 

Eventually, we went over to the water slides. Reagan, Ally and Jillian must have gone down those slides about a million times. They would get to the top, wait for whoever was last, which was usually Reagan, since she's the smallest of the three, and then go. It was so adorable! 

Reagan and Ally, went down the bigger yellow slide. Reagan was a little apprehensive, but we just pushed her on down. Then, she loved it. She was supposed to go on her back, but must have flipped over on her tummy in the tunnel. She wanted to go again, but when we told her she had to stay on her back, she said, "no."

After they played, we were going up to Adrienne and Jake's room to have pizza and cake to celebrate the birthday boy. The kids basically huddled up on the couch and played iPad together. I think they were just resting from our their fun in the water park. They played so hard!

After we sang and the kids helped Evan open his presents, we took them down to the arcade to play some games. Adrienne had gotten the kids each a stuffed wolf, that came with a pre-paid game card to use in the arcade. How nice! They had a ball playing Skee Ball. They were better than the parents. Nikki and I, both flung balls against the fence, that then, made a deafening sound through the arcade! LOL! 

They all earned lots of tickets and turned them in for goodies. Reagan picked out a frog ring, bracelet and some candy! Ally, Andrew and Reagan all got a smarties type sucker, which made a mess of their mouths! Reagan really enjoyed hers. It was so funny!

After the arcade, there was a little show in the lobby. Us adults could not understand one word, but the kids got a kick out of it. We just stood in the back and sipped down a beer. It was a great way to end the evening. What a super fun day. Everyone was pooped! Reagan curled right up with her "friends" and her new friend the wolf. She was out in two minutes!

The photo of the day is Evan enjoying his birthday party....

 Reagan enjoying the water slide...

All the kids with a wolf from the Lodge...

And last, but not least, Reagan and her much anticipated hand print at Fellows Riverside Children's Garden.