Our Great Wolf Lodge Vacation!

The next day after Nolan's graduation, our family of 5 headed out to Kansas City, KS for our first family vacation since Carter and Blake have been born.  We decided on Great Wolf Lodge because it was an indoor waterpark, close enough to drive in one day, and had activities for all 3 ages of the boys.  We left around noon on Friday, May 20th which was luckily around nap time, so for the first couple of hours the boys took a nap.  Blake was diagnosed with a sinus infection on Thursday, so he was not feeling well most of the trip, but he was a trooper and kept a smile on his face most of the time.

After a couple of bathroom breaks and snack breaks, we arrived at Great Wolf Lodge around 4:30.  It was perfect timing.  Bill checked us in and each family member was given a pair of wolf ears.  Nolan and Carter were proud to represent their wolf ears.

I chose a room with a "wolf den" because it had bunk beds for Nolan and Carter to sleep in.

I don't think we even unpacked our bags, the boys changed right into their trunks and headed straight to the pool area.  Since the water is cool, the indoor water section is kept at 84 degrees so it felt good to be in the cool water.  Blake got a little wet, but felt better wrapped in a towel on my lap while the older boys played with Bill.  After a couple of hours of playing, we ate dinner and went to bed.

The next morning the boys were ready to get back to the pool and play.  We had breakfast and made our way to the water.  The pictures below include most of the pictures from the water area, so I'm not really sure if they were from Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.  Anyway you will get the idea, the boys had a blast!!  Nolan and Carter weren't tall enough to go down the big slides by themselves, so either Bill or I went with them.  Life vests and towels were provided, so we didn't have to pack anything extra that would take up a ton of room.  Blake hung out on either my lap or Bill's lap while the other took the older two boys down the big slides.  There was also a section called the "hot tub" but it was for kids so the water felt like warm bath water.  Blake loved splashing around in this section of the pool area.

There was a younger kids section and it's slides went into a walk out pool which was only about a foot deep, so Nolan and Carter didn't need to wear their vests.  At the end of the walk out pool were sprinklers and little things for Blake to play with.  Nolan and Carter would race each other down the slide over and over again!

Nolan really liked the huge water gym.  Nolan was so brave, he would go all the way to the top of the tower by himself and go down the long slide where I would meet him.  Nolan was like a little monkey climbing all over the place.  Carter didn't like the water gym too much because it was kind of loud with all the water spraying everywhere.

The water bucket was fun for the kids to watch, but they didn't want to get under it when the bucket tipped over.  At least they posed for a picture with Bill.

The lodge also offered Mini Golf, so of course we had to dabble in it.  Bill and I decided we are too competitive to golf with the boys around.  Neither of us could fully concentrate while taking our putt because the boys were talking, running to the next hole, or swinging their golf clubs at each other like they were swords.  We made it to hole 12, I think, before we called it quits.  The lodge also offered craft time, so Carter made a button and asked to have his face painted like a wolf before we played mini golf. 

Bill had homework to do, so whenever it was nap time for Blake or Blake wasn't feeling that well, Bill would take him back to the room and try to work on his homework.  Bill is such an a amazing dad, he did a great job balancing school and family time while on this trip.  I know it was hard for him to work on school, but he managed and the boys had so much fun!  

Another fun amenity the lodge had was an arcade, we went to the arcade a couple of different times.  I don't know who had more fun us or the kids.  Bill and I were addicted to the game where you try and knock down the most clowns with baseballs.  We kept saying, "one more time" until we used all the kids' money and then we had to stop.

Nolan is the luckiest kid, you have to hit the button when you think its the right time and of course he hit the button on the number with the highest amount of tickets.  He won 200 tickets on his second game!

Another trip to the arcade.  This time Blake was allowed to roam and he had fun in the claw machine doors!  Blake loved the hot dog truck!! He would ride it over and over again.

Blake was asleep, Carter and Bill were resting, so I took Nolan to story time at the clock tower.  Story time helped to keep Nolan quiet and out of the room while the younger two fell asleep.  Plus it was fun spending one on one time with my oldest love.

On Sunday, I took Nolan and Carter down to spend some one on one time with them, while Blake took a nap and Bill attempted to work on homework.  Nolan opted for the face paint this time and Carter chose to color a wolf mask.  The boys and I decided to grab lunch.  Bill and Blake surprised us right when the food arrived. Perfect timing for B, he loved those french fries.

We decided to go to the outlet mall and walk around to get out of the lodge for a little bit.  On our way to the car we saw a rock.  When you see a rock, of course you have to take a picture on it!

Sunday night we took a family picture in bed, since it was our last night at the lodge.

Monday morning we woke up, checked out of the lodge, and headed to IHOP.  If you stay at Great Wolf Lodge, IHOP offers free kids meals as long as you wear your bracelets.  Once our bellies were full, we jumped in the car and made our way back to Illinois.  

One more family selfie as we left Great Wolf Lodge.  The car ride home was pretty quiet because the boys were exhausted.  We made it home on Monday around 1 and relaxed the rest of the day, preparing ourselves for the following day back to work.

I would have to say we had a great first family of 5 vacation!  Nolan and Carter ask everyday when we are going back to Great Wolf Lodge.  I believe we may have started an annual tradition with a trip to Great Wolf Lodge.