Keepin' up with the Krols: GWL

We returned yesterday evening from a great weekend with some of my family at Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky, OH. Caleb and Logan had lots of fun, which means that Mike and I had fun, and they did SO much better in the car this time than our last road trip a few months ago.

The boys were pretty excited for the whole week before the trip. We had talked here and there for a while that we'd be going swimming sometime, but they really latched on to the idea about a week before. It probably "helped" that I had them try on swimsuits to see what we had that fit right now. So, they were very anxious to go and we talked alot about it being warm water, indoors (as opposed to the ponds we see outside that are cold right now), no fish, and they'd list what family was going to be there.

Friday morning we hit the road with my parents in our van, and we managed to hook up with my brother and his family a little ways down the road (cell phones are great).

Got to Great Wolf Lodge by mid-afternoon and hit the waterpark as soon as possible. The boys were SO excited when we were finally getting on swimsuits and then headed down there. They had a couple hours to play before we left for supper. They had lots of fun, and Logan especially was sad as we left, he kept crying, "No going, no going!"

Going down the slide in the kiddie pool.

Logan playing in one of the fountains coming out of the floor in the kiddie pool.

Covering the fountain.

Playing with one of the streams coming out of the 'tree' in the kiddie pool. There was one stream where they could reach the source and found they liked to put their finger over it and make it spray (they are their father's boys)...

We walked next door to Steak'n'Shake for supper (hello, SLOW service), then came back and just hung around for a bit. Bedtime went halfway decent - not great, but certainly could have been worse. We brought sleeping bags for the boys, which we had "played" with a few times at home, but they hadn't actually slept in them yet. We (mostly Mike) had to lay with them on the floor to get them to sleep, and it took awhile (Logan was really fighting it even though he was obviously tired), but by 10pm they were both sleeping and slept fine the rest of the night. They woke up a little early the next morning, but nothing too crazy.

Saturday was a full day at the waterpark! Caleb and Logan were thrilled in the morning to go back there. We got there right at 9am when they opened, and didn't leave until about 5:30pm! The boys took a couple breaks in the afternoon to sit and have some "quiet" time (they took turns sitting on Grammy's lap), and warm up (Logan was turning blue and shivering and still didn't want to stop...), but otherwise they played hard all day! Mike was probably having more fun than them - he is more than thrilled that it looks like we have a couple water rats. :) I hope they don't grow out of it or hit a scared stage later.

Even though both Caleb and Logan love the water, it's fun to see how they're still so different. They both had lots of fun in the kiddie pool, but Logan loved swimming in the big pool with Mike, and Caleb loved going down the big yellow slide with Mike. I took Caleb in the big pool a couple times, but generally he just didn't want to go in there. And, Logan did go down the big yellow slide a couple times, but didn't seem to enjoy it as much and Caleb was asking to go again. (And he'll still tell you that he had to hang on to the handles on the tube in order to go down - that's one of the rules.) They also both had fun on a couple smaller slides (bigger and faster than what's in the kiddie pool, but not real big like some of the others).

So, yeah, Logan can swim! Sure, he has a lifejacket on, but he does pretty well for a 2-yr-old. :) Mike started out having Logan swim to him from the wall just a few feet, and it didn't take too long and he was swimming across the pool! No help whatsoever, just kicking and using his arms on his own, going after Mike saying, "I get you!" :) I'll post a video in another entry. And, yes, Mike did try having Logan swim without his lifejacket on, and that didn't go so well. He's not ready for that yet. :) BUT, it doesn't bother him or scare him a bit to go under water!

I got a few stares and comments thanks to walking around in a bathing suit with this big belly. And, I did try to go down one slide that I thought was perfectly safe, but wasn't allowed. That was a pleasant walk squeezing past everyone on the stairs to get back down...

Here's a few pics from Saturday:

Caleb playing with the stream he liked to put his finger over and spray...

Caleb taking a rest on Grammy's lap.

Mike and Logan in the big pool.

Heidi taking a snooze.

Saturday night we ate supper at one of the restaurants in the hotel. It was nice to not have to go out. Caleb, Mr. Energy Go-Go-Go Doesn't Stop, fell asleep at the table! Out of the corner of my eye I thought his head was a little low and wondered what he was doing, I looked over, and sure enough he was nodding off. So cute. Especially since something like that is so out of character for him. My sister had her hands free so she held him while I finished eating, then I got to cuddle my little goober a bit while we walked to our room and then I put him to bed. Logan stayed up for a bit yet. A few of the grandkids had storytime with Grammy and then Logan went to bed. He fought it again a little that night, but was asleep by 9pm instead of 10pm. :) Both boys woke up a couple times in the night, and in the morning Mike and I woke up to Caleb calling for "Daddy" and trying to get out the door!

Sunday morning we had a little more time in the waterpark, then we checked out and hit the road. Had a pretty good trip home! For awhile there I was dealing with lots of requests from the back (snacks, toys, etc.) but eventually Caleb took a nap, and then later on Logan took a nap. For the last half hour the boys (especially Logan) were irritable/restless, but that's totally manageable considering the rest of the trip went well!

Caleb and Mike coming out of the big yellow slide.

Logan and Mike coming out of the big yellow slide.

Me and my boys. This was in the pool at the bottom of the other slides they really liked. The got to the point for awhile where they didn't want my help getting out - would brush me off and not hold my hand. They are growing up too fast...