SURPRISE!!!

It was fun last Thursday to check the kids out of school early and load them up in the Yeti......they had no idea why or where we were going. Infact, it was long enough for Iris to fall asleep like THIS...

When we pulled up to Great Wolf Lodge the kids absolutely freaked out!!!! We're talkin, they've been wanting to go back for over 2 years.

 As SOON as we dropped our bags the kids immediately threw on their swimsuits to head downstairs to the waterpark.

The waterpark is really a lot of fun. We happened to time it JUST right to get the rascals under the water tower. Royce didn't know WHAT hit him, all he knew was that dad was holding him there. Iris tried escaping but didn't make it.

I mostly just hung out with Iris, Royce and Kellyn. They loved this play area. This picture is a miracle in itself because Royce actually got to sit on the jetski toy.......Kellyn was VERY hard to pry off. She sat there for hours.

The three boys came and grabbed me because they wanted to take me on the "Tornado" waterslide (the biggest one). It's one of those that you go down and then a funnel thing and you almost flip over while all 4 of you are sitting together and your life flashes before your eyes.......yes, those ones. 

Yes, this was me on that ride.....

Okay, so not EXACTLY, but that's what Camden said I looked like. I really should've heeded the "pregnant women are advised not to ride this" sign, (you know, the sign they put right above the slide that you see only as you are already moving!!!) but I just loved that the boys wanted me to go with them so badly.....now I know why. Daddy probably doesn't provide the entertainment I do.

I decided that I would do better sticking with the younger ones.

When I came down to find them I found Royce like this with Brooks.

He has a hard time believing that the life jacket will actually make him float and Brooks was DETERMINED to make him a believer.

Here is Royce, scared out of his mind and not moving a muscle.

In the end, Royce got the idea and was kicking himself around just fine. Only Brooks could've pulled that off.

Iris especially couldn't get enough of the wave pool. She would sit and giggle with Royce and jump over the waves yelling, "This is just like the beach!!!!"

Well, she played with Royce until she found a friend that she latched herself to......

 Here is the loner himself.

 I would just watch Iris talking and talking this girl's ears off. (Iris talks with her hands like I do)

 that is, until the waves started again and they would retreat back. It was pretty funny.

 I kept trying to snap pictures of Emerson but he liked getting WAY in the front where the waves just leveled him over and over so it was obviously tricky. I promise, he was there though. 

 Kellyn really is so spoiled.......it was nice to have other arms to keep her contained because she just LOVED the water and kept diving for it.

When I got tired of chasing her I would stick her on one of these chairs and it worked like a charm. Her feet would start to slip between the bands and she would freak out and hold really still and sit there. 

I need one of these chairs for church.

And of COURSE there were a lot of competitions going on.......like this 4-way race slide (clearly, if you weigh more you have an advantage........an advantage that Brooks delighted in)

Then there was this race across the lilypads between Brooks and Bronson....

 And thanks to a lucky slip where Bronson slipped onto the finish line he actually pulled off the win......here's the mandatory handshake.

We ate dinner and then I stayed back in the suite with the younger ones to put them to bed while the older ones went back to swim with Brooks. It's amazing how much peace I feel when Kellyn is contained on a very high bed with an unplugged phone to entertain her.

 Otherwise, there's usually torn up toilet paper/kleenex everywhere and pizza crusts....but of course, STILL with the phone.

 I had to include this sweet picture of Iris sleeping. She looks like an angelic little lady here.

We obviously swam again in the morning before we left in the afternoon.....I made them take ONE more picture before we left. 

Some were in better moods then others.............

It was actually a very fun and relaxing trip (okay, okay, MINUS the tornado ride).....and I wasn't expecting the relaxing part.