Random Rant...

Directed at someone I don't even know... who probably wouldn't care...

GET... OUT... OF... OUR... WAY!

That is all...

L.

Meanwhile... Back At The Ranch...

Wisconsin Dells, Day 6...

We wrapped up our trip today...

After cleaning out the room (which was no small task), we used our fun passes to play lazer tag.  I think I had the best score I have ever had, but if I'm going to be honest that is partially due to the fact that this was Ian's first lazer tag game ever, and in an attempt to not lose him in the arena I followed him around most of the time... and... uh...  I shot him in the back every time his vest started glowing...

We did some souvenir shopping next and then headed to the Amtrak station to drop off Grandma and Grandpa for their long ride home...  

And then we were off to The Pizza Ranch...  one of our favorites when we are within driving distance... which isn't often.  You just can't beat the cactus bread.  And on very full tummies, we started to make our trek home.  

We had uneventful travel and pulled into the driveway a little after 11:00pm... tucked the kids in... and unloaded and unpacked much of our stuff.

What a fun trip!  At some point during our time in the Dells, Caleb exclaimed, "Grandma was right!  We needed this vacation!"  And we did...

Trip Pic of the Day:

Getting Ready to Go Home

Lisa

It Was Another Busy Day...

Wisconsin Dells, Day 5…

We spent most of the day in the water, hitting the last outdoor waterpark, “Lake Wilderness,” where we utilized the double tubes to navigate our way through a pool that was deeper than expected and enjoyed another tube slide and some more body slides.  Ian took a trip down a medium sized body slide, and the kid literally flew off the end.  Grandma caught him by the life jacket.  I don’t think he’ll be doing anything like that again anytime soon, but I am glad that he’s getting a little bit braver…  I had some fun taking underwater pictures of my “big kids”, and Phil played basketball with them at one of the pools while I chased Ian and Miah around the baby play area.

Miah really loves it here.  She has thrown the best temper tantrums ever, pretty much every time we take a life jacket off of her.  We have begun to call them “fun jackets”!  I have a feeling she will be every bit as much of an adrenaline junkie as her mommy and big sister when she gets older…

We also returned to “Klondike Kavern” today and rode the lazy river something like 10,000 times!  We played in the kids’ fort area, as well.

Waterpark #3 on the day was “New Frontier”, where Phil and Grace took a spin down both a tube slide and a body slide… because Grace challenged Daddy to ride at least one body slide while we were here!  They’re not his favorite, by any stretch of the imagination, but there’s not much he wouldn’t do for our first princess…

We took a brief respite from the water at the mirror maze, which was very fun and extremely funny…  We literally could not distinguish between the real people in our party and the reflections at times.  I ran into myself on more than one occasion…

After returning to the room, Phil, Seth, Grace, Caleb, and I headed out to the “Lost World” park to make sure we made it to a few last attractions.  We were pleasantly surprised to find that the dual layer lazy river actually has a ramp that you can ride up!  Earlier in the trip it wasn’t running, but Caleb tried to get on it anyway.  We thought it was only for tubes and teased him about this, but the truth is… people can ride the tubes right up the ramp.  We had to take part in this novelty, of course.  I had promised Grace that I would race down the mat slides with her at some point, so this was the time.  It was far less than fun for me, because I started sucking water up my nose within moments of pushing myself down the slide.  I am rather shocked that I didn’t drown.  I did win the race though… even though Caleb insists that I was second.  (A lifeguard shoved him down the slide on the count of 3, but made the rest of us wait until he’d counted all the way down, so Caleb was actually feeling bad for “cheating,” but the truth is, he didn’t win anyway…  I didn’t bother to tell him that…) Grace was the only one of us willing to try the slides with the bottoms that drop out.  Unfortunately (for her), she didn’t weigh enough to ride the looping slide, but she did ride the vertical one, which was enough to just about give the rest of us heart attacks just watching her.  In typical Grace fashion, she did her earsplitting scream all the way down and then jumped off and exclaimed that, “IT… WAS… AWESOME!”

Dinner time… followed by TV time… followed by bedtime for the kids…

Phil has done an excellent job repacking our stuff, and we’re gearing up to get out of here tomorrow…

Lisa

Trip Pics. of the Day:

Hanging Out in the Cold Jet Pool

 Underwater Adventures

Golfing, Playing, Climbing, and Sliding…

Wisconsin Dells, Day 4...

We actually spent the morning doing “dry” things, which was a plus.  We played two separate indoor mini golf courses, which turned out fun… perhaps especially for Ian who thinks he won, because he had the highest score!  We also climbed around in the indoor play area, which was great because it was huge and adults were allowed to play with their kids!  I am having second thoughts, at the end of the day, regarding my decision to go down one of the slides, but I think I’ll recover…

After really wanting to try the high ropes course, myself, I had my doubts when I got up there with Ian, and he started to panic.  In the end, it turned out alright, but it was sure a lot of work, because I had to basically support Ian’s weight through the whole course, because he was afraid for me to let go of him.  I really loved doing it, but I simultaneously kept thinking, “This is probably the worst thing I have ever done for fun on a vacation!”  We were supposed to have 30 minutes on the course, and at some point Grace found me and said, “Mom… this has been the longest 30 minutes of my life!”  Since I agreed with her, I started looking for a clock and found that we had actually been working our way through the rafters for about 35 minutes… which would explain both the feeling that we had been up there for too long and the exhaustion!

We decided to sit down for ice cream (well… technically I had rainbow sherbet… yum…) while Phil took his turn on the ropes course with Seth and Caleb.  This was an excellent choice, both because the ice cream was super good and because we found free water… which might seem like a silly thing to rejoice over in a waterpark, but we were sure thirsty! 

We went back to the room for dinner… spaghetti… and then headed right back out again for some more waterpark fun…

We enjoyed the “New Frontier” outdoor waterpark and then returned to the “Wild Waterdome”, where we splashed around in the wave pool and rode the family raft ride again.  Phil, Seth, Grace, and Caleb actually rode it again… and again… and again… (3 times)!  

Perhaps the only moment I would rather not relive was when I almost lost my swim shorts… twice… in the wave pool!  In case there was ever any question, I would definitively risk public humiliation before sacrificing my youngest three children to the waves.  And just in case you ever wondered…  it is a real challenge to hold on to the straps of your two year old’s life jacket and the handle of a raft with your five and eight year olds in it!  I honestly thought my right elbow was going to come out of its socket with the weight of those boys!  It was worth it, though, because this afforded Phil the opportunity to send Grace crashing through the waves.

I feel like my trip stories are lacking the excitement that they usually have, but we really are having an excellent time… I’m just beat at the end of every night!

Lisa

Trip Pic. of the Day:

 Finishing Up the Ropes Course!

This Place Is Wiping Me Out...

Day 3, Wisconsin Dells…

I feel like today started a million hours ago.  Don’t get me wrong.  We’re having a lot of fun.  But this trip is happening at a strange pace for us as vacations go.  I am quickly having to change my mindset to one that says, “we are not going to get to do everything.”  I am more acquainted with the breakneck, “conquer it all,” mode.  It really is OK…

This morning, Phil and I made a Wal-Mart trip for some groceries while Grandma and Grandpa hung out at the resort with the kids. 

Upon our return, we went to the “Lost World” outdoor waterpark… in rather chilly weather… and spent a good long time in the lazy rivers.  Miah and Ian took their first rides down tube slides, and Seth, Grace, and Caleb tried mat slides for the first time.  I managed to forget to put my contact lenses in for the second morning in a row, so I had to pass on the bigger rides.  I could have ridden without my glasses, but I have this thing about being able to see when I go crashing into a splash pool…  We are still deciding whether we want to try the slides with the bottoms that drop out later in the week…

We had a late lunch back at the room, “rested” for awhile (if you can call it that with our resident super hero zipping through time and space), and headed out to the “Wild West” indoor waterpark for the evening.  Thanks to Ian, I actually remembered to trade the glasses for the contacts this time around and we enjoyed a family raft ride, two different tube slides, a giant kids play area with body slides that are really built for kids, but which I had to ride in order to catch Ian at the bottom, and the bumper boats!  The bumper boats were, hands down, the best part of the day.  Although I spent most of my ride taking pictures, I don’t have a whole lot to show for it, because some certain children ganged up on me and made my life a little… uh… soaked…  I think they got Phil even worse than me, though, so I guess I can’t complain!

Our embarrassing moment of the day came when Phil and I decided to sort of… uh… break it down… to MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This”… in our swimsuits… outside… in public.  I am pretty sure Seth and Grace have been looking for the kiosk where they can trade us in for cool parents (like you trade your wet towels in for dry ones) ever since.  I hope they don’t find it…

I also had an epic fail in the mom department, today, when I reminded my kids that chocolate comes from plants.  We are now adding it to the vegetable food group…

At present, I am sitting in a very quiet room… feeling chilled to the bone, even after a crazy long shower followed by a hot bath… and wondering how long I can convince this family to stay dry tomorrow…  I’ll let you know how that goes…

Trip Pics. of the Day:

 Coming Off the Mat Slides...

All of us in the lazy river (Next time we'll try to look at the camera...)

Lisa

Let It Begin...

Day 2… Wisconsin Dells…

We arrived at the Dells around 10:00am and started looking for Steve, Nancy, Elizabeth, and Audrey.  Our purpose was two-fold.  We, of course, wanted to see them, as it has been over a year, but it is also true that they had a hotel room, already, and we didn’t!  We are staying with Phil’s mom and dad who were planning to come in later in the day on the Amtrak.  This works just fine except for the fact that we could not get into our room until they arrived!  We were able to get our wristbands at the front desk, however, so our waterlogged vacation began!

We hit two indoor waterparks today, and the highlights for me were definitely the lazy river and the wave pool.  It is ironic that I enjoyed the wave pool, because I am not a strong swimmer, and keeping track of five little people who are also not strong swimmers while waves wash over them in mass chaos does not usually rank high on my list.  However, the double tubes that they have here are incredible, because there is actually a seat in one of the holes, so it isn’t so hard to keep track of “the babies”…  Miah thought the wave pool was pretty much the greatest experience of her life!  I have some excellent video footage (thanks to the water camera) of her laughing and yelling, “It funny!”  Apparently, I am the only person here who is either brave or stupid enough to take a two year old and a camera out in the wave pool, but it ended up being well worth it.  Phil, Caleb, and Ian had a lot of fun splashing around together, too, so I only had brief moments of panic while searching for Seth and Grace’s heads…

We’ve had some fun on the slides, as well.  The funnel and family raft slides have been my favorites to this point.  Seth and Caleb hopped on a double tube slide, which was a pleasant surprise after their crash last October, but I sure didn’t question it!  They decided since they “survived” the first trip down the slide, they would do it again, so I think they’ve overcome that fear at this point.  Grace (our daredevil) went down the huge body slide and ended up underwater.  I thought she was going to cry, but she immediately climbed back up, adjusted, and did it twice more without any issues.  Things are going well.

Phil, Steve, Ian, and Miah went to pick up Grandma and Grandpa at the depot, while the rest of us walked around the resort and sort of got our bearings and planned for the next few days.  When everyone got back, we got settled into the room… broken luggage cart and all…  proceeded to lock ourselves out of part of the room, requiring a maintenance guy to come and take the deadbolt off the door…  ordered pizza… watched an episode of Andy Griffith… and finally headed to bed.  

Lisa

Trip Pic. of the Day:  

 Miah After the Wave Pool!

Our Gangsta Vacation...

Day One… Traveling… and inadvertently engaging in illegal activity…

After graduation parties and the recital, we decided to hit the road the day before we needed to be in the Wisconsin Dells.  Although our family is used to long drives, sometimes it just makes sense to make a trip in smaller steps if we can…

Our travel day(s) are usually relatively uneventful.  Miah slept for most of the trip, which is sort of a blessing, because that means she didn’t scream the whole time, and sort of … well… not a blessing, because that means she was ready to pull an all-nighter when we finally made it to our lovely, catch six hours of sleep and move on, Motel 6.

Our trouble really started with the toll roads.  They were a little confusing, and before we knew it, we found ourselves in the wrong lane… you know… the one you’re supposed to ride in only if you possess the magic “get out of tolls free” card… which we don’t…   We didn’t even realize we had evaded a toll until we got to the next one, managed to make it to the correct lane, and observed the line of cameras by the other lane, no doubt snapping shots of every license plate that passed…  So at this point, we’re thinking that they’ll send us a bill… and hoping they’ll take notice of the Nazarene logo and family stick figures and realize that we really did do this by accident…

I have to admit, though, that our other infraction was not such a mistake.  I can never really understand why a family of seven cannot stay in one hotel room.  If you think about it, for most of human history families our size have lived in smaller spaces, and in much of the world they still do.  We’re talking a handful of hours of sleep here… not the vacation resort of our dreams…  I am almost positive that we are also on camera herding the gang into the room with our three sleeping bags.  But in this case, I guess if it was really a huge problem someone could have said something to us.  We spent the first couple of hours trying to express to Ian how important it is to use a whisper voice at a motel, where other people might be sleeping, and trying to convince Miah that it was really nighttime now, and she could go back to sleep.  In the end, we got up earlier than we’d planned and left at the scheduled time to make it the rest of the way…

And now we’re looking forward to some waterpark fun with our family!

Lisa