Virginia Vacation Part 2

We left our Virginia Beach vacation because the weather wasn't forecasted to be very good for the rest of the days that we were able to stay and since we hadn't yet extended the hotel stay, we decided to surprise the kids with a trip to somewhere else!

The road trip started to get scary about 15 minutes into it when all of a sudden there was a torrential downpour while we were on a highway. It happened quickly and the road became flooded so we had to get off. We got a little nervous but were able to get back on the road once the rain and winds does down a little. We then learned that there were a bunch of tornado sighting near where we were and that the area where the hotel that we had been staying at had some damage (but no injuries) So we were very grateful that we had decided to leave when we did.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and we finally made our way to: 

Great Wolf Lodge! (We went to the one also in Virginia.)

We had both heard great things about Great Wolf Lodge but had never been there. Papa had called before we went and gotten a good discount on the room and we weren't sure what to expect. We definitely were not disappointed and neither were the kids! The room that we got was awesome. I believe that it was called "Kid Cabin". The kids had their own sleeping area which was designed to look like a log cabin. Inside there was a single bed, a set of bunk beds, a desk, and a tv. The kids thought that it was amazing and quickly picked their sleeping arrangements.

(The kids were each given a wolf ear headband when we checked in.)

Then in the living area there was a queen size bed, a couch and coffee table, a table, a sink/mini fridge/coffee maker area, tv, and fireplace. There were also sliding glass doors with a little patio table outside which was nice too.

We spent the afternoon until around 8pm in the indoor water park area (I didn't bring my phone there but it was huge and the kids all found things that they loved. Little Bear really liked the lilly pads which were floating on the water and he had to hold a rope and step from one lilly pad to the next to get across. He did really well and went across multiple times, only falling in once! Pudge loves running through the giant climbing area which had nets and stairs to make your way around and there were different things that you could push to spray water or dump buckets. There were also slides on it but he didn't want to go on any of them. Pequeño stuck to the baby pool and was a little hesitant about it for most of the time. Once he finally got comfortable, he was sliding down the little slide (into the baby pool) and splashing around. 

Afterwards, we ordered food from down the hall (there are restaurants, a game room, a bowling alley, theatre, etc. all inside the lodge so you don't need to leave for entertainment but it can be pricey!) The price at the pizza place were actually pretty good and we ordered a family meal and a salad so we ended up getting a pizza with half pepperoni, a calzone, and a cesaer salad. The kids demolished the pizza (Little Bear and Pequeño have to eat theirs without the cheese so we added a little bit of the sauce that came with the calzone to their slices. Papa and I split the calzone and salad and were both full. 

Then we let the kids watch a show in their little cabin room while they fell asleep.

The next morning, Papa and Little Bear were awake first so they went down the hall and got all of us dunkin donuts (Papa got us coffee as well). The kids and Papa got various kinds of doughnuts which they cut and shared and Papa got me my favorite bagel sandwich.

Then we got the hermit crabs out to play for a little bit.

And got our stuff ready to pack in the van.( We had rented the room for one night but the wristbands are good until they close the second day. So we just needed to have our stuff out of the room but were able to stay and play all day). The hermit crabs and frogs went upstairs behind the front desk once we checked out since it would have been too hot to keep them in the car. 

We spent most of the morning in the water park, and then got changed and checked out the bowling alley.

The kids had a blast!

While we were in there one of the mascots came in and the kids wanted to give "high 5's" and hugs.

Then we headed to the game room where the kids won lots of trinkets and had a lot of fun. 

Then the older kids went upstairs to check out the fun activity that they had going on in the lobby. This ended up to be hula hooping and the kids laughed the entire time!

This was about the time that we decided to get ready to go so we went to the last few places that we wanted to see before leaving. So we stopped and got a few different types of fudge to bring home.

And the kids got to spend some of their trip money on souveniers if they wanted. (Which, of course, they did).  Little Bear got a reversible cape which looks like a knight on one side and black on the other. Pudge got a raccoon shirt and mask that came as a set. Then we headed on our way home...

Virginia Vacation Part 1

In July, we took a family vacation to Virginia Beach. It was our first time going there and we had a great time. Our hotel was right on the boardwalk so after eating breakfast each morning, we walked outside and were on the beach.

The kids loved watching for boats in the distance especially a few that looked like pirate ships. There was a "pirate cruise" that went by every so often and they would always point it out.

We had brought our sand toys for the beach and the kids spent most of their time digging holes and making castles. Papa enjoyed swimming and would take the kids in every once in a while but for the most part they were excited to dip their feet in the water's edge and dig in the sand. I didn't bring my camera or phone down to the beach because I didn't want them to get ruined. 

One of the nights, I woke up with a sharp pain in my shoulder and was unable to move it. I thought that maybe I was sleeping on it wrong but after a few hours of not being able to lift my arm at all and having a sharp pain anytime it was bumped or moved, we decided to head to the ER. A few hours later, it was determined that it was my rotator cuff and that I should start physical therapy as soon as possible (which meant as soon as we got back from vacation). Afterwards, we went to pick up my medication and stopped at Whole Foods which we had never been to. They had a machine where you could make your own orange juice and the kids and Papa all decided that we need one of these in our house. (It's been mentioned multiple times by different people throughout the summer!)

For the rest of the vacation, I alternated between keeping my arm in a sling for a few hours to keep it from being jostled and having shooting pain to having it out of the sling and attempting whatever movement I could handle (hardly any) in order to prevent "frozen shoulder".

Needless to say, it was difficult with the kids but they all did a great job helping. Little Bear especially was very helpful with the younger two when I wasn't able to pick one up or get something for them. 

One of the days, we decided to take a ride on the family bikes that we kept seeing on the board walk. We got the bigger bike which had the two seats in the front (like a basket) for the younger two and then two rows (Papa and Little Bear in the front, me in the back since Papa and I were the two peddling we needed to be on opposite sides.) After we started, we realized that we could have got the smaller, one row and not as heavy, bike and Little Bear could have at in the middle of the seat. Oh, well. We biked the entire boardwalk and back to the rental place which was a little over 6 miles. Pequeño fell asleep on Pudge's shoulder during the ride and people kept pointing at them and saying "aw!". Little Bear loved it and had a lot of fun seeing all of the different things that were on the boardwalk. 

He especially loved all of the naval helicopters and planes that we saw dutlring the ride (and throughout the entire trip). 

Another day, we decided to spend the entire day at the aquarium. I'm so glad that we did because this was a big highlight of the trip! The kids loved every minute of it and were excited to see each exhibit and animal.

There was a really great exhibit which focused on not littering and the effects that it has on wildlife. It is something that really stuck with the older two kids and they have been very mindful to always take care of their own trash and pick up others when they see it now. 

(This is a fish made out of items that had been bitten by animals in the ocean)

We went to one of the animal areas just in time to feed all of the birds. The kids were allowed to help feed them too and threw things in such as pellets, bugs, mil worms, other worms, and baby mice. Pudge was the one who was most interested in feeding them all and very set on finding all of the pelicans. 

After this, the kids were all really tired (Pequeño was asleep in the stroller) so we decided to go. On the way back, we had the idea to go to a restaurant for dinner which turned out to be a bad idea. The kids were tired from the day and the wait was long. So we ended up ordering our food and then having it boxed to go so we could eat it at our hotel. The kids barely ate anything and went right to sleep.

The next morning the weather wasn't very nice so we went for a walk and played on the beach before going to the store where we had told the kids that we would get souvenirs.

Among the souvenirs were hermit crabs and african dwarf frogs.

The weather forecast wasn't looking good for the rest of our trip time so we decided to surprise the kids by going somewhere else!

Park day

Yesterday, we had the park to ourselves!