The kids were troopers and traveled very well. The secret is the iPad; if only we had two! By the time we got to Cincinnati, the kids were so excited to see Oma and Papa! We actually stayed two nights there at the Great Wolf Lodge, which was so fun. It's an indoor water park/resort, and they gave the kids wolf ears at check-in. Hooooowwwll!
After a good night's sleep, we peeked in on the water park from the window at breakfast.
And then the fun really began! It was difficult to get many pictures because water and cameras don't mix while supervising young children, and the lighting wasn't favorable. But, here's what I did capture of the wave pool, lazy river, slides, and splash park.
It was wonderful to see the kids get more confident and bolder in what they wanted to try as the day progressed. At first, H was hesitant about any of the slides, but she got into a loop on the medium-level slides by the end. Owen was hesitant about the mediums, but even went on the giant slides with his dad later in the day (here they are hiking up the slide tower with their tube). It's fun to play with the kids on things that are actually fun for the adults, too.
We were there for 4-5 hours with pretty much non-stop activity. By the end, we were all a little pooped and ready to call it a day.
We could have returned for a second day of water play, but we were a little shocked when the kids said they were done with that and ready to see Oma and Papa's house! So, we checked out of the hotel and drove a couple of hours to do just that. Owen was very excited to meet Luke. (Actually re-meet, since they met 3 years ago.)
The weather was very pleasant, so we spent much of our time outdoors, especially in the shady backyard. It was nice that the kids were happy with just a few toys, sticks, and dirt.
There is a slope to the backyard and maybe by accident (Oma?) the kids created a game where one rolled a ball off the porch and the other had to stop the ball before it rolled into the brush at the end of the yard. Then the goalie had to run the ball back up to the porch to repeat. Tiring, yes? It was comical (maybe we shouldn't have laughed), but Hadley started crying whenever the ball made it past her, and she would chase after the ball down the hill crying more and running faster until the ball stopped. Hmm... maybe you had to be there to see the humor.
Anyway, this game became their favorite pastime, and Owen proudly engineered a wall along the brush to stop the balls from going any further. It was quite a project, consisting of mostly cardboard propped up by sticks, folding chairs, baby gates, etc. Lovely, isn't it?
One hot afternoon, Dad and O ventured over to the neighbor's pool where O practiced a little bit of real swimming. But just a smidge...
And H got to meet Aunt Kathy for the first time. (Uncle Todd was there too, just didn't get a picture.) Can't wait to wear our new pink cowgirl boots!!
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