In The Hartland: Great Wolf Lodge Getaway

We headed out yesterday for our family getaway to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound. As I mentioned in Logan's birthday post, this trip replaced a friend birthday party for both Lia and Logan. I picked up the three older kids a few minutes early from school and then we drove straight to Ron's work to meet him in the parking lot since his school is on the way to Great Wolf Lodge. We then caravanned down to Grand Mound and made it there before the rush hour traffic got really ugly. The kids were so excited when we pulled up. After getting checked into our hotel room, it was almost 5 p.m., so we decided that we should go and eat dinner first before going to the water park to avoid the kids (especially Emmett) getting too hungry and cranky. We raced down to the Mexican restaurant that is just a few blocks away from the hotel and ate dinner in record time thanks to their amazingly fast service. We were back to the hotel, dressed in our swimsuits, and poolside by 6:30 p.m. We then spent 1.5 fun filled hours of playing in the amazing, indoor water park. The three older kids loved everything from the wave pool to the giant water slides. Ella was tall enough to go on two of the three big water slides and so Ron and I had a fun time taking turns holding Emmett while the other one got to go on the big slides with our three oldest kids. Emmett was very overwhelmed by the entire place and wanted nothing to do with playing in the toddler pool or the splash pads. As a result, it made it super easy to just hold him while sitting down since he didn't want to constantly get up and walk around. He never got fussy or complained if we were holding him which worked out great.
After the water park closed at 8 p.m., we headed back to our hotel room to get warmed up and into our pajamas. After nursing Emmett and putting him to bed, Ella, Logan, and I raced back to the lobby to watch the animated story time take place in front of the clock tower. After the show finished, we delivered Ella back to the hotel room before turning around and heading to the MagiQuest store where Logan was able to choose a new topper for his wand and to activate it again after an almost three year break. We then headed out for about an hour and completed three quests before throwing in the towel at 10 p.m. I was pretty exhausted when I crawled into bed. After Emmett gave me a rough night sleep, we started off our day bright and early with Ella waking us up at 7 p.m. We ate breakfast in our room and got ready for the day in time to get to the water park before it opened at 9 a.m. This turned out to be a great plan as Ron and I were able to go on all of the big water slides with the kids by 9:30 due to the lines being so short. Emmett became a little more comfortable by this time and actual played with the water a little bit if we were still holding him. We enjoyed playing around in all of the different parts of the park before Emmett and I left at 10:30 so that I could put him down for a very late, morning nap. After getting him to sleep, I packed up most of the room and then fed the older kids and Ron lunch after they returned to the hotel room at 11:30. After Emmett woke up, Ron and Lia helped me load up my car so that I could head home at 1 p.m. I had decided that it would be best if I went home early on Friday so that I could make our Valentine's Day dinner while Emmett took his afternoon nap in his own bedroom since we would no longer have a hotel room at this point. This allowed Ron to take Logan on one more MagiQuest run with the girls in tow before heading back to the water park for one last afternoon jaunt. They all enjoyed a final go in the park before heading back home to join Emmett and me for a "Happy Heart's Day" (as Ella calls it) dinner in the dining room. It was a quick, family trip, but a fun way to start our midwinter break!

The Great Wolf Lodge sign that greeted us upon our arrival.

The kids with their wolf ears on posing inside the large lobby after arriving.

All four kids heading down the long hallway to our hotel room.

The kids LOVED their private, kids' cabin with their own beds and television.

Lia, Logan, and Ella eating dinner at the Mexican restaurant.

Baby Emmett flashing me the most adorable smile during dinner time.

A picture of the clock tower show that I watched with Logan and Ella.

Ella and Logan sitting in the lobby in their pajamas watching the show.

Logan trying out his MagiQuest wand after a very long break.

Opening up one of the many treasure chests in the hotel.

The kids getting ready to climb into bed.

Ella all tucked in cozy and snug in her little cabin bed.

The Hartland kiddos dressed in their swimsuits ready to head to the water park this morning.

The Hartland fam posing in front of the large fireplace in the hotel lobby.

And a vertical shot, too.

Emmett was much more comfortable walking around the hotel than the water park. Here he is showing off his crazy walking skills in his cute swimsuit.

Baby with big sissy.

The three older kiddos heading up the stairs to wait in line to get into the water park at 9 o'clock.

The water park in all of her glory.

This is a picture I took of Emmett wanting nothing to do with the splash pad. After I put him down on his feet, he immediately fell to his knees crying and starting madly crawling towards me. The poor, little thing.