We're Back!

We actually got back late Monday afternoon but it has taken me this long to settle in. We had a great time in the Dells and the house was fantastic! We got there Friday afternoon and after checking in we headed off to find the house. It took us a while to find because it was really far out and we weren't sure of where we were going but eventually we got there. As the men unloaded the cars and the women assigned rooms the kids (all 9 of them) were going insane running from floor to floor (there were 3 floors) and room to room checking everything out. We ended up going to dinner after settling in and then the women and children headed back to the house while the men went to Super-Walmart to stock up on food. By the time the guys made it back it was time for bed so off the kids went and most of the parents ended up falling asleep with the kids so it was an early night for all.

Saturday morning we were all up early and ready to head to the water parks. We went to the first water park and for some reason, my kids hated it. They did not want to be there and whined and complained the whole time that we were there. We took them on the lazy river which they didn't seem to mind but they refused to go anywhere else. Luckily we had found some tables so we ended up hanging out there and having some snacks and eventually having lunch. After lunch Bill and I packed up our kids and headed to the second water park (the one that everyone liked best last year) and the kids liked that one much better. They had a blast going in the wave pool and splashing in the water. Hannah liked the smaller water slides and Alexander liked the Tot area and the little slide. After leaving the water park we hung out at the house and barbecued burgers and hot dogs for dinner. The kids spent the rest of the running around and watching movies in the screening room.

Sunday morning after breakfast we decided to take the kids sledding. The resort offers tubing, which we did last year and it was nice but it was also kind of crowded and a pain in the butt if you had little kids because you have to pull them up the hill and then chase them back down the hill in order for you to be there for them at the bottom. I did this last year with Hannah (Alexander was too little to go) and I refused to do it again this year. Luckily our house was just off the golf course and we were surrounded be hills so we just took the kids out behind the house to our own private sledding hill. Everyone was having fun - except for Alexander. The boy just doesn't really like snow. He'll play in it for a little while but then he wants nothing to do with it. Fortunately one of the other smaller girls was done too so the two of them went in and hung out with Willie while the rest of us finished sledding. It was lots of fun and we even got to see a family of deer wandering around looking for food on the other side of the clearing. Unfortunately I was not fast enough with our camera so I missed them.

Here is the hill that we were on - it was pretty high!

Hannah flying solo

Bill waiting for his turn

Alexander's Snowball

Some of the girls decided to make a snowman - I think it turned out pretty good!

After about and hour and a half we all headed in, had some lunch and headed back to the last water park after the smaller kids had their nap. I didn't know how my kids were going to like this water park because it's basically a giant wave pool with a tiny kids area on the side and one big water slide (I think but I've never been on that water slide so I'm not sure). We were lucky enough to snag a table and then into the water we went and the kids loved it!! I don't think I saw them this wet all weekend!

Alexander after jumping in the waves

Posing for Mommy

Having a great time

Coming down the slide

There is a huge play area/jungle gym and arcade in the hotel so after dinner and showers we took most of the kids there. I think that this was the worst part of the whole weekend. It's a very crowded area and it is very warm. I don't really like this area because it's always a madhouse and because there are multiple exits on the jungle gym thing and you never know where your kid is going to come out of. We've worked out a system with the kids that works pretty well but it's still not my favorite place. Alexander didn't like the play area so he and I went into the arcade part which was even worse then the play area. It was so congested in there and twice as hot as the rest of the place that it was hard to keep an eye on a little person even when I was right behind him! I was glad to leave when we did.

After putting the kids to bed that night we finally had some adult time. It was the first night that ALL of the adults stayed up instead of falling asleep while putting the kids to bed. It was also someone's birthday so we felt like we had to stay up and do something. We ended up playing Apples to Apples (which is a word game) - I know we're party animals! Once we got bored with that the birthday boy suggested we play a drinking game that all of us were either too old or too sober (or both) to remember. We finally figured it out and I have to say that we had a good time. Several drinks, some popcorn and some frozen pizzas later I was ready for bed. I'm not sure how long everyone else stayed up but I was done!

Amazingly enough we all felt fine in the morning. I had packed the night before so while everyone else was putting their stuff away I did one final sweep of the house,l packed up some leftover food to take home and was done. We went back to everyone's favorite water park for an hour then went back to the house grabbed our stuff and headed home after stopping for lunch. So our trip was pretty uneventful but it was a great time and I'm looking forward to next year's trip.