Wisconsin Dells - Take Two!

This year we were lucky enough to get to go on two getaways to the Wisconsin Dells, just a few weeks apart.  After going to Christmas Mountain Village with Steve and Patti in March, we were invited to join the Lindners and the Khans for a 2 night stay at the Wilderness Resort, complete with 3 HUGE waterparks.  We left on a blizzardy Friday morning and it was hard to even think about swimming with all the snow blowing all over! We arrived in the Dells about 3 hours later and got check into our very nice, spacious condo.  We had 9 kids under the age of 11 plus the 6 adults and it accommodated all of us nicely.  Each family had their own bedroom and bathroom, with a spacious living area and kitchen to share.

It didn't take us long to get our swimming gear on and head out to the waterparks.  A shuttle bus came to pick us up (Nolan LOVED this) and took us to our first stop - the wave pool complete with a great kid's play area and a few water slides.  Our trip to the Dells a few weeks before really boosted Nolan's confidence in the water.  He was so brave - eagerly going on all the slides and enjoying floating around in the wave pool.  Livi liked the water, too and it was cute watching her splash her little hands and feet in it.  

After a while, it was time to head to the next waterpark.  This one had a much larger kids playground with lots to entertain the little ones.  Nolan loved climbing all over and quickly found the big purple water slide that he wanted to go down.  I nearly had a heart attack watching his little body propel down that slide the first time.  I think mainly because he does not have much experience in the water and I wasn't sure what he reaction was going to be and I didn't want him to get scared.  He loved it and went down it over and over.  (By about the 5th time, I was no longer in a panic...)  Livi and I floated around in the lazy river for a while and pretty soon it was time to head back to the condo for dinner.  We enjoyed some BLTs and got the little ones tucked in for the night, so the adults could chat, relax, and play a few games.  By about midnight it was time to turn in to get some rest for plenty of swimming the next day!

After a yummy breakfast of breakfast pizza, we trekked off to the third waterpark.  This one also had a huge play area for kids, plus several waterslides including a family waterslide.  Since we were there right as it opened, there were no lines so I thought it would be a good time to take Nolan down the big waterslide with Eric and me.  It was a big slide in a fully enclosed tube, so it was completely pitch black inside.  I had no idea how Nolan would respond, but thought it was worth a try based on how much he loved the other slides.  He did not like the "big dark slide" but didn't panic and didn't cry.  I kept cheering as we went down to make it seem more fun and to keep him from losing it.  He said he didn't want to go on it again, but quickly recovered and found some other fun things to keep himself busy.

Livi was pretty sleepy as most of this was during her nap time, so she curled up on my chest and went right to sleep.  She was such a good girl for this whole trip and I don't think she even cried one time while in the waterparks.  

After spending several hours splashing and playing around, we decided it was time to head back to the condo for lunch.  So we waited for the shuttle...and waited...and waited...and waited.  Several frustrated calls later to the front desk, and after watching the shuttle drive past us countless times, one finally came to pick us up to bring us back to our condo.  We relaxed for a while and several of the kids (and grown-ups) took a nap.  

After a while, we decided to take the kids to the arcade.  Because of the shuttle debacle earlier that day, we decided to drive our own vehicle and thirteen of us poured into our van.  (I LOVE my minivan!)  We were pretty Beverly Hillbilly-ish, but we didn't have to wait with nine antsy kids in the lobby this time!

All the kids enjoyed playing games  - Nolan didn't seem to care if there was money in the machine or not, but we let him play a few games and he earned enough tickets to buy a pinwheel that he thought was pretty cool.  

Once we got back to our condo, it was time for lasagna and bathtime.  Nolan had an extreme bubble bath in our hot tub and thought that was pretty fun.  The kids all enjoyed playing with their arcade trinkets and pretty soon it was time for bed.  The adults were tired, too and so after chatting for a while, we all headed to bed for our last day.

After waking up and packing our vans, we headed back to the Wild West Waterpark for one last bit of fun.  I could not believe the difference in Nolan's confidence level from the first to the last day - he really was getting independent, going on several of the different slides by himself and loving it all.  Throughout the entire weekend, the kids all behaved so well and really had a good time playing together.  It was so fun to have the opportunity to make some memories with our friends and I'm so glad we were able to go!

Look at this great bunch of kids!
Back: Jack, Meela, Cassidy, Lucy, Olivia
Front: Isaac, Deakon, Kamryn, Nolan