Overnight Getaway

Our good friends, Josh and Amanda, texted me early last week and asked if we would like to go to one of the water parks in the Dells for a night.  I, of course, jumped at the idea!  We shopped around for rooms and rates, and eventually decided to go to Glacier Canyon Lodge, which is a part of the Wilderness Resort.  I've only been to Kalahari, so I was excited to try a new water park.  Drew has NEVER been to a water park!!  Can you believe it?

We left Saturday, late morning, and began our drive north.  We were so lucky to be leaving while it was snowing pretty good.  Getting out of Illinois was a little tricky, but once we got a little ways into Wisconsin, the roads cleared up and we had a pretty easy drive.  Annelise took a little nap on the drive up.

When we got there, I went inside to check in.  I was told that our room wasn't ready yet, but we could still go use the water park.  I had packed a bag with just our swimsuits to be prepared in case our room wasn't ready.  We drove around to where our room would be located and went inside.  Then, we began the two mile hike to one of the indoor water parks.  Seriously.  Once we got to the entrance to the park, I didn't even really see any locker rooms, or places where we could change.  So, we decided to walk allllll the way back to our car, go grab some lunch, and just wait for our room to be ready.  On our walk back, the resort sent me a text to let me know that our room was ready.  Hurray!  We still decided to just get back in the car and go eat.  A pregnant woman's gotta eat!  And so does the toddler, if I'm being honest.

We just grabbed a quick lunch at Culver's.  I even let Annelise have some lemonade.  I usually only give her water to drink, with the very, very occasional juice.  I explained to her that it was a special treat because we were on a little vacation.

After lunch, we got back in the car and took the short drive back to the resort.  Once there, we located a luggage cart, and went up to our room.  I loved our room!

We rented a two bedroom deluxe suite.  This came with a full kitchen, a dining table, living room with fireplace and tv, a bedroom with a king size bed, a bedroom with bunk beds with a twin and a queen, a murphy bed, and a bath and a half.  Perfect size, maybe even a little large considering we were only going to be there for a night.  But, with kids and six adults, it was nice to have the extra space.  I really liked the knotty pine and brick decor.  It just felt very log cabin and homey.

We unpacked our stuff and waited for Josh, Amanda, their two kids, and her sister and boyfriend to arrive.  Annelise had a great time just running around the room and exploring things.  She especially loved to close and open all the doors, which has been her favorite activity lately.  Once they arrived, and got their stuff settled, we all changed into our swimming suites and headed down to the water parks.

This particular resort has four separate water parks, one of them you have to drive to.  We decided to go to Klondike Kavern first.  This park was just ok to me.  Annelise (and I) thought the water was pretty chilly.  She was not a fan and had no desire to play in it at all.  Honestly, I was really bummed.  I thought for sure that she'd love the water park and have a blast.  We rode around the lazy river a whole bunch and she didn't seem to mind that.  I could tell that she was cold and she huddled up against me.  We eventually got out and wrapped up in a towel.  We talked to everyone else and decided to go try the other water park that was just a short walk away.

We walked over the Wild WaterDome and this park had the wave pool.  We dropped our stuff and went into the water.  This one was warmer, but not by much.  I could actually tolerate this one enough to sit in the water, but Annelise still pretty much hated it.  After only about 20 minutes, we all decided to head back up to the room and figure out some dinner.

We ordered some pizza and garlic bread for dinner.  We were all pretty hungry at that point, including the kids.  After eating, we decided to go back downstairs to the arcade and playground that they have.  Annelise played in the playground with Drew while I sat and watched.  My belly hurt and I was a little crampy.  We came back upstairs around 10:30 PM and got Annelise ready for bed.  I followed quickly after.  Drew and Josh went to the casino to play.

I woke up around 8 AM, and Annelise was right behind me.  Josh walked down the hallway to a little coffee/convenience store and got us all some doughnuts.  We all ate some breakfast, showered, and then packed up the room.  We had to be out of the room by 11 AM.

Once we got the cars all packed up, we drove over to the Wild West water park to try that one out.  I really didn't have high hopes for it.  But, this water was so warm, just like bath water.  I was in heaven and Annelise was much happier!  Thank goodness!  I was going to be so disappointed if she hated every water park.

We spent a ton of time playing around in the kid's area.  Then, we decided to take Annelise on one of the family tube slides.  She was antsy waiting in line, and we had to explain to her that the people in front of us go first and we have to wait our turn.  Once we finally got to the top, we all hopped into the tube and down the slide we went.  This particular slide was entirely enclosed, therefore dark the whole trip down.  Annelise didn't seem too phased by it, and even asked to go again once we got down.  That girl loves rides, slides, roller coasters, anything like that.  We went down one more time and then decided to get some lunch.

In the park, there was a little cafe, with all the typical junk food.  We ordered a slice of pizza, fries, a yogurt, and Drew got a burger.  Annelise loved it all and kept pointing to either the yogurt or pizza depending on what she wanted a bite of.  After we ate, we decided to hit the road.  Drew had to go to work tonight, and he wanted to get back home with a little bit of time to unpack and pack up his lunch and stuff.  The drive home was uneventful, and Annelise fell asleep shortly after we got on the road.

I'm so glad that we were able to get away, even for just a night.  It's nice to break up the monotony of our routine and go do something different.  This was Annelise's first time in a hotel and she loved it.  She had so much fun exploring and seeing all the new things.  We've actually already been talking about doing something like this again for her birthday.

Back To Reality

Drew and I recently got back from a vacation on Hutchinson Island, Florida.  Drew's grandma has a cottage down there and was kind enough to let us use it.  I think I only took about 6 pictures while we were there.  I know -- unreal, right?  We spent a lot of time at the beach and the pool and it was just the right kind of vacation that I needed after the miscarriage. 

I have a few things to catch up on around here over the next few days.  I'll do a vlog tomorrow answering the questions that were asked.  So, last chance to ask me anything to answer.

How's the weather been around here?  Basically, it's hotter than hell.  It's hotter here than it was in Florida.  We're talking temps in the 90s with heat indices in the 110s and greater.  I can't say when exactly the heat started, but it's been going on for quite a few days.  I'm not complaining because I would rather have this over the cold any day.  And I know that winter is going to come way too soon.

Speaking of that. . . .  Can you believe that we're more than halfway through July already?  I think that time is constantly speeding up.

Lazy Day in Georgia

Wanna know what we did today?

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing. We have spent the entire day just hanging out and enjoying each other's company. Pure bliss in my book.

Our friends, Rachel and Ryan, recently moved to Georgia. They came over for a little bit in the early afternoon. Jen went to the Auburn/LSU game today, so she's been gone all day. Eric and my Drew went to pick up some steaks and some other stuff for dinner.

Tomorrow is our last day of vacation. Our flight home is at 6:50 PM so we'll have most of the day to say our goodbyes.

A-Maize-ing Day

Today has been a day filled with baby snuggles. I just can't get over how cute little Wes is. He already has so much personality.

We went to Cagle's Farm this evening to go through the corn maze.

Corn cop. To make sure that there was no hanky panky going on in the corn, of course.

Please excuse my face. This is my "my feet are so damn cold" look. Too bad nobody warned me that I should actually wear shoes because it gets kinda chilly in Georgia at night. I blame the locals!

And don't mind Drew next to me wearing shorts and a tshirt. He must be crazy!

After the corn maze, we picked up dinner at a place called Shane's Rib Shack. Seriously, such good barbeque. I spent the entire time I was eating my dinner going, "Mmmm, this is so good".

We've all just been lazying around enjoying each other's company tonight. I love spending time with family!

Goodbye Florida, Hello Georgia

Our flight was at 4:15 this afternoon, so we had plenty of time to clean the cottage up before we had to leave. We gathered up all of the towels and bedding and went to the laundromat. While I was waiting for the stuff to wash, Drew went outside to talk on the phone. There was a game where you drop a quarter down a chute and it lands on a moving platform. That quarter pushes up against the other quarters on the platform to push off the ones near the edge. Those ones then push against the ones on the bottom level. You know what I'm talking about! Anyways, I put maybe $2 in the machine before the stuff was done in the washer. When Drew came back inside, I showed him the game. He the fed the machine the rest of the dollars that he had in his pocket, which was about five. When he ran out, he began to beg, literally beg, me for the dollars that I had in my wallet. I have never seen a grown man beg as much as he did. He was like a crack addict begging for another hit. Unreal! I ended up giving him another $2 just so he'd leave me alone.

After our wash was done, and Drew was finished feeding his money to the machine, we went back to the cottage. We finished cleaning up, closed the place up, and made our way back to the airport.

Eric picked us up in Atlanta. That airport is a madhouse! We picked up some pizza for dinner and then went to the house. I was so excited to meet little Wesley! Jess and Eric told us that he has a fussy period between 7 and 9 PM. Guess what time we got to the house? He likes to be bounced and walked around, so I did that a little bit and he eventually settled down and fell asleep. And this is what he did:
Little stinker is already getting feisty with me!

Drew, Jen, and Emma arrived about 10:30. We visited with them for a while and everybody will be heading to bed soon.

Lazy Vacation Day

We had a very lazy day for our last full day in Florida. We really haven't done much of anything. We walked to the beach for the last time this vacation. The waves were unbelievably calm today. I was really disappointed that we didn't go in the water today after seeing how calm the water was. Maybe I would have left some ocean water where it belongs instead of drinking it all. Haha ;)

After saying goodbye to the ocean, we walked around the rec area grounds a little bit. Now, this place, and apparently Florida in generally, is crawling with little lizards. As you walk, they scatter in front of your feet to the closest hiding spot. This guy had a colorful puffer thing. Doesn't he remind you of that dinosaur in Jurassic Park? The one that is in that guy's jeep after he goes to open the gate. Do you know which one I'm talking about?
More self-timer action!

I can't believe that our time in Florida has come to an end. Tomorrow, we'll pack up our things and head to Georgia. I'm sad to leave, but I am so very excited to be headed to Atlanta.

Kayaking Trip

Another day has come and gone here in beautiful Florida. We lazied around this morning and decided to go kayaking this afternoon. The lady at the surf shop who was going to take us couldn't do it, so we were on our own to kayak around the intercoastal waters. I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed that we didn't do a kayaking tour thing. But, maybe I'm not that upset because my arms sure are sore. I can't imagine how I would feel if I actually had to paddle and keep up with somebody.

I put this picture on here for one reason only. Look at how freckled I am. Unreal!

After we got done kayaking, we went to lunch/dinner at Mulligans. I love being able to eat outside.

I have actually drank on this vacation. Unbelievable, I know. I hardly ever drink. But, I'm on vacation.

If this isn't relaxed dining, I don't know what is.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Florida. Drew said that he'd like to have another beach day, so I think that's the plan right now.

Lions and Gemsboks and Chimps, Oh My!

Drew and I went to the. best. place today! It was like a zoo, only a gabillion times better. World, welcome to Lion Country Safari.
This fun place is located about 15 miles west of West Palm Beach. The first part of our adventure was a drive thru safari. We paid, got some info and a cd to play, and began our drive through all of the animals. We were instructed to keep our doors and windows closed through the entire safari. (Be prepared for A LOT of pictures!)

Aldabra Tortoise

Llama

Rhea

Impala

Greater Kudu

Gemsbok

These Kulan are in the maternity area.

It was naptime for all of the lions. Drew and I were a little disappointed that they were all laying around being lazy.

Kulan

Asiatic Water Buffalo. Aren't his/her teeth cute!?!

The one on the left decided they wanted to dress themself up!

This is a Blackbuck. He strutted around that place with his nose in the air all hoity-toity like. Drew and I laughed so hard when we watched him.

Can't you just see the personalities on these two? I like to think the one on the left is the older, wiser one and the one on the right is the "redneck" of the group. Haha!

Camel!

Eland

Watusi

Waterbuck

Southern White Rhinoceros

Porcuppine

This guy was quite the attention whore. And he squashed my toes, not once, but twice, trying to get food.

Seriously, can you get any cooler than that???

The highlight of my day was the spider monkeys. Love!
Oh, melt my heart!!!

I am so, so glad that we decided to go here today. I figured that it would be a fun experience, but I had no idea that it would be as much fun as it was.