Great Wolf Lodge

Jolly the elf brought with him a note saying that Santa was giving the kids an early Christmas gift - a trip to Great Wolf Lodge! Lolli and Poppy had been dying to go there forever so they were super excited. And Ozzie got very excited once he saw pictures and the web site. Ozzie had croup and Augie a bad cold a few days before the trip but everyone ended up being in ok health to make the journey. The kids were great in the car - even Augie! They didn't have to make any stops on the way there or home (It's in Cincinnati - a 2 hour drive). Lolli, Poppy and Ozzie bought wands and capes to play MagiQuest - a hotel-wide magical scavenger hunt. So fun! Santa came to the lobby with Mrs. Clause and there was even a horse-drawn carriage out front. There was story time in the lobby with real snow! Augie did ok. He had to be driven around once and had one mid-night crying spell but otherwise he was content to just be carried around constantly. Which is exhausting, of course, but Zach and Lauren made it work for the sake of the other kids. Because Ozzie had been sick and missed many naps, he insisted on being carried a lot, too. Broken backs and sore biceps for Z and L because that hotel is HUGE! Lolli and Poppy were so patient and well behaved. The best part of the lodge, of course, was the water park! Lolli was big enough to ride all the slides solo but she opted to go with Z or L on the bigger ones. Poppy went on one big one, then stuck to the kid-sized ones. Even Oz went down a big kid one. Their favorite part, though, was the wave pool. King's Island was right next door and Oz loved being able to see it from their balcony. At bed time, Lolli and Poppy slept in bunk beds in the wolf den, Zach and Oz slept in the bed and Lauren and Augie slept in the couch bed. All in all it was a great trip!