Surprise Celebration

In honor of Joey's 2nd birthday and thanks to the Pacers 12-day road trip we decided it was time to take another surprise trip to one of our favorite locations, The Great Wolf Lodge in Cincinnati. The surprise trip has quickly become one of my favorite family traditions. Dean and I had everything planned out, well, okay, really Dean had everything planned out and I just went along for the ride. Seriously, I made the packing list, but he did the actual packing, booking of hotel room, travel arrangements, etc. He's the best. Anyway, the boys were clueless to our scheming and when we both showed up to pick them up from school on Wednesday, they were so pumped to see their dad that they couldn't have cared less where we were headed, they were just glad that daddy was home!

We got in the car and neither boy noticed the luggage in the back!! I asked Ben if he thought there was room for his backpack in the backseat and he said "I think so" as he turned around, saw the luggage, and then a huge grin broke out on his face as he lit up and asked with a giggle "where are we going?!?!" Dean and I said "where would you want to go?" and Ben appropriately as though on cue responded "GREAT BIG WOLF LODGE?!?! ARE WE GOING TO THE GREAT BIG WOLF LODGE?!?!" We said "ok, if that is where you want to go, that's where we will go." hee hee hee. Joey had no clue what was going on but Ben's excitement was contagious and he was ready for the adventure. The boys settled in to watch Polar Express as we made the 2 hour trip to our destination.

As always, the GWL did not disapoint. Our room was huge and the boys were so excited about their special cabin inside the room (though neither boy wanted to sleep in the actual cabin making it a huge waste of money, but oh well). The lobby was decorated for Christmas and it was really beautiful.

After checking out their digs, the boys couldn't wait to head to the pool. Ben was SOOOO excited and eagerly went down the kiddie water slides and played basketball with his dad while Joe, in true Joe Bug fashion, went for a walk to check everything out. He was happy to be there but unlike his dramatic, over emotional big brother (who totally gets that from me), Joey just kind of IS; he doesn't get overly happy or overly sad. He's pretty even keel....except when being 2 gets the best of him but that is for another blog entry! The first time we took Benny to the GWL it easily took him a full day to get the nerve to go down the water slide. Not Joe. He assessed the situation, watched Ben go down a couple times, and then quickly scurried up the steps and away he went! Such a brave boy!

Speaking of brave....Ben was really nervous about going down the bigger water slides but after some encouragement from mom and dad (and maybe a little bribing with a trip to the gift shop) he went down the "big orange slide" and LOVED it. He probably went down that slide 15 times in total. I was so proud of him for conquering his fear. I know how hard that can be and think it was a great lesson for him that something that really scared up ended up being something that was such a delight.

Our surprise trip happily coincided with Joey's 2nd birthday. On Thursday morning we awoke to COLD temperatures (though we were snuggly warm in our hotel room) and the boys and I went in search of Starbucks and chocolate milk with pumpkin loaf. Joe Bug opened his presents from us and loved them, especially the Mickey Mouse matchbox car set Ben bought. We played in the room for a bit until the boys started climbing the walls. Literally, they were attempting to CLIMB the walls of their cabin.

We headed to the pool for some more fun and then left the hotel to enjoy some Chick-Fil-A for lunch. After a great lunch and some fun in the play area, we headed back to the hotel and played in the "Cub Club" which is a play area for kids where they can take a break from the pool. The boys made Christmas ornaments and watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas and also played on the computer, played with lincoln logs, and played "house." It was a great time.

The boys, including daddy, all settled in for nap time and mommy had a special mini-vacation in the lobby with a cup of chai, USA Today, a cozy chair by a fire and Christmas music playing. It was a delight.

After nap time we did some more swimming and then got ready for dinner, which was another family fave..Cracker Barrel. Ben and I had breakfast and Dean and Joe had dinner. Joey devoured his grilled cheese and had a hot fudge sundae for his birthday dessert.

We played in the arcade after dinner and then retreated back to the hotel room for some quiet time and sleep. Joey had a rough time falling asleep and he and I ended up snuggling in a twin bunk bed...not overly comfortable, but it did the trick and Joe finally passed out.

We headed home the next morning to prepare for Joey's official birthday party. It was a great getaway and I am so grateful for the few days of family time away from the chaos of the holiday season.