Spring Fever

July 28th, 2011

Yes - I’m talking about Spring today - not only because I wish it were Spring (it is way too hot here in NJ), but because I was a slacker a few months ago and didn’t post very much. Life was hectic this spring. We were in the midst of the nightmare leak that seemed like it would never end, school ended, the leak was finally found and repaired, the work to fix the leak damage began….you know…..life just took over. It happens. The house is now painted and looking fabulous and we are just awaiting our new carpeting. We originally planned to wait until next year for carpet, however, all of the furniture is empty and half of it is already moved. I certainly don’t want to have to do that all again. You really have no idea how much crap you have until you have to pack it up and move it!

So back to Spring…….we did a bunch of random, but totally fun things.

We went to a Touch a Truck event. This is were companies and public safety organizations bring their vehicles and allow the kids to explore them. If your child is into vehicles, this is a must do event. Check your l0cal resources to see if it is done in your area and if not, it could be a great fund raiser for a school or church.

Uh-Oh - The Destroyer is Operating Heavy Machinery!

CheezWaster Takes the Wheel

Talk About a Big Truck!

Thanks to our annual Christmas gift of a Great Wolf gift certificate, we had a blast riding the water slides and playing on the nets.

The Slides at Great Wolf Poconos

Off to a Good Start

Going Down

Biting It One Tree Stump Before the End

At Least Someone Made it to the End

We took the boys on their first trip to New York City. Thanks to a stellar deal from Groupon, we attended the Wizarding World Comicon Event, which was much smaller and less eventful than the Comicons you see on TV, but nonetheless fun.

Darth Vader is not my son's father

We then headed into Time Square where we (foolishly) took the kids into the massive ToysRUs to ride the ferris wheel. Kids in a giant toy store = bad idea. Just saying. $44.98 later, we went to the M&M store, where I was also taken for everything I had. $12.99 for a pound of M&Ms? Really? I don’t care what colors they are. They better talk to me like the ones on TV for that kind of money!

The Blue M&M

See the Grumpy Blue M&M? He has to do this crappy job since no one is buying M&Ms…..because they are RIDICULOUSLY priced! Do you hear that M&M Mars???

We hit the Newark Museum, which we (sadly) found out wasn’t all that thrilling for young kids. There were a few highlights for young children like the Planetarium, Nature Section and the Fire Museum, where the kids could dress up like firefighters and play in a real fire truck cockpit (thank goodness for this otherwise I don’t think the whining would have ever stopped!).

Newark Fire Museum

And last but not least, we took the kids on their first fishing trip. Well, it wasn’t really a trip, per se. Near my parents’ home in PA, there is a great state park, Frances Slocum State Park. We took them fishing at one of the lakes in the park with the poles that Uncle Dave, the weekend fisherman, gave them for Xmas.

Baiting the Hook

The Expert Outdoors Man

Despite major efforts from the husband and The Great Outdoorsman (aka my dad), I was the only one that caught a fish (HA!)….and I did it twice. Behold - my trophy fish (and I’m not even in the picture). And in case you care - the 2nd trophy fish was also a crappy sunny.

My Trophy Fish

So, now you know some of what we’ve been up to. Once the carpet is in and I can get my house back to normal, I hope to be a bit more mindful of the site. Thanks for hanging in there with me. It is good to have dedicated friends/readers!

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Spring Fever has been posted in Kiddie Mamamamahoney, Parental Mamamamahoney and Tagged: comicon, darth vader, Fire Museum, fishing, Great Wolf Lodge, great wolf poconos, kids & fishing, M&M store, Newark Museum, NJ museums, timesquare, touch a truck, touch a truck events, wizarding world comicon.

Great Wolf Lodge is GREAT fun for all ages!

October 23rd, 2009

For the 2nd year in a row, as part of a larger vacation, we spent a night at the Great Wolf Lodge. Both of our stays have been at the Williamsburg, VA location. Not only did the boys have a blast, so did my husband and I. The first time we went, The Destroyer was only 10 months old and CheezWaster was 2 1/2. Despite their young ages, there was plenty to do. With them a bit older this year, there was even more fun to be had.

The boys started off in the kiddie section and enjoyed riding the small slides, as well as playing with all of the sprinklers.

Kiddie Slides

Then, once The Destroyer was accustomed to that, we ventured to what I like to call the medium slides. They are part of the Fort McKenzie tower structure that is the center of the waterpark. There are 2 and they aren’t too bad for the smaller kids (though 1 time The Destroyer did come down backwards and head first). This is also where the huge bucket of water dumps every few minutes. The Tower is full of neat ways to get to the top including nets, stairs, and tubes. Down where the huge bucket drops are many sprinklers in which the younger (and older if they like) kids can play.

Sprinklers

There is a wave pool which is fun for all ages. The waves go off about every 5 minutes and then offer a break for regular swimming.

The Wave Pool

The waterpark also has a few larger tube rides that the whole family can ride (though no infants). We rode 3 larger tube rides with both kids. There also is a river tube ride in which you just sit and float around the river. The water park also has a sports type pool where they have balls and nets you can play with. Not to mention there is a cool surfboard on a wave that you can ride. These are more for the older kids and some have height restrictions.

Singing Clock in Lobby

3 times a day the clock in the lobby performs a show with the figures singing and moving. At night, there is story time in the lobby by the fireplace.

Wiley Wolf

This year, we were lucky enough to have Wiley Wolf join our story time. He stayed and greeted and took pictures with all of the kids.

Arcade

There is an arcade that has games for all ages. The staff in the arcade was great, too. We only enough tickets for one small ball prize, but because The Destroyer began to pitch a fit, they gave us a second ball at no charge. Now, that is some great customer service!

: The Bear Paw Sweets Bear

The Destroyer just loved this bear. It was outside the Bear Paw Sweet Shop just next to the waterpark. Whenever we went down to the water, he just HAD to sit in the bear’s lap.

Great Wolf is a great hotel option or great weekend getaway (we’re lucky to have one about an hour away from our house, too!). Rooms are very reasonably priced and they offer a lot of family suite options if you want to bring along the grandparents (so you can ditch the kids and ride the BIG KID water slides!). They offer various food options such as a quick serve restaurant, a full serve restaurant and a Pizza Hut Express (our dinner of choice to take back to the room after the kids are all tuckered out from water park fun). They also have many other fun options for the kids (young and old). There is a Cub Club where you can do crafts, a Teen Zone where they have internet access and video games, a spa that offers adult and kid services, a Magiquest game around the hotel where you follow clues. There really is a ton of stuff to do there and the waterpark is included in the price - AND the best part is you can use the waterpark as of 1:00 on the day you check in (even if your room isn’t ready yet) and up until 9 PM the next day (even though check out is 11:00 am).

I’ve seen people with kids of all ages at Great Wolf. This is a place I will go over and over with my kids. They enjoy it now as toddlers and with so many activity options, I’m positive they will enjoy it as they get older, too.

Not to mention, my parents gave us a gift certificate for Christmas last year after hearing what a blast we had. Not only did we have another great time, but it was free for us!

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Great Wolf Lodge is GREAT fun for all ages! has been posted in Kiddie Mamamamahoney, Parental Mamamamahoney and Tagged: great wolf, Great Wolf Lodge, hotels with water parks, indoor water parks, Virginia, water parks, Williamsburg.

I'm Back!

October 13th, 2008

I have returned from our vacation to Virginia and the Coffeehouse madness has passed.

A few highlights from our trip to Williamsburg:

The Waterslides at Great Wolf Lodge (Fun for all ages!)
Tickle My Whale (name of a song on the Wonderpets CD - my husbands comment? “Is that what they are calling it these days?”)
The carriage ride in Williamsburg - a gift for our anniversary! Thanks R&M!
Finally finding a painting for over our sofa!
Pretzel rolls (not a Laugeweck, but damn close!)
Backlick Rd. - haha - love that name. How’d you like to live there???
CheezWaster howling at the waitress when she bid him a “Great Wolf Day” - priceless!

Some of the NOT so finer moments of our vacation:

CheezWaster vomiting in the car on the Beltway
Me standing on the side of the Beltway cleaning up vomit
Restaurant meltdown
The never ending hunt for the McDonald’s that was so clearly marked on the highway
ants in our bathroom at the Great Wolf Lodge

Despite the above, a good time was had by all!

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I'm Back! has been posted in Parental Mamamamahoney and Tagged: Great Wolf Lodge, Pretzel rolls, Tickle My Whale, vacation, vomiting on the Beltway, Williamsburg.

Spring Fever

Great Wolf Lodge is GREAT fun for all ages!

I'm Back!

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