Emma's First Official Vacation!

Well, we did it. We took a toddler on a road trip, spent three nights in a hotel, and survived :) It actually went really well. We spent Sunday packing and getting ready, and then we left home around 10:00am.

We made our first stop in Okoboji, Iowa where we ate some lunch and then we checked out a beach. Emma has never played on a beach before, so she was a little intimidated at first, and then she loved it. She ended up soaked of course, and she was sandy from head to toe. But she had fun, and it was a nice halfway break in our drive.

John and I decided we need to take an adults-only trip to Okoboji some day and enjoy some of the adult things :)

Emma and I checking out the beach :)

After our little stop-along-the-way, we headed for Storm Lake, Iowa. We stayed at King's Pointe Resort which is connected to an indoor and outdoor water park. We spent a lot of time in the water. Emma wasn't too sure about some of the activities, such as the little water slides for her, or even riding on one of our laps on an innertube. She was the happiest just splashing around in the water, playing with her water rings and beach balls. 

We did not get blessed with very nice weather though. Sunday was the nicest day, and the only day that we got to spend any time at the outdoor water park. It was a lot of fun, but we only got a couple hours in before it was time to eat and then time for bed, but at least we got a little bit of time in the outdoor park.

Monday was rainy and stormy pretty much all day. We spent a lot of time in the indoor water park, out hotel room, and doing a little shopping. Eventually, the sun came out and we went for a nice bike ride along the lake and spent some time playing outside at the park. 

Enjoying the waterpark

Goofy Girl

Swimmin'

Two points

Playing outside :)

Checking out the beach at Storm Lake

More lake fun

Stop and smell the flowers

Outdoor waterpark in the background-closed :(

Tuesday, the weather was a little nicer. The sun was shining, but the high was only about 68 and it was very windy, so not really ideal conditions for swimming outside. So once again, we spent the day in the indoor water park, hotel room. playground, and then eating out for our meals.

We had a very nice trip, with just a couple meltdowns from Emma, and lots of giggles and fun in the pool. But, it would have been nice if the weather could have been a little better for us and we could have spent some more time outside.

Wednesday, we pretty much just got up, packed, and headed out. We were all pretty burned out on the indoor water park and just ready to go home. I was a little nervous about the hotel room and how Emma would sleep, and she actually did really well, not quite as well as at home, but I was pleased.

So, our overall opinion was that we had fun, and we would definitely go back, but maybe in 2-3 years, when Emma is a little older to enjoy more of the water park, and Baby Nelson #2 can have some fun in the park as well.

So, we had a successful first family vacation :)