Great Wolf Lodge

 Whew, what a weekend it has been. The kids didn't have school on Friday, because it's already the end of the first quarter of school (how did that happen?). So, on Thursday, after school, we picked up the kids and headed to Bloomington. We pretty much drove straight through, and only stopped at a Kwik Trip for something to eat. 

We made it to Great Wolf Lodge at around 7:30pm. It was too late to go swimming, but we had some fun with rock mining and rock climbing. Both kids really enjoyed those activities. And then, we got some wand toppers, and the kids went exploring on a Magi Quest. We made it back to the room at around 10:00pm, and called it a night. We were all pretty tired. The kids had a bunk bed again, so they really enjoyed that. 

Friday was a pretty busy day. We started at around 7:00am (thanks, Elliott). We started with the Magi Quest again, and then the kids filled their candy cups and enjoyed exploring. The kids also got to bowl, and they both really enjoyed it The waterpark opened at 10:00am, so we hit that up as soon as it opened. We had a blast going down all the waterslides, hanging out in the lazy river, and also enjoying the wave pool. We spent a solid 2.5 hours in the waterpark, before taking a break for lunch. John ran out and got some Jimmy John's, and we ate lunch in the room with all of our other snacks. 

After lunch, the kids did the ropes course. Emma was really excited, but Elliott was pretty unsure of the whole thing. They both did really well, and pretty much did every single obstacle, except for the rolling log. They both tried numerous times, but it would spin, and then they would get scared and quit. But, I was proud of them for doing everything else. They were very brave. After the ropes course, the kids put on their costumes and did some trick or treating in the lobby, which was pretty fun. 

We also played at the arcade. Emma got super lucky and hit the jackpot twice on the mallot game, and scored over 3000 tickets. She won an insanely large tie dye dog, named Tye. She now loves the dog more than the rest of us. Elliott also had good luck at the arcade and won a Charmander stuffy toy. We are almost out of stuffed animals in this family. 

We decided to hit up the pool again, and swam until around 6:30pm, and then we decided to go out and get some supper. We went to a really good Mexican Restaurant and made it back to the hotel around 8:00pm. Elliott went Magi Questing again, and then we got the kids their scoops of ice cream, and then settled into our room to watch the end of the second World Series game. It was a very fun, very busy day. 

Saturday was our day to check out. We pretty much got up, packed up and checked out. Then, we headed to Mall of America. The first thing we did was go to Lego Land. The kids loved it. They got to make their own minifigs and shop and look around at all the legos. They were in heaven, especially Elliott. Once it got too crowded in there, we went to the food court for lunch. 

Then, we just wandered around for a while and did some shopping. We timed it so that we ended up going through Mankato around 4:00pm to Trunk or Treat with Elena. The kids all really enjoyed that, and it was really good cousin time. We left Mankato around 5:30pm and headed to Worthington to go to the Forbidden Barrel, which is a brewery. It was okay, and we enjoyed a late supper of pizza and nachos. Then, finally, we headed for home. 

We got home around 9:00pm, unpacked, and then sent everyone to bed. Today, we had early church, the choir sang, and I had to teach Sunday School. So, it was a busy morning. 

We spent the rest of the day outside, because it was 65 degrees and beautiful. The kids went to Lake Vermillion with John and I went to the gym, and then caught up on laundry and cleaning. 

All in all, it was a great weekend. Now, we are catching up on homework and preparing for school and work tomorrow. Also, it's Halloween tomorrow, so that's always fun! 

Happy Halloween!!