Take a walk on the wild side: family fun

We planned a little staycation for Spring Break this year. It was up in the air if I was going to be needed in Ecuador for a student trip (as one of the chaperones broke her arm), and the amount of tasks that need done lately have been weighing us down...so we thought a planned week of catch up would make us all breathe a little easier. It was much needed.

However, some friends invited us to the Dells and we just couldn't turn down this fun group of people and knew that a little get-away would be good for the soul. We packed up Sunday morning and headed north. It gave me a solid 6 hours (up and back) to grade papers and not feel like I was completely ignoring my family, and the girls enjoyed catching up on some reading and relaxing. We stopped off for a little Spotted Cow purchase because, well...when in Wisconsin, and pulled into Great Wolf Lodge by lunch time.

Our she-wolf pack and their welcome howls. So cute that they give out wolf ears at check-in! :)

Bring on the waterslides!!

With our customary stop at Monks for lunch, we then checked in early to our room and headed straight for the water! [If you haven't ever taken advantage of online check-in at hotels, its a must...we got into our room 3 hours early]. We swam all afternoon as our friends trickled in and then headed up to the room to clean up for dinner.

We decided on Famous Daves for a little BBQ goodness. One great thing about the Dells is that they are used to accomodating large groups so they didn't blink twice at our party of 23. After dinner we headed back to the hotel for a fun night of Euchre while the kiddos played games and enjoyed the ClockTower show [okay, it was pretty lame].

This wild bunch had a blast with each other and we had a blast with their parents...double win.

We're not much for sleeping in, so we got up the next morning, I graded papers for a bit and then hit the Outlets! Located right next door to the hotel, they opened an hour before the waterpark, so while Mark and the girls vegged out with cartoons waiting for the park to open, I headed over to make the most of my morning and scope out what all it had to offer. Much to the girls' dismay...no cinnamon rolls or other breakfast yummies, so it was back to the hotel for some waterpark wonder.

Such a great group of girls! [The littles were too busy to stop for a picture!]

We rented a cabana for the day so it was great to have a "check-in" point so we could give the girls a little more freedom at the waterpark. They enjoyed a little independence from mom and dad riding slides with their friends, and many of the adults enjoyed not having to walk quite so many flights of stairs lugging huge tubes. [Plus, getting a few extra hands of Euchre in at the waterpark!]

So many waterslides, so little time!

As the youngest on the trip, this little hung with us and wasn't too disappointed that we weren't willing to give her the indepedence that she was after. It didn't hurt my feelings too much to get a few extra waterslides in either as spring break always seems to be a good reminder that staying in shape shouldn't just be a summer thing. Uff. It was a workout.

No doubt, our middle kid is a Harry Potter fan. She has read the entire series 6 times over and has now also watched all of the movies. After receiving the HP version of Trivial Pursuit for Christmas we were quite certain there were few Potter aficionados her age that could rival her knowledge. That was, until we did Trivia Night down at the Quarter Barrel.

A few months ago, when I saw there was a trivia night, open to the first 20 teams to sign up, I couldn't resist. We signed up to participate as "The team who must not be named" and Emma was confident she could carry us, because though we have all [except Norah] read the books, none of us store quite the knowledge or love of HP that Emma does.

There was a hodgepodge of teams...some families, some friends, all HP fans. Many were sporting HP costumes, t-shirts or the infamous wire-rimmed glasses. Emma was in her element. I sat back sipping my Butterbeer and taking it all in. When the trivia started, it was clear that these people weren't messing around. They started with the easiest questions and I quickly realized reading the books does not make you a knowledgeable fan. You guys, it was RIDICULOUSLY hard.

However, we had a SUPER fun night, we ended up in the top 10, and it was such incredibly cheap family entertainment that I can't help to think we won't be back for more. Can we get a "Friends" Trivia Night? Maybe then I could actually contribute to my team. :)