June 1
Vacation time! At 6:01am, Jadeyn came tumbling into our room shouting: ready for vacation?! Who know how long he had been awake, but at least he had remembered us telling him not to come out of his room until 6! Wahoo! Here we come! We had packed everything last night so there really wasn't much to do except eat and get going. Oh, we did have a funny thing with Newt! He had sneaked out then kevin left the door open and decided he could catch some of those birds out in the yard. Hum...good luck with that. We found him clear at the back fence in the cluster of 7 trees around Jadeyn's playground. All the branches go to the ground and I think he panicked. There was a whole cacophony of birds chewing him out. As soon as I called his name, he let out a stream of meows as he tried to make his way through the branches. So funny.
Off to the airport! Everything went smooth as could be. We met Shawn's family at the gate and the kids were ecstatic to be going! The plane was tiny. Only 24 rows, four seats across so it was occasionally pretty bumpy. Everyone did great! Cincinnati was a really pretty city to drive through. Very unique buildings and the huge bridges over the water. Jadeyn said that you would be really thankful if you lived here because the buildings were so beautiful.
The Great Wolf Lodge was everything we had heard about and more! Huge logs made up the front entrance and massive carved wolves wound around the pillars. We parked right behind one of the massive wolves and Jadeyn said: woo-wee! His bum is smelly! Oh dear. Our room is really nice, two sections so Jadeyn can have his own part. Shawn's is the kid camp so the bunk beds are enclosed and walls painted to look like the kids are sleeping in a tent!
As soon as we checked in, we decided to take full advantage and hopped into our swimsuits and hit the huge indoor water park in the hotel! So much fun. Slides, family rafts, lazy pool, wave pool, kid splash zone. I think we got in there at 4:30 and didn't get out until they kicked us out at 9pm. Jadeyn's favorite part of the water park tonight was a rope Lilly pad crossing obstacle. There were floating Lilly pads and a rope ladder above to hold onto. It only took him one time to figure out the trick and he could fly across that thing. The kids did it over and over. Seriously, at least 15 times!
Oh yeah, before the pool we did sit down for a nice dinner.
June 2
So, bright and early. You'd think the time change would have messed us up, but we woke up at about 6:45 or 4:45 our time. What? Anyway, the funniest part was when we went to see if Shawn and family were ready. That's when we discovered the two hour time difference. We all thought it was only 1 hour, oops it was two. Those guys didn't wake up until 9! We still made it to the park right at opening! So fun to be in a new park you've never been to before and explore everything! Awesome coasters in this park.
There were awesome rides for the kids. The top favorite was Flying Ace Aerial Chase which was the kids' first inverted feet hanging coaster. they loved it and were so proud to be able to go on a 'big' coaster! We all loved Surf Dog which was kind of like a surfboard that spins while sliding up and down a huge ramp. It was a bigger ride than we expected!
We were so impressed by Chloe. She was so brave and was willing to go on anything she was tall enough to. She even went on The Beast, which is a massive old wooden coaster and I think it is the best I've ever been on. It winds through the forest, through dark tunnels and goes at speeds that simply don't feel safe! It knocked her around a bit the first time, but she wanted to go on it again. When you are rumbling through the tunnels, the sun flashes between the wooden planks, your being rattle around and it seriously feels like you are experiencing a plane crash or train wreck. Its crazy but exhilarating!
Partway though the day, we couldn't resist the urge to go on the log plume: Race For Your Life Charlie Brown. We watched from the bottom watching people either get soaked, halfway soaked or not at all. Well, no real rhyme or reason to it so we may as well go! The kids went with Shawn and Kevin and fared decently...more wet that they expected. Me and Steph didn't do too bad either. Wanna go again? Sure. This time, a wall of water just came over the top of us and we were all drenched!! Well, lets go on White Water Canyon; its one of the huge round rafts that goes through a river. We couldn't get any more wet, right? Holy cow! Soaked! Between the rapids, the waterfalls and mostly the water canons controlled by spectators on shore, we were completely saturated! Thank goodness it was warm, but I'm not sure any of us dried completely.
There was a crazy ride called the FireHawk where you are standing in your restraints at the beginning of the ride, then they lay you on your back!!! You start the ride on your back with no idea where you are going then suddenly down the track, it flips and you are flying on your stomach suspended under the track! Crazy! It pushed some serious blood to your head! Unfortunately for Kevin, that wasn't the best thing. He got a bloody nose during ride and said that the blood was flowing freely all over the place! It didn't stop him from having the time of his life though, and when the ride flipped back on your back for the whole end, it was the perfect position to stop the blood flow! He just felt kinda bad for the next person to get in his seat!
Around dinner time we were all looking for a treat and settled on Funnel Cakes. Wouldn't you know it, they were out of strawberries, so we had to try one of their other options: Maple Bacon Funnel Cake. I never thought that it would taste as good as it did. It felt like eating a sickeningly sweet breakfast. We ate it, and kept eating it long after we should have stopped. Tasty, but really sweet.
So today is the official day for Kevin's big birthday bash! Today is what caused the whole trip to happen. He said you have to be a little crazy on your 40th and yes we were! Jadeyn spent the night with the cousins so we could get up early. We woke up at hit the road by 6:20 for our insane 3.5 hour drive to Sandusky to go to Cedar Point. Yup, we're crazy. And normally, you see what mapquest estimates and you can get there quicker. Oh no, this time it was even longer, but we got to see some beautiful county. All totally green, deep hollars, beautiful stained glass churches every 10 miles complete with their own graveyards. It was a nice (long) drive. We finally made it! Let the mayhem begin.
We raced clear to the back of the park to do the Top Thrill Drag Racer first (this park is long and skinny so from one end to the other is a really long walk...this will be important to remember throughout the day!). When we had come here 7 years ago, I had just found out that I was pregnant, so I missed out on a lot of the rides. This wad supposed to be my redemption.I was going to see what being propelled to over 100 miles an hour in three seconds, going 210 feet straight up I. The air and back down again felt like. What? The ride was closed due to tell chemical difficulties? Oh no! So we headed to Maverick and holy smokes it was awesome! Then back to the very front of the park to ride the GateKeeper.
The GateKeeper was an awesome experience. Your feet dangle free, but the seats are spread so far out that you are nowhere near being right over the track. We waited for the front row and it was worth it! Sweet feeling. The car is wide but as it whips through the track it flips sideways and slips between narrow slits so at times it feels like you might hit. Wow!
All in all, this park it completely full of HUGE thrill rides: GateKeeper, Raptor., Blue Streak, WindSeeker (massive swings), Matterhorn, Millenium Force, Mantis, SkyHawk, Maverick, Mean Streak, Gemini, Magnum XL-200, Top Thrill Dragster. Wow. And we did almost all of them!
We were trying to figure out what our final rides would be so we rode a fun little wooden coaster that was actually pretty but even though not that thrilling. Then we went back towards the back to see if Dragster was running yet. No go, what about the drop tower. We seriously were walking toward it, saw people getting off the ride, but where was the line. You're kidding. We got there in time to see the sign be rolled out; closed due to high winds! But, Millennium Force opened up finally. This was one of the coolest coasters. The first hill is just under 200 feet and the feeling is awesome. The second hill is the height of most regular coasters! You catch air though the whole thing!
So we decided we should do just a few more and then hit the road. The Raptor was still closed, dang it, but wait: Gate Keeper was going!! We raced over there, and ended up being about 14th in line when they announced its closure due to the winds! Well, it's a sign. We should go home! We had a ton of fun though and it was worth it.
One ride that I went on by myself was so fun. It was the Sky Hawk which was a row of seats that swing back and forth like a pendulum but going almost upside down. You felt weightlessness almost the whole time.
The comedy doesn't end there though. We got out to our car only to find we were boxed in. The traffic director shoes us where to park; with our nose up to the light post and garbage can, but after we left, apparently the next row was placed directly behind us!! Luckily our rental is small so we were able to move the garbage can enough to squeeze out! Then the GPS lead us down a road closed by construction, we were stooped by a really long train, slowed down by several tractors, it just kept going!
We made it home by about 8pm just as the kids were getting out of the water park. Jadeyn had so much fun while we were gone and I think he decided that he wants to join his cousins' family! Shawn, Austin and Jadeyn played in the arcade, mini-bowling and mini-golf and then the rest of the day in the water park! Chloe got to do her Scoops manicure/spa thing, then the 4 hour MagiQuest throughout the hotel. We got home in time to get the kids jammied up and watch the night program in the hotel where all the Wolf Lodge characters come out and read a bedtime story. Then we had ice cream at the ice cream parlor and off to bed.
June 4
Wow! Is it ever down pouring this morning! We knew there was a chance of rain today (a good chance) but down pour!? No matter, we are up for it! We had breakfast in the hotel at a breakfast buffet. Tasteful waffles, pancakes, bacon and the works! We really wanted to do the outdoor water park, but it looks like that won't be an option today. As for the coaster park, it all depends on where the thunder clouds are. We could have done the hotel water park, but Shawn spent 6+ hours in it yesterday with the boys, so... off we go with rain coats in hand. It was pretty cool at the park.hardly busy at all, massive puddles, warm air, no lines but periodically closed rides. We got drenched, and then the rain would stop and it would be instantly hot and humid. We would peel off our jackets, then it would rain again after 10 minutes! Crazy!
We went to the Cirque Imagine show and completely enjoyed the acrobatics, humor, stunt bikes and trampoline acts. The kids even got their pictures taken with the cast afterwards. We said goodbye to another successful if not soggy day at the park. We walked to Ruby Tuesdays which was an adventure all on its own on a busy road without any sidewalks. Lots of jumping creeks and wading through deep grasses. Dinner was nice, good food and the kids entertained themselves while we got to talk. Then we raced home to squeeze in the last hour at the hotel water park. We did the slides, the wave pool and the hot tubs! Jadeyn was pretty devastated to find out it was time to say goodbye to his "best cousins!" Poor kid. He really latched on to Shawn and Stephen yesterday and I think he wouldn't mind staying with them for good! There were a few tears and lots of thank you'd and well wishes.
A day all to ourselves! Today was supposed to be the coldest day of the trip but no chance of rain. It sure was. We stepped outside and it felt like Colorado! Cool air and no humidity! So different from the other days. We had a nice relaxing morning since the park didn't open until 10am. Jadeyn took us throughout the hotel and showed us all the fun thing he did yesterday. Then we headed to the park. Wow. What a difference from yesterday. Yesterday, there weren't hardly any lines, the sidewalks were practically deserted. Today, wall to wall people and the big rides had lines in excess of 45+ minutes. Wow! So this is what happens closer to the weekend and on a day where there is no rain! But we had an awesome day just doing our favorites and taking Jadeyn on any of the rides he wanted to do as well. He went on Flying Ace several times and waited for the front row like a true coaster lover!!
Around 12:30 we headed to the water park part of the park changed into our swimsuits and hit the beach! It wasn't exactly hot, but was a ice smaller water park. Jadeyn was excited to do all the rides that he was tall enough to do and especially excited to do the huge wave pool (so was I!). We were in the pool that allowed inner tubes and that sure was interesting for a wave pool. We got wedged between tubes a few times! By the end Jadeyn was enjoying simply relaxing in the tube and letting the waves carry him! Showered up, and back to the park!
We went to the acrobatic show again and loved it all over again! We saved The Banshee for the last ride of the trip! Waiting in the line at night was pretty cool. It was all lit up in purple and blue and mist was floating everywhere. Each time the coaster took off, the Banshee would scream and a light shadow of it would flash across the crowd. Cool. Kevin got to go on the front row again and loved it. I was in the second row when it was my turn. What an exhilarating coast. I think my favorite part this time was watching the horizon spin and twist all around me since there was such a big contrast between the dusk horizon and the fully lit park. Wow!
Final fireworks at 10pm. It was the perfect way to end at the park!
June 6
Last day of the trip. Wow, what an amazing trip this has been! We dedicated today to the hotel. We actually checked out of our room at 10am when the indoor water park opened up and stored our luggage at the front desk and hit the water. Wow. Three time busier than any of the other days we were here. I guess that means it is Friday and everyone is checking in.
We did all the raft rides right off the bat since we could tell it was just going to get busier and busier. So much fun. Then the wave pool, rope/lily pad obstacle course, and lazy river. Jadeyn LOVES water!!! He may not be fully swimming, but his swim lessons sure have helped him not develop a fear of water! Wow, I can't believe the trip is over. As Kevin says, you might as well make turning 40 count!
We stopped at Taco Bell on the way to the airport. We
arrived quite bit earlier than we planned to so there was some
wandering around, playing and reading on the Kindles and then the
flight. Pretty uneventful flight except that it was very turbulent, but
we made it! Drive home was eventful though. An accident caused it to
be about an hour longer than it should have been. Ended the night with a
pizza at 9:30 at night and to bed! 
