Surprise!

So Alvar and I have been talking about going to Great Wolf Lodge now for quite some time.  We were waiting for the "perfect" time to take the kids - and after talking with Alvar's brother about it, we realized that now was the time!

We had also talked with good friends of ours, Mike and Karen, who were interested in GWL - so we ended up having a great get-away together with both families (the kids had Monday and Tuesday off, so it worked out well, not too crazy at Great Wolf...and we didn't have to pull them out of school to take advantage of lower rates because it was a weekday!).

We decided to keep the kids in the dark until arrival - which was no easy task seeing as we booked this trip way back in the middle of December!  The kids even seemed to miss all the signs (quite literally the GWL signs!) all the way into Niagara Falls, so it wasn't until pulling into the parking did they realize where we were staying!

We enjoyed a few hours in the water park before check-in and then back to our rooms to investigate.  The kids were quite impressed that they had a "room" all to themselves which included their own t.v. (which was great as Alvar and I could sleep in the next morning while they watched cartoons)! 

We brought supper with (saved more then a few bucks!!) and then explored the lodge a little further.  The arcade was a new experience for our kids - they enjoyed playing the games to win tickets for prizes!  Then it was back to the rooms to get the kids dressed in their pj's for the bed-time story show (which was very LOUD!!).  After the show the adults even managed to get a game of Carcasonne in while the kids entertained themselves :)

The next morning we packed up the vans and headed back to the water park for the day.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed the tube rides, lazy river (more like rapids if you ask me!!), wave pool, water sprinklers, raft rides, kiddie slides and hot tubs until it was time to go home.  Thankfully we were able to beat out the storm and arrive home safely!

Here are some pictures, not as many as I would have like - we were just too busy having fun!!

A tad snowy on the way to the lodge

 Arriving safe and sound at Great Wolf Lodge

 Alvar and Mike enjoying some reading time

The kids in front of our rooms (we managed to get our rooms side by side - definitely a plus!)

 Our room

 The kids' cabin

 Main hall (the wolves move and howl on the fireplace)

 The "welcoming" committee...the animals move and talk - it's quite the production!

 

 The host, Jillian, talking with the kids

 Just hanging around

 Ahem, the water park.  I would love for this to be my picture, but I don't think I could ever get this view!  I took a picture of the brochure (so, I guess it's sort of my picture then!).  Most of my water park pictures show tiny portions of the tube slides or way to many people in bathing suites that we dont' know.  So, I went with the brochure :)

 Alvar is at the top with Caleb and Anna waiting to go on the Woolly Mammoth - big tube ride that they really enjoyed!

Karen and I vegging after the water park, waiting to go home!  We were beat!  But it was well worth it - the kids had fun, and so did we!!