We tried to talk Callie into a birthday celebration rotation. One year she has a party with friends and the next year she has an adventure with her family. So far it has worked out pretty well. So this year we packed our bags and headed north to Great Wolf Lodge near Cincinnati. We had heard some good things about it but still were a little wary. The big selling point is the indoor water park, pictured here. The girls were drawn to it from the moment we checked in right up to the last minute before we left. It was a big hit.
Because Callie's birthday fell during the fall break for Fayette County, it was not surprising to run into someone we knew. However, it was very cool for Callie to have that person be Lydia, one of her good friends from school. It was like she had the benefit of a birthday party with friends and an adventure. The girls had a great time together and even rode one of the biggest water slides together with John and then with Lydia's dad.
Great Wolf Lodge certainly has a very good read on their target audience. When we checked in both of the girls got wolf head bands and the birthday girl received a special one. She also received a distinctive wristband that gave her access to a free scoop of ice cream whenever she wanted one. This is one of the things that definitely helped make the weekend extra special for Callie.
Grammy Gayle got in on the action by paying for Callie to take part in the Quest Adventure that is another part of the Great Wolf Lodge experience. Any time you need a break from the water you can roam the halls with your magic wand searching for clues and coins that help you complete the quest and become a more powerful wizard. Callie was intrigued with the game and enjoyed leading the charge up and down and all around the lodge. It was fun and occupied us all for a couple of hours before it was time to head back to the water park.
The folks at Great Wolf Lodge also make sure that Halloween is not just for October 31. All month long you can trick or treat, which worked out quite well for us. Luckily, Sarah had researched ahead of time and knew that we should bring costumes for the girls and because it was inside we didn't have to worry about the weather. The girls took advantage of this and requested their princess/ballerina costumes. We had a lot of fun walking around the halls getting candy and seeing all of the other kids who were dressed up.
The girls could not get enough of the different parts of the park. However, their favorite parts didn't always converge. Reese loved the wave pool and had to jump in every time the waves started up. This was balanced with her love of the lukewarm hot tub that she liked to visit every 20 minutes or so. Callie loved the lazy river and the water slides. She tried out just about every water slide they had and clearly had a blast doing it.
It was fun to watch Callie take it all in. We were there for less than 48 hours, but we had a great time as a family and enjoyed the whole experience. All the fun allowed us to forget that we were celebrating the fact that Callie turned 8, which just seems ridiculous. How is she getting so old so quickly? We love her to pieces and are very proud of the girl she is becoming.
Of course Callie is not the only one in our family who is growing. Reese continues to make her presence known in our lives. She is full of personality and loves her sister more than anything. It was fun to watch them both run around and make the most of their time at Great Wolf Lodge. And Reese was especially willing to help Callie eat her free ice cream all weekend long.
Even when we go on an adventure we do make sure to have our home birthday celebration with Sharon and Chris. This year it involved Gigi's cupcakes, which allowed all of us to have a sample of three or four different cupcakes. It was a great way to top off our celebration of a wonderful young girl!
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