Great Wolf Lodge recap

We just got back from a few nights at the Great Wolf Lodge resort in Traverse City, Michigan. For those of you that aren't familiar, GWL is a huge indoor water park - fun for all ages, with splash pad, a 3 story jungle gym of sorts, pools, lazy river, and various waterslides.

Adam had the time of his life.

We got there Sunday afternoon and met up with Kristin, Ben and Carter. What a blessing that they could join us - they always make things so much more fun, and Adam and Carter sure do love to run around together. We quickly changed into our bathing suits and went into the waterpark.

Kristin and I thought it would be a fun idea to send the boys down the waterslide. Now, keep in mind that both boys climbed up the waterslide and went down it willingly. (Un)fortunately, it was a wee bit faster than the waterslide they remember from the summer, and on top of that, they had to go down solo. As soon as I saw Adam going down, I hopped on and went down the adjacent slide, hoping to reach the bottom before he did. It took about 10 seconds for me to recognize that Adam's screams were not those of a happy camper. We got to the bottom at the same time and ran over to pick him out of the bottom of the slide. As he was crying I asked "was that fun?!?" and through his tears he replied "yeah!" The lifeguard and I just cracked up. Crazy kid. We couldn't get him to go on that one again, though.

Then, there was the bigger waterslides that you go down in inflatable rafts. Somehow, he was allowed to go on what we later learned is the fastest slide of the three "chutes" (I later saw the height requirement of 48," but no lifeguard stopped us from going down with him). Strike two in the parenting department. If the first waterslide didn't scare the bejeevens out of him, this one did. It was so much faster than either Jeff or I expected - and he screamed the whole way down. Sorry, kid.

Ever our brave and trusting boy, he agreed to go on the remaining two other slides with us, and it was a good thing - they became his favorites. Jeff and I spent many hours alternating between the blue and green slides and Miles duty. Hilarious. He giggled and loved every minute of every trip down - I love to see him happy like that!

He also had fun in the pool. He was pretty proud of himself for learning how to "swim" with the lifejacket on, and loved jumping into the pool and swimming from side to side. He had endless amounts of energy it seemed, particularly for a boy who was woken up several times in the small hotel room by his younger brother who wasn't such a good sleeper...

Other than water slides, there is an arcade, mini golf (too cold and rainy for that) and a craft room for kids. We were very fortunate to have visited the GWL at a time when it was very empty - quite often we were the only ones riding the slides or floating in the lazy river, so it was very nice. I wouldn't have liked our stay nearly as much had the waterpark been overflowing with people. It's hard enough to keep an eye on your roving 3 year old as it is!

I feel greatful we were able to spend time as a family and enjoy the GWL. I know both Jeff and I will cherish the memories of Adam and the waterslide adventures for years to come. We hope to return next year when Miles is walking and can join in on the fun!