Winter Fun at Great Wolf Lodge

Leia and Annie in awe . . .

Of the Great Wolf Lodge, . . . a beautiful resort with the theme of the Pacific Northwest. We LOVED this trip with the Worrel family on this MLK weekend of January! (That's my car antenna with the Minnie on the top of it, BTW.)

The Lodge is as gorgeous as any Disney resort, with a stone fireplace from floor to ceiling. Love the poses here, . . . especially Armelle's. Ha! Here are the girls doing their We're-At-The-Great-Wolf-Lodge dance together . . .

And THIS is why!!! Just LOOK at this place! All indoors!!! 84 degrees all year around! This only begins to show this compound, . . . but at least you can see the waterslide tower in the background. There was also a wave pool, a surfing area, a baby area (complete with three waterslides of its own), and a pond where the kids could hop from log to log. The only problem is that I had two waterproof cameras, . . . both of which I filled with photos and NEITHER of which had one salvageable picture. : ( But here are some of the highlights: my pride in Leia Rose as she decided to try surfing on the "flow rider" alone and with everyone watching, Annie's face every time she went down the orange slide in the kiddie area, standing in line for waterslides while watching it SNOW outside, floating down the "Lazy River" tube ride, going on the "Howlin' Tornado" with Laura, the ENTIRE magiquest game, watching the girls flick their wands to watch the squirrels swing and the rainbow lights glow right in the middle of breakfast, the opportunity to spend this time with great friends and still sneak in some family time, too. (The only negative aspect: the realization that Leia Rose was not Me as a child, . . . in that she had NO desire to go on any of the waterslides as well as her fascination with what we dubbed "the warm pool." And when that big "Great Wolf Lodge" bucket dumped on her the first time, . . . that was the end of Leia playing on that playground.) ; )

Here are the only two pictures I have of us inside the park, . . . proving the power of humidity. But also proving the girls' love of this place! After our big day at the park, we headed back to our suite where the Mammas felt that it was just easier to throw everyone in the bath together. : ) Ah, dechlorination.

Now to explain the other main reason for the fun: the Magiquest game. This is a Harry Potter fan's paradise here!!! I LOVE the idea of this thing. I have heard about how wonderful it is for a long time from Laura, . . . but I was imagining a few stations where things happen because of a lent wand, . . . like a flower growing or a chest opening or something. Oh, it was SO much more than that. And one of the few times when the "hype" didn't in any way compare to the reality!!! And next time I'm going to VOW to take a tiny video of a few of the "happenings" we experienced. Pictures just don't do it. Anyway, here are the girls with their wands and wand toppers. Leia's was a pegasus unicorn and Shenan's was a light up skull/eyeball (?).

After purchasing the wand and the game, you learn all about it from this special wizard. You can see a few of the things you can "make happen" in this room: torches light, treasure chests open, fairies appear, etc. The girls had a "novice" level game, but I heard other kids talking about advanced levels where you had to get "health" and "armor" etc. Wow. Here is another example of a station, flick your wand and you light the crystal while it magically tells you what crystal it is and how it helps you in your quest. (The girls completed the "Pixie Adventure" where they had to collect three "runes" and then visit the Pixie to use the new magic to make her crystals grow powerful again.) Shenan and Leia REALLY got into it!!!

Here is Leia Rose visiting the pixie after completing the adventure with Shenan. She's busy flicking her wand again and again in order to restore the pixie crystal's power. (In the end, the only one with the real magic was Laura, who we needed help from to complete the task. Laura always knows when to come to my rescue when I'm becoming frustrated! What a great friend!!! : )

Here is "Wolfie" who appeared at breakfast in the midst of the girls flicking their wands to make magic happen. : )

Ah, and this HAD to be the last picture. Because this was almost the scene of total chaos right before leaving. Annie dropped her kitty here, . . . and Mamma didn't notice it. For an hour before we left, we searched the ENTIRE lodge (including the water park) going over our footsteps time and time again. Couldn't find Annie's "brown." I had already filled out a "lost item" form. As a last resort, I said a quick prayer to Saint Anthony, walked over to this table (that I had already searched twice before) and saw Brown sitting there waiting for me! The guy there said that some kids had taken Brown and he told them to leave the kitty, . . . just in case it was someone's lovie. ; )

The next day was full of fun play at the Worrels where Annie proved that she was two peas in a pod with Armelle (both loving dress-up and princesses) . . .

And Leia (again) proved that she was two peas in a pod with Shenan (both loving STAR WARS). Here they are with their posters full of homemade "Star Wars Stickers" that they made themselves!!!

I can't even begin to express the bond that these two share. What a special friendship! : )