Staycation!

This May, we all were in desperate need of a little R&R.  Daddy was ready for a break from work before his big project rolls out this summer, Mommy was celebrating the end of extra hospital shifts and a crazy spring semester, Andrew was past his colicky days and sleeping soundly through the night, and Annalise, well, she just wanted to have a good time with her family.  :)  We decided to take a vacation in our own backyard.  Annalise loves water activities, and we had heard great things about the Great Wolf Lodge.  Decision made!  We talked about it so much that Great Wolf Lodge became a regular part of Annalise's vocabulary, much like Target and Costco.  (What does that say about us?  Ha!)

We were not allowed to use the water park until 1pm on our check-in day, so we spent the morning next door at the Legends outlet mall.  This was truly one of my favorite parts of the trip.  It was an overcast, drizzly day, and we had the place virtually to ourselves.  We strolled around, threw coins in the fountain, and got some fabulous clothing deals.  It felt amazing to be doing something so normal as a family of four.

For lunch, we went full-on touristy and dined at the dinosaur cafe.

Naturally, Annalise got the giant souvenir dino cup and toy.  Naturally.

Andrew says "ROAR!!!"

We arrived at the Lodge promptly at 1pm, and our room was ready.  (Don't you just love when your vacation goes exactly as planned?  Maybe that's just me!)  We changed into our swim gear and headed for the water park.  Like the outlet mall, it was ours for the taking.  (We patted ourselves on the back for coming on a Thursday instead of a weekend.  Planning win!)

Please ignore my extreme paleness.  Someone needs a spray tan!

This tower was one of the main attractions.  You will see why in the following video.

Annalise eased into things on the lazy river.  Who needs a raft when you can sit on Daddy?

Next, the dynamic duo stepped it up a notch and tackled a water slide.  Daddy decided to pretend like he had a GoPro and took a video of the water slide journey.

I honestly wasn't sure if Annalise would want to do the tall slides by herself.  She usually is an adventurous gal, but they were several stories high and she is only three, so I would not have blamed her for being hesitant.  For better or for worse, she is her daddy's daughter...

This was a big trip for Andrew, too!  While he was not quite water slide ready, this was his very first time swimming.  He did not enjoy being immersed in the water too much but was quite happy to sit and splash (and explore the fascinating GWL band on his ankle).  He also loved riding around on my hip and simply taking in all the sights and sounds.  We could not have asked for better baby behavior on this trip, although my arms got a little tired!

We spent the night in a room with a special "wolf den" sleeping area for kids.  The second pic was taken before we realized it probably was a bad idea to allow Annalise to sleep in the top bunk.  ;)

The next morning, we had a leisurely breakfast and went back to slide and play and slide some more.  By early afternoon, we had our fill of water soaked goodness, and it was time to snooze.  Andrew didn't even make it out of the park before passing out.

Annalise fought hard to stay awake but, as you can tell from this farewell video, was barely coherent by the end!  ;)

All in all, it was the most fun that I have had in a long time, and I hope the kids felt the same way!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

"Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin' down the bunny trail, hippity hoppin'.  Easter's on its way."

Growing up, my mother and my Aunt Barb always used to sing this song.  A few weeks before Easter 2015, my cousins and I reminisced about how much we loved it, especially because our mothers made up personalized song lyrics, listing all the wonderful things that the Bunny would bring each one of us.  Shortly after this conversation, I came home to find Annalise and Adam jamming out to the same song in our kitchen.  :)  It was a sweet reminder of the "circle of life," so to speak.

Annalise certainly was excited to celebrate this Easter, perhaps even more so than Christmas.  She knew that both sets of grandparents would be here for the holiday and was literally counting the days. 

After Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Steve arrived, we had a little mani and pedi session.

We spent Holy Saturday coloring eggs.  On the positive side, we went with the much easier hard boiled approach as opposed to blowing out the yolks.  On the negative side, I neglected to buy any vinegar to assist with the coloring process, so we ended up with a very pastel palette of eggs this year - ooops!

On Easter Sunday, Grandma volunteered to get this little cutie dressed at home while we attended mass.  Love his little tie and his rolled cuffs.  :)

Adam and Steve did not waste any time taking care of the egg hunt logistics as soon as we arrived at Nana and Grandpa's house.  It was a good thing, too.  The kids were ready to go!

Andrew hunted for a ceremonial first egg, though I am sure the candy spoils ended up in someone else's basket.  :)

Annalise adopted an interesting technique this year.  After she located each egg, she opened it and emptied the candy into her basket, right on the spot.  I initially tried to correct her and educate her on proper hunt etiquette, but I realized that there was really nothing wrong with her approach.  Points for thinking outside the box!

At the end, Grace and Annalise promptly sat down and examined their winnings.  Needless to say, their baskets were FULL!

We capped off the day with a relaxing (exhilarating?) swing.

My assignment for next Easter?  Start working on some special lyrics for Annalise and Andrew's version of "Petter Cottontail!"

America's Funniest Home Videos

The title of this post may be a slight overstatement, but...  There have been a lot of funny/cute things happening at our home lately, thanks to our two crazy kids!  I wanted to share just a few of my favorite cell phone videos.