Waterpark Fun

Last summer during VBS Caleb won the grand prize in a drawing which was an over night stay and 4 passes to CoCo Keys water resort. My original plan was to go in the winter months when we all had cabin fever, but after reading the gift certificate further I realized that it was for weekdays and no non-school days. This made going during the school year impossible so we made reservations for Monday night. The kids were so excited to go. We had driven past the water park every day that we had swim lessons and I told them that we were going there soon. They were really excited to stay in a hotel. This was the first time in a hotel for both Caleb and Alissa so Leah was too young to remember the experience.

We were able to check in any time after 4:00 on Monday. We got there a little before 5 and the kids wanted to go to the water park right away. We went to our room the kids ran around like crazy exploring everything and then we changed and headed to the water park. We also had a pass to swim in the waterpark the second day. We could stay until close which was 8:00, but the kids only made it until about 2:00 and they were ready to go home. Regardless we were at the water park for several hours each day.

At first Caleb loved the water slides. He was going down all the ones that Leah was, but the big he twisted on the big blue one and hit his eye and so he refused to go on the one that hurt him. The one in this picture made him get water in his nose so he didn't want to go on it either.

Alissa love the water slides! Rod would put her on and then I would catch her at the bottom. She had a lot of fun.

Leah rode all the water slides except the ones that she wasn't tall enough to go on. She loved them all and even got a lot of water in her face and sometimes up her nose. It didn't stop her. She kept riding.

I got this picture because I begged Caleb to go down the slide one more time for a picture. I thought if he tried it again and didn't get water in his nose that he would decide that it was fun, but no such luck. This was his last time down.

This is the only slide that Caleb continued to go down the whole time we were there.

Alissa liked it too!

This is the big twisted blue slide. It was one of the biggest slides that Leah was tall enough to go on. She loved it.

Caleb's favorite part of the entire water park was the lazy river. He really enjoyed riding around on the tube! Leah did like it too, but not as much as the slides!

Our hotel room. I did want all the kids to sleep in the same bed, but that was wishful thinking. Alissa ended up in our bed and we had to let Leah watch TV until Caleb fell asleep and then let her go to sleep., When they were in bed at the same time all the wanted to do was play.

We had a nice interior hotel room. There was a sliding glass door that went out to a small patio and then you could walk out to this nice pond and gazebo. The kids enjoyed looking at the fish in the pond (Rod too) and the liked all the ducks.

Overall it was a very fun family experience. The kids continue to talk about it and like to pretend they are there again. It was a great prize to win.

Camping trip number 2

I am a little behind, but I wanted to post about our camping trip 2 weekends ago. We went camping with one of Rod's work friends and his family. We went to Delaware State park. Although the weather wasn't perfect, we did have a good time and the kids made some new friends.

The park was set up very nice with the majority or sites located on cull de sacs. This made for great bike riding for our entire family. The other good news is that Alissa actually likes the bike trailer this year instead of screaming the entire time like last year.

On Saturday, early afternoon I took the kids over to the beach area to check it out. We didn't put suits on because it was a little too cold for that. Alissa wasn't with us because she was supposed to be napping.

There was also a small park on the beach.

Alissa wanted to be a part of the bike riding around the cull de sac so Leah was nice enough to help her out a few times around.

Since Alissa didn't nap while we were at the beach, her and I stayed back at the camper and Rod and his friend Bob took the older ones fishing.

After dinner we went to a really nice park down the road from the campground. They had an awesome three story play ground. The kids had a blast!

After we played on the playground we went for a small hike that include a creek walk and a visit of the dam.

On the way home on Sunday late morning the kids were worn out and I couldn't resist this picture. They are all so sweet when they are sleeping.

Summer Fun

This past Sunday, Rod spent a bit of the day putting up a tire swing for the kids. I had a tire swing as a kid and loved it and I wanted one for the kids. We got a tire from my Dad's house when we visited last and Rod had to buy some hardware to finish it. When I was a kid I had rope tied around a tire and put on a tree, but Rod wanted something a little more fancy that the kids could all ride at the same time.


The tire swing turned out great and the kids love it. I am just hoping that our tree holds out. Rod tried it out and since he weighs more than all three kids, it should be fine.

Rod working in the tree.
The kids can't wait!

Rod making some more adjustments.

The test run.

Caleb joins in the fun!

Everyone gets to swing.

Dance, Dance, Dance

This past year Leah has been involved in several different activities including, gymnastics, karate, and ballet. I am not sure which was her favorite, but we are probably going to try and narrow it down a bit this next year and maybe try some new things. With dance, it worked out good because she started in January and it replaced gymnastics that she had been doing all fall. I tried a different dance studio and I found a place that I liked much better than the studio she went to last year. I liked the atmosphere much better, everyone is important not just the kids who are doing competition.

This past weekend Leah had her dance recital. She looked so cute in her ballet outfit. She loves to dance on the stage and she also loves to watch the other dancers. I think that her favorite part of dance is the end. I am not sure if she'll do it next year or not, but I am sure that I will have Alissa in dance at some point. Alissa was doing all the dances in her seat during the recital. She was trying to do the same moves as those on the stage. It was very cute.

Here are some cute pictures from the recital.

The family waiting for the dance recital to start.

Leah posing for a picture before she went on.

Her class waiting on the stage for their turn.

Leah's performance.

Beautiful!