Great Wolf Lodge

Okay, okay, I know that I have been a little picture happy, but I cannot help that my boys are absolutely adorable. We went to the Great Wolf Lodge April 16-18th to have a short family vacation and boy did we ever need one. We went to a presentation where they try and sell you stuff, and got a 3 day 2 night stay at the GWL. We thought that was a great deal and both Matt and I are good at telling them NOPE not right now. The picture above was a gift shop there at the lodge. Jared loves stuffed animals and is so cute when he gives them hugs. I couldn't capture a hug on camera though as he is so quick.

We had a great time. The first day the water was so cold that Nathan was the only one that had fun but was still shivering. Jared was getting his teeth in and made for a clinging kiddo. I was able to get him in the water just once, but he did like the hot tub.

We didn't even go in the water the second day because it was so cold, but we spent our wad in the arcade. We all had fun as a family in there. Matt set a hight score on the basketball at 77 and loved to try and win Deal or NO Deal. I set a high score where you hit the objects coming up with 37 hits ( I guess my fast reflexes do come in handy besides play cards--it is may family's goal to always try and beat me at fast card games). The boys loved the cars and the ball games. Jared wanted to play with the basketballs constantly. There was another game that was fun to play because all four of us played. We were supposed to use balls to hit moving objects on the screen.

They had a kids club where they could do crafts, paint, color, buy and color a shirt, computer games, a little fun house, and board games.

Matt had a craving for a cupcake and saw one at the ice cream shop at the lodge. They were only charging $2.50. OUCH!! We decided to just go to Wal-mart and buy a pack of 6. We enjoyed eating dinners at Outback Steakhouse and an Italian place. We brought our own lunch and breakfasts to make it cheaper. It was nice nice to be able to go up to our room and take a nap and then go back out and play. The third day we did get back in the water before we left, and it was much warmer. We wished that we would have tried the water the second day, but oh well can't go back in time. Matt and I were able to take turns watching the boys and the other one go down the big slides. I love water slides and could have kept going down it all day, even down the same slide. I love theme parks and water slides. There were no lines so we could go up the stairs and go right down the slide. The only downside was that Matt's phone kept ringing and ringing and ringing. I finally told him that I was going to throw his phone away if he didn't shut the thing up. Not really, but I wanted to. Cell phones: love them and hate them. We would love to go back if the opportunity was provided. The boys would really love it when they are older too.

They had story time at night to help calm the kiddos down.

It is hard to believe that Jared is almost 18 months old. He is in his 95% percentile for height and his 40% for weight. That's right: he is skinning and tall. He has starting talking so much and folds his arms for prayer by placing his hands under his chin. A few words include up, ma, da, hot, bubble, dance, dog, book, bath, nana, papa, more (signing), and much more. He is easy going and a happy boy for the most part unless he is teething and then he is a bear. He just cut has last two incisors. YEAH!! All he has left are his 2 year molars. We hope that he will have a few months break before he starts those. He loves to ride the horsy (ME) and play ring around the rosy. He would love to be doing whatever Nathan is doing or playing with, but Nathan just won't tolerate it. He loves being outside and being strawberries and eating them even if they aren't ripe.

Jared finally gets to play with the firetruck while Nathan is sleeping. I thought that it was cute that he wanted to ride it. Both Nathan and Jared LOVE firetrucks. They both can imitate the siren very well.

Happy Easter

First Easter egg hunt at the Rowlett Park with church members. Nathan definitely had the goal to get lots of eggs, but Jared was interested with opening one and finding the treasure inside. While we were at the park, Jared thought a fireant pile was dirt and took a big handful. He came over to me and then started crying. He has the longest breath from when he gets hurt to when you actually hear him cry. I felt so sorry and bad for him. He had all of these little welts all over his hands and arms. I dont' know how he didn't fall in the ant pile and actually get more bites. I think an angel must have been watching over him and caught him. You could see the huge pile had been demolished by his hand. The funny thing is that he has no marks left from the bite, but the three bites that I received from get them off have left scars. I am so glad that he is okay.

It was always fond memories for me to color eggs every year with my family. I want to keep that same tradition and the boys loved it. Matt was worried about the mess it would cause and the nasty smell of vinegar (which he absolutely despises), so I used lemon juice. The boys did great and loved it.

Easter at Nana and Grandaddy's house was so nice to be with family. We loved getting together and spending time as a family. The boys love to go over there, and Nana at least once or twice a week requests to go over. They especially love to play in the back yard. I forgot to mention the last time that we were there, Nathan went to the bathroom and noticed that Nana had a new Lysol spray in the bathroom. Nathan pays attention to detail so well and has an amazing memory.

Easter at our house. We decided to do an Easter egg hunt at our house too because we weren't getting together with Matt's family until a couple weeks after Easter. The boys had fun of course and being MOM I had to get lots of pictures of all three occasions. Can't ever have too many pictures. More important the the memories and the candy is remembering our Savior and that He lives. I am so thankful for his sacrifice and love. We had an FHE on Christ and his death and ressurection. Nathan and Jared loved to look and hold the pictures I showed them, but Nathan was so interested in Christ have nails put in his hands and feet and how much that would hurt. Nathan always pays attention when it is someone getting hurt or deals with lots of emotion (e.g. Good Samaritan, Christ calming the sea, etc...). The last picture here is Nathan feeding a strawberry to Jared. They are such sweet boys, and I love them so much.