Tuesday, December 30, 2014

A Taste of the Tropics-Land of the North Style

Today we had a taste of the tropics. Yesterday too. It was lovely. It was wonderful. It was (almost) as if we were there! Like on a cruise with our friends or in St. Maarten with other friends or…you get the idea.
This is a place our kids have been begging to go to since they knew what it was. Let's say they were…3. We pass it every time we go to my parents' house while driving on the freeway. And when they were that little, they went to my parents' house once a week so Mom could watch them while we were at work. Every single time we would drive by it would be, "When can we go there? Why haven't we gone there before?" Up until a year or two ago my excuse was always along the lines of, "You have to be taller." or "You have to be older." Well, no more. No more excuses. And thanks to Mom and Dad, we were able to go there as a family. Best. Christmas. Present. Ever. Said A & C.
If you ask what their favorite was, they'd probably say the family raft ride. That was a trip. I found out I don't like going backwards. As J says…where I don't have control. Going forward or sideways I was fine because I could see what was coming!
All of the slides were really fast! I even went on a body slide! That was a big step for me. The kids went on every single slide there was to go on. And many many times over. Going double on a slide was always a bonus because we got going really fast. I always screamed. And they always said, "Don't scream, Mommy!" I couldn't help it. 
Other highlights included the lazy river which is pictured above, the wave pool, and a splash area with smaller slides and other water features. A especially loved the wave pool, while C loved pretty much everything, especially the are where he could play basketball. A also went on a rope thing similar to this (which was in Oregon): 
It certainly takes balance and coordination to do that!
Of course I can't go on and on without mentioning our room. The kids thought it was great with bunk beds and their own night lights. They slept well, considering we were go-go-go until 10:00 when the place closed! We had a blast. Thank you, Mom & Dad, for giving us this gift where we were able to be together and make lots of memories! Now when we go by, they say, "We were there! Remember this and remember this!" They loved every minute of it.