• Having A Splashin Good Time!

    Birthday Celebration at Great Wolf Lodge

    Karlie going for a ride under the water!  Hang on!

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    Brina going for a ride under the water.  She didn’t relax as much because she was more concerned that Jake could hold his breath longer and wouldn’t come up for air in time.  He did!

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    This one makes me laugh!  The girls were standing in line behind us chit – chatting.  I am not sure what they were talking about it, but Brina thought it was hilarious!  Love it when the two of them make each other giggle.  Hope they remain great friends their entire lives!

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    Getting up on the lily pad took some extra energy – it was slick!  Towards the end of the second day Brina was getting tired and chilly so we put a life jacket on her for the last hour.  She didn’t want to stop playing in the water so this was a good compromise!  Resting on the lily pad for a little bit and talking about their day.

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    Trying to hold on as the lily pad was spinning in circles!  Not sure how they still had the energy and all those giggles left in them, but they were having a grand time!

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    As we were getting ready to wrap up for the day Brina had to do one more run before we left Great Wolf Lodge.

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    Karlie trying to smile through the tears!  “I just don’t want to go home Mom, I’ve had so much fun!”   She wanted me to walk around and take a bunch of pictures the last 5 minutes they were open and kept asking me “Mom, are you sure you got enough pictures?  I don’t ever want to forget our time here together!”

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    Karlie with a big smile as she finally crashed on the trip home.

    P1110820cIt didn’t take long before Brina was asleep too.

    We had a wonderful time together at Great Wolf Lodge.  On the way home Jake and I figured out  that we spent about 20 hours actually in the water playing!  Considering we were only there for a day and a half we packed a lot of fun into that time.  The girls had a great time and we had fun too.  All of us were exhausted!  Despite Karlie’s fear of not getting enough pictures I think we have plenty to look back on and remember this wonderful trip together.

  • Another Day of Fun!

    Birthday Party at Great Wolf Lodge

    Breakfast anyone?!

    Since we were all exhausted last night after a full day of water fun we decided to postpone the cake until breakfast.  I don’t think we have every let the girls eat cake for breakfast, but your 9th birthday only comes once in a life time so we might as well celebrate and enjoy it.  The girls were super excited to eat their cake and it was delicious!  Thank you Tip Top Cake shop for the great cakes and thank you Jake for wrapping them very careful so we could pack them up to North Carolina!

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    Everyone ready for another fun day!?  All smiles and ready to go!

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     Karlie loves being in the water and splashing around!

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    A quick shot of  Brina as she is swimming under the water!

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     Here comes Karlie with a big smile on her face, I wonder what she’s up to now!

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     Brina having fun in the water!

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     A close up underwater picture of Karlie!  She looks mischievous!

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     Karlie coming right at me, at least she’s holding her breath!

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     Brina Bee!

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     A picture under water of Brina doing her flip.

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     An underwater look at Karlie’s flip!

     

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     Brina wanted to do it again!

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     Going down the River Canyon Run again.  Are you ready?!

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     Jake’s laughing as we start and Brina has her eyes shut tight!

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     Karlie having a blast on the ride!

    Birthday Celebration at Great Wolf Lodge

    Brina checking out what was up ahead of us!  So much fun going on these rides with the family!

  • A Birthday Celebration at Great Wolf Lodge

    Karlie & Brina - Birthday Cake

    Karlie and Brina’s Birthday cakes from Tip Top Cake Shop!

    We didn’t do the normal traditional birthday party for the girls because we were going away for a weekend together as a family to celebrate.   They didn’t know it at the time, but we still ordered small individual birthday cakes for them.  The day before we left on our trip I took them by the store to pick up an item, they were a little confused when we walked into the cake shop, but thrilled once they saw their cakes.  Karlie’s was white cake and she used her favorite green, blue, and black colors for accents.   Karlie’s first response was  “How did she know my favorite colors and that I like vanilla!”  Brina’s was a dairy and egg free chocolate cake with pink, orange, and yellow accents.  Brina’s first comment “It’s beautiful Mom, I LOVE it!”    Even something as simple as little cakes can get them excited!  The cakes tasted amazing!  You would never guess that the chocolate one was egg and diary free it was delicious!

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    We brought with us their gifts they got each other a couple small ones from us.  When Jake put the suitcases in the room he found a perfect spot to display the gifts.  The girls were amazed that the hotel staff would put out all their gifts for them, until they realized it was Daddy that did it.  They were having so much fun in the water park while Jake was unloading the van!  Thanks Babycake for doing that for us!

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    Brina very excited about her gift from Karlie!

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    Oh boy….Brina got Karlie another nerf gun…..  She’s excited!  Wonder who will be a walking target for her the next few months, ha!

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    I love it when the girls write little notes on their gifts to each other.  So sweet!

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    My wild and crazy man!  Love you Jacob!

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    Brina is so very excited.  She got a leash for her dog, something she had been wanting!

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    Jake blowing up the balloons.  I found these cool balloons at Hobby Lobby that have LED lights inside that make the balloons glow in the dark.   I thought they would be a neat way to wrap up the birthday celebration as they went to sleep.  They were suppose to glow for 12 to 15 hours, but they are still glowing several days later and the girls have them in their rooms at home now!

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    Wow, glowing balloons!  What a great way to end a special day!

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    It is hard to take a picture of it glowing!  Happy Birthday Karlie!

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    Happy Birthday Brina!  Princess Snow White will watch over your balloon as you sleep!

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    Two very tired and almost asleep kids.  What a fun day at Great Wolf celebrating their birthday.  Hopefully they will treasure this time and memory for many years.

    We were so exhausted by the time we got done with the water park, gift unwrapping, and everything else that we decided to save the birthday cakes until breakfast.  Everyone was ready to crash and get some sleep so we could get up and go early the next morning!  We figure it’s not everyday you get to have cake for breakfast so why not!