We are turning into new people! From parents that hated traveling with their children to people who surprisingly don't hate it... and might actually like it. Admittedly one of us likes it more than the other, but the more we travel, the more the stubborn one comes around too. Dare I say, the more stubborn parent even had a conversation with his wife about future trips that sound exciting! Like I said, we are new people.
And by traveling, I mean a couple hours in the car and a one night stay somewhere :) We're not talking France or China here... but baby steps, baby steps. And for our family, mini trips really work out nicely. It's enough time away for us to get a reprieve from our mundane day-to-day and appreciate our return home. They work so well for us that I have planned a mini trip for every month of 2025 up until December (except for September... any ideas?).
In January, Michael and I traveled to Clearwater, Florida. In February, we took a mini trip to St. Louis. For March, we went to Great Wolf Lodge, just north of us near Chicago. We went last year and the kids were excited to go back. We were not as impressed this year and I can't say we would go back, but I'm glad to have gotten away for some swimming fun during a cold week. And because Michael has such a wonderful job (and he's willingly flexible to appease his weekend-hating wife), we were able to get away for a mid-week escape just to break up our winter days.
We have worked out a system for our 2-4 hour car rides that works pretty well and does not include screens. Lots of snacks, a bag of activities for each kid, empty bladders so we don't have to stop, ample audiobooks, and packed lunches for the inevitable hunger.
We arrived early enough to enjoy a full day at the water park. Isla and Michael spent most of their time on the big slides and I mostly hung out in the baby pool with Ewan and Eleanor.
We went across the street to a restaurant we loved last year. The kids even did great at the restaurant, which has historically been a challenging environment for us :) We really are growing up!
We finished the night with the arcade and dippin' dots! This was easily everyone's favorite part. Which makes me wonder why we bothered with the water park at all and didn't just head to the arcade down the road from us. Oh well.
The rooms at GWL are cool with little cabin bunk beds and kid-friendly rooms. We brought our own breakfast and hung out before the pool opened, which unbelievably was at 10:00! What kind of kid's waterpark opens so late?! We had like 3 meals before we went swimming.
Then we headed home. That was it, short and sweet. And just perfect for us. I do have some longer trips planned in the coming months, but all trips are fun getaways. I'm grateful for the chance to be together and do something fun. I will never take that for granted.
And the rest of March, so far, has been filled with that mundane day-to-day business I was talking about. Although, we have gotten outside a little more, which has been LIFE-GIVING! Which can only mean spring is coming!
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