Great Wolf Lodge Recap

Calder, Well....I'm thrashed! And we made it home. And surprisingly, the Great Wolf Lodge met even Henry's high expectations! I'm not sure how much context I gave you about the trip....so here goes...a month or so ago I was asking Dad what we were going to do for Fall Break. Next weekend we are going to be in St George for the state mountain bike race and McKay didn't want to go anywhere and Dad had a ton to do for work and taxes. I casually threw going to the Great Wolf Lodge out there and Henry was ALL IN! Then Christine asked me a week or so later what we were doing for fall break because they have a crazy life and I casually threw out that her kids would be welcome to come if they wanted to and before I knew it Lucy was ALL IN! The Gilbert's other choice was to be in provo with Gma and Gpa, so Lucy and Grace decided to join us on our epic journey. We left on Wednesday (pic 1) and drove to Las Vegas. We stayed in a junky comfort inn that gave away our original room I booked online and it took like 45 minutes for them to find us a room that would work. We drove the rest of the way to Arizona and arrived at the Great Wolf Lodge (pic 2) around 1pm and went directly to the waterpark (pic 3) Ok the next two pics (pic 4 & 5) have nothing to do with TGWL...maybe you saw them on facebook. Lara posted them for James Gilbert's birthday. I was dying laughing and had to take a pic to remember. Look at Henry. He's so cute. Back to TGWL....we got the pass of all passes and did it all. Everyone loved the activities....rock climbing (pic 6), which Jane was really good at! And please tell me if this movie doesn't upload and I will resent it. It's our parapelgic son who was having the time of his life! IMG_0580.mov It was really fun to be at TGWL during HOWL-oween....yes....there were signs all over! We had a trick-o-treat party on Thursday night and Jane was so glad that she packed her skeleton pjs so she'd have a proper costume. The nights were late with the Magiquest. Here's a picture of the girls with their cheap wands. Henry, on the other hand, worked so hard the entire time and got a super blinged out wand by the end of the trip. IMG_0595.jpeg On Friday morning we woke up and did the obstacle course. It was seriously intense. I was so proud of Jane for finishing it (we couldn't have done it without Henry) that we went all out and got her a build-a-bear. She really surprised me and I was really proud of her. She was a bit of a "boss baby" the entire time. She really needed more sleep. She was very put out that we didn't have a "wolf den" room (bunk beds in a cave) and that we didn't get her some accessories for her build a bear but I just tried to ignore it and be on my best behavior with the Gilbert girls there. But I kind of wanted to drop kick her a time or two. IMG_0600.jpeg IMG_0607.jpeg One of my favorite parts of the trip was seeing my brother Scott. We met at a park on Friday night. It was so funny...when we walked out of TGWL Henry said "whoa...I haven't been outside in like two days!" And it was true. Our eyes had to adjust haha. Check out Scott's buff arms. That's my favorite part of the picture. Scott was extra sweet and brought twinkies, which is a total Aunt Janet move and made us think of and miss her. She's still hanging in there, Happy and content. She knows my Dad and sometimes my mom but other than that, she's lost on everyone else. IMG_0608.jpeg IMG_0610.jpg We soaked in all the last few things on Saturday morning like 'Howling Yoga" that Jane was really excited to go to.... IMG_0611.jpeg Mini golf...that surprisingly Henry dominated haha.... IMG_0612.jpeg And hit Frijoles on the way through Las Vegas on our way to sleep in St George. It was delicious. As usual. IMG_0615.jpeg So, that's the recap of the trip. It was fun to be with everyone. I had some great talks with Henry and I hope he felt my love for him. One thing is for sure...Henry would be a great missionary. He's a friend to all and easily leads people in the direction that he thinks is great. If we could only get him more on the gospel page of things. He's got a great heart and feels things deeply. He made the trip a lot of fun. I think Gwen had a great time with her cousins. She is also a very special girl and I loved my time with her. I'm grateful for opportunities to be with the family and I am looking forward to a bunch of our upcoming trips. One of the trips that I am most excited about is a trip to NYC and the restoration sites with Gwen - her 12 year old trip. We are going over the first weekend of November. We are flying into NY and seeing "Wicked" together. I'm excited to tour the sites with Gwen. I've never been to some of them. So let me know if you have any pointers before we go. We decided that I would go on the 12 year old trip with the girls and Dad would go on the 16 year old trip. It was great talking to you tonight. Sorry I was so tired. Always great to catch up. I hope you have a wonderful week! I am amazed at all the great things that are going on in Lviv. Keep up all of the great work. I love and miss you tons. You're such a light to our family and so many in Ukraine. You are such a blessing to our family. Thank you for all the good you are doing by reaching out to your brothers. It makes such a difference. Love you tons! MOM :)