BEDTIME STORIES

As much as Mimi loves her movies, she loves to read too. Here she is reading a bedtime story to Baby Jaguar.

"I'M ON A QUEST!"

Besides swimming, there are so many other things for the kids to do. There's the Kid Club Room for art and crafts, the arcade, then there is the Magic Store where almost every parent has purchased a wand for their bundle of joy. The wand itself comes separately from the head. Each child can choose whatever head he/she prefers. You are then give a booklet and you are given clues throughout the hotel in order to find different items that need to be found. There appears to be a whole bunch of these items.

Food at this hotel can be costly. So to keep costs down, we are able to bring our own food/snacks, which is what a lot of people to. There is a fridge/microwave in every room. While I was preparing our meals, Mimi and dad went on their quest and having loads of fun.

GREAT WOLF LODGE

Last year we took a trip down to the Portland area to meet with friends and on the way back up to Washington I had wanted to see what all the hoopla was about that had all the moms up here talking. Mimi was highly upset when we told her that we were not staying. She was even more upset when she found out that Blake had went there on his birthday this year. Keri says that Bailey said that she was going to move there.

This year we refinanced our home and received a small amount of $$$ to play with. Besides remodeling our bathrooms, we wanted to purchase a altar for our Gohonzon (object of worship). The only Butsudan (altar) shop around here is in Portland so therefore we thought that we would make a mini-vacation out of it.

We purposely did not tell Mimi that we were also taking her to The Great Wolf Lodge as we wanted it to be a total surprise for her. It was hard for me not to say anything but I did it. I'm so proud of myself.

It is a great place for the whole family. What you see in the video is only 1/4 of the indoor waterpark. Our video only shows the pool for the little tykes. Mimi's favorite was the tidal waves. In that particular pool, the water is calm for a while, then the waves are machine generated. When you hear the wolf howl, that's when the waves start. Small at first but then they get stronger. That's how Mimi learned to body surf.

Then came the slides. Not the one in this video. The big ones that you may find at your local park. Those big ones. At first they look intimidating. Mimi was a little scared at first. Some people may think that Mimi is a daredevil because of the way she plays, but really she is not. She is very cautious even when doing her gymnastics. Then she/we saw kids younger and smaller doing it. Therefore Mimi and dad did it. I was chicken to. Mimi loved it . Finally she talked me into it and found that there really was nothing to it. Because of the water, you just glide down not going fast at all.

One of the nice things about that place is that you can leave you wallet and keys in the room. They give everyone a bracelet to wear and this bracelet will open your room door also should you want to purchase anything, they just scan it and the purchased items are add to your bill. Also, you don't need to check out at the desk. Just leave when the time comes.