Fourth of July-Part 2

Friday morning, we hit up the breakfast buffet and splash park at Great Wolf, then headed back to Nana and Tata’s for lunch and naps. They fought it hard, but finally gave in, and we got them up in time to head into town for First Fridays and the Fourth of July celebration.

Hands down our favorite stop was the used bookstore.

We had a super yummy dinner at a Mexican restaurant and went to the park where they were showing The Lego Movie, which my kids were drawn to like a moth to a flame even though they’ve seen it a thousand times. Then we snagged our spot and saw some really great fireworks! It took us a hot minute to get outta there, and the kids were wired (due to forced nap, ha!). We were all in Nana’s car, and Tata was riding in the back back, every time he said anything, Lu would say “Don’t talk, Little Mango!” Thus, the nickname Little Mango was born. She proceeded to call him Little Mango for the rest of the weekend. “Where’s Little Mango?” “Little Mangooooo!” Ha, it was hilarious!

Saturday, we hung out at Nick’s sister’s house for a bit, then headed to the park for a picnic with Nick’s extended family. Z and Lu had a blast with all the kiddos!

Lu totally crashed at dinner, so they called it a night a bit early, and we stayed up and visited a bit more with family.

Sunday came way too soon! We left around lunchtime, and while we made much better time on the way home, we still stopped at Wal-mart for road food and rewards/toys, had to get gas a couple times, and made it all the way to Hartselle, Alabama before we had to stop for dinner. Can’t beat Cracker Barrel on a long road trip!

The last hour or so was ROUGH and we got home just in time to hit the bed. I was so proud of the kids though, overall they did fantastic! That’s it until next time….

Fourth of July: Roadtrip Edition Part 1

This year we headed North for the fourth. We’ve never made the drive to Ohio to see Nick’s parents, only flown, but with connecting flights and layovers and two children, we realized it was time to roadtrip it Griswold style, with (stuffed animal) friends, entertainment, and lots of snacks (and treats)!

So we loaded up Tuesday night, woke up early Wednesday, and we were out the door by 7:30 a.m. We we making great time, when things came to a screeching halt, literally. There was a major accident on the road in Campbellsburg, KY, which delayed us just enough to hit rush hour traffic in Cincinnati and added a good 3 hours to our overall drive time, which ended up being a whopping 11 hours! Needless to say, even though the kids were TROOPERS, we were so relieved to finally get there, albeit at about 7:30 at night!

We hung out with family, played, ate, and then went to bed so we could get up and head to King’s Island and the Great Wolf Lodge the next day. It was about a 40 minute drive, and very peaceful because the kids rode with Nana and Tata, ha! When we got there, we went straight to Planet Snoopy and the kids loved it!

Someone may have ridden her very first (and certainly her last) (and probably one of the scariest in the free world) roller coaster called The Diamondback, and all I can say is I have enough anxiety about everyday things without intentionally bringing anxiety on myself, but let’s move on.

The kids loved meeting the Peanuts characters.

As if spending the day at King’s Island weren’t enough, we spent the night at the Great Wolf Lodge right next to King’s Island, which was so fun and PERFECT for kids. The kids slept in the “Wolf Den,” which they loved, and Lu is still asking to be called “baby wolf.”

The Great Wolf Lodge had the biggest indoor splash park you could ever imagine, complete with waterslides, a tide pool, lazy river, and hot tubs. It was CRAZY! These pictures barely do it justice!

After a full day of rides and splash park fun, we had dinner then what else, but hit the arcade! The kids RACKED UP on tickets, multiple times! We probably got close to 1500 all together.

This time we used our tickets to get this Great Wolf Lodge soccer ball instead of 5 tootsie rolls, three jelly bracelets, and a matchbox car. I think it was probably a smart move.

It just simply isn’t a Gax family vacation (or trip to the mall) without spending some time (and money) at an arcade. So fun!

Next up, the rest of the weekend fun!