Long Weekend

It began Friday with the news that my car is taking it's annual rest cure & that it would cost $2000, plus $325 for a 2 week rental.

Saturday DH picked up the rental - a Hyundai Sonata while I met up with some friends for lunch and social activities.  My friend Vic has a Kindle. I have serious technology envy, even though I know that, were I able to afford a $400 toy, I could not afford the $5-10 a book fees to feed my habit. But I still want one. It is so cool!

Sunday we packed up and drove the rental to Great Wolf Lodge, where we spent 3 days and 2 nights in the indoor waterpark and playing MagiQuest with the boys. We arrived around 2pm, stood in a long slow line to check in, (Apparently everyone but us wanted to upgrade or change their reservations. I think because some of them didn't have their rooms ready but if they changed room type they could get right in. Technically rooms may not be ready until 4pm, though you can check in and swim starting at 1pm. Our room was ready & we didn't care if it wasn't. I'd packed the swimsuits separately just in case). By 3pm we were in the waterpark. About 5:30 we went back to the room for dinner & ended up staying there.

Monday we were in the water at 9am, out at 10:30, back at 11, out at 12:30, playing MagiQuest from 1:30 to 3, back in the water until 5, out for dinner at iHop, back in the water at 7 & stayed until 8:15. We had to get Mayhem his own MagiQuest wand this time. Havoc had his from last year. Mayhem had no interest in it then & was content to occasionally wave his brother's wand at things.  Havoc is just barely tall enough to ride the tube slides along, though he needs us to get him in the right position. The lifeguard would help him, but you can't tell a 5 year old, who has heard "Never let a stranger touch you." to let a stranger touch him. He took 10 rides with DH's assistance and 2 with mine. DH tells me there are 77 steps to the top of the slide. Mayhem was able to climb all over the treehouse unsupervised & go down the slides without needing to be caught. He was also tall enough to walk around the lazy river without help.  I was able to sit at a table at the bottom of the treehouse slides, next to the lazy river and just watch him, though I was with him in the river most of the time.

Tuesday we loaded the car with everything but a change of clothes, checked out and were in the waterpark by 9am. We stayed until a little after 11, then played MagiQuest until almost 1:30. We stopped by Sonic for lunch and drove home, stopping at Gander Mountain & Old Navy along the way.

It's good to be home but seems odd there are only 3 days this week. I bought a rotisserie chicken for diner tonight, along with flatbread, hummus and stuff to make tzatziki. We have olives and cheese. Tomorrow I'll make meatloaf, Friday is chicken pizza or baked chicken ziti, Saturday is grill day and Sunday is meatloaf sandwiches. I'm not up for making an effort but we can't afford to dine out for a couple months. If GWL hadn't already been paid for, we couldn't have done that either.

The rental is nice, gets 35MPG which blows my 20MPG Cruiser away. I'm so delighted by the mileage I am going to drive the 50 miles to the big city tomorrow.  It has XM radio, which is interesting, but I miss my iPod. It will play mp3 discs so I may have to burn a few.