We're So Cool

Since we have no nanny this week, Dean and I decided it might be fun to take a mini-vacation to celebrate Ella's last day of school. (Aren't we the coolest? Too bad our kids don't appreciate us AT ALL!) We settled on an indoor waterpark resort in Lake Geneva--close enough so as not to be a terribly long drive, but far enough away that it wouldn't seem ridiculous to spend the night. So on Wednesday after lunch, we headed to Timber Ridge Lodge.

I got the trip started on the right foot by slamming my hand in Sadie's window when I attempted to close it. I'd barely recovered myself when I was surrounded by people and questions: "What happened?" (Dean) "Are you okay, Mommy?" (Ella) "Is it broken?" (Dean) "When are we going to LEEAAAVE?" (Ella) "How the heck did you manage to close your hand in the window?" (Dean) Next time I injure myself, I'll plan to do it when the house is empty.

Of course, it was my right hand. Which not only sucks because I'm right-handed. It also sucks because I've had issues with my right wrist since college. It takes a very minor injury to turn my entire arm--from fingers to shoulder--into a hot mess. So, mission accomplished there. Oh well. That'll teach me to slow the heck down once in a while.

Despite this inauspicious start, the rest of our trip was pretty successful. The girls napped in the car, and when we arrived at the hotel, we left our bags in the room and headed right to the waterpark. Sadie was so excited that I thought her head was going to explode. The kids' area featured THREE slides, two swings, and a number of sprinklers. The girls were in heaven. After a while, I headed off to explore the adult slides. There were two large slides. When I realized the girls could go down the tube slide with an adult, I dragged Ella up there to try it. After a few false starts, she actually ended up going down with me and had a blast. Sadie, the little daredevil that she is, loved it even more than Ella did.

After a few hours at the waterpark, we headed back to check out our room. These were pretty nice digs--a one-bedroom suite with a fireplace, a whirlpool tub, and a full kitchen. We got cleaned up and went out to dinner. Dining out with the girls is an experience that seems to get better with age. Sadie was a little antsy, but it was a pleasant outing overall.

This morning, the girls played for a while in the giant whirlpool tub (we pulled them out once it came to blows), then we headed back to the waterpark. Ella and I spent a long time in the lazy river, with me lounging in a tube and Ella swimming alongside me. She and I also went in the hot tub together. After a couple more hours of pool fun, we all got cleaned up and headed to Potbelly's (yum!) for lunch. The rest of the day is a blur. We got home without too much trouble, but the girls are pretty crabby. They've mostly demonstrated their appreciation of our parental coolness by having one tantrum after another. Nothing says, "Thanks Mom and Dad!" like a tantrum!

Here are some photos. The one Dean took of Ella and I at the restaurant didn't turn out great because the flash was off for some reason. But I posted it anyway because I see a huge resemblance between Ella and me in that photo that I don't usually notice. There are no photos of Dean here (though I did take some) because he insists this blog is for the girls (and for me since I'm also a girl). Too bad for all of you because he looks pretty good without a shirt.