A Surprise Reunion At The Great Wolf Lodge!!!

A few days ago, Carlene, my stepmom, mentioned that she was taking my sisters to the Great Wolf Lodge.  She found an amazing groupon for a one night's stay there.  I knew the room she was staying in slept 6, so I kinda invited myself and 2/3 kids, and she was extremely obliging . It had been exactly ONE year since our last visit with the kids. The last visit was for Ty's birthday and it just so happened that the day she had the Great Wolf Lodge reserved was on Ty's birthday, as well as, Mother's Day.  

Being the room only slept 6, I had to leave one child behind.  That was TOTALLY torture to do and felt extremely wrong, but being Jax had just gone for his birthday, and knowing that he loves his bff Cohen, it was the only option. Jax was perfectly content and Cohen had been begging for a sleep over with Jax.    

We arrived to the Great Wolf Lodge safely (praise you Jesus). Both Tyson and Lilah just thought I was treating them to an overnight stay... just the three of us.

As we approached our hotel room, I told Ty to knock on the door. He said, "I don't think this is our room mom? I hear people in there!" He was right... our other halves opened the door and both parties (kids) were shocked when they spotted each other, on the other side of the door. Check out Salene's face. Hysterical.

Salene and Saleece (my sisters) also had NO idea we were coming.  The hugs, smiles, and laughter began immediately after the shock subsided.

We quickly changed and began our reunion with some outdoor swimming fun and birthday cookie eating. I pre-ordered a LARGE sugar cookie, from our local cookie store, and brought it to the lodge with us.  

 My daughter and my sister!

#itstheonlytimeyourauntisyoungerthanyou

(Below) These two are also so much a like.  Little pests, bullies, sneaky and sly. Simply put, just up to no good!

Salene and Ty were either laughing or annoyed with each other but it was ONLY because they are used to being the bully, not being bullied. Neither one of them was "winning" consistently or enough.

 A bunch of crazies!!

 Water slide fun!!

 This shot makes me feel like they've been flushed down a gigantic toilet bowl!!

 YES! I actually participated.  LOL!

 The fun wasn't over after the water park closed.  

They "Built-A-Wolf".

 Listened to a story... in their swim suites.  You are supposed to be in your pjs.  LOL!

 Got tattoos!

 Visited with Wiley the Wolf!

 Had a silly string fight!

 Posed for photos! Our little model wannabes!

 Colored themselves a souvenir.

 Hugged, loved, smiled, and made tons of memories!

 Face paintings!

 My mean sweet wolf!

 Played in the arcade!

And then of course ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END! We said our final goodbyes. Those are always hard because we NEVER know when the next time will be, especially now that the girls start year round school in July!

My husband was not keen on the idea of the three of us going.  Tyson had a baseball game Monday night and Darren was terrified we would get into an accident, get delayed, or get a flat tire. I promised him NOTHING would stop me from getting Tyson to his baseball game.  Good thing Carlene didn't make that promise because she was the one who ended up with a flat tire.  :( Stinky way to end a fantastic trip.

Just when I thought I was in the clear... my gas light game on and I could NOT find a gas station for the life of me. I said a TON of prayers (in the two minutes I had left before stalling) and God planted a gas station right in the nick of time.  #1mileleft EEEEKKKK!

Carlene, thank you so much for sharing your groupon with us! It was a much needed trip and a huge blessing to see all of you!!!!  WE WILL NOT WAIT another year for this to happen.

To view all of the photos/details, double click on the photo album below!!

Uncle David & Aunt Amanda's New Home.

Out of no where, I decided to pack up the kids, alone, and take a short trip to visit my brother David and his family. They recently moved from D.C. to Richmond, VA after David put in for a transfer request. He's an FBI agent and I think every 5 years he is allowed to ask to move, if he chooses.

We were invited to their 2nd son's 1st birthday party next weekend, but I thought it would be nicer to spend better quality time together, at their house, without the hussle and bussle of all the party chaos. We arrived on Friday about 2:30 pm and returned home Saturday around 3pm. My children were excellent both there and back in the car. It certainly helps that the drive was only 2.5 hours long.

David and Amanda live in a brand new home. The neighborhood is very beautiful and quiet. We spent our time mostly inside the house, allowing the kids to reconnect and play together. The weather was extremely hot, so later, after dinner and ice cream, the kids made the most of the 108 degree heat wave by using the irrigation system to cool off.

I am thankful that my children were able to spend some time with their cousins. I remember as a kid, those were some of my favorite times and as an adult some of my favorite memories. Unfortunately, due mostly to distance, they haven't made too many memories with each other, but I think it's embedded in us... you just know who your blood is and reuniting/reconnecting took no time at all.

David and Amanda, thank you for allowing us to visit on such short notice. Your home is gorgeous!!!!! Happy 1st BIRTHDAY Michael!!!!!!!!! Enjoy a few of the photos from our trip OR you can view the entire album at the bottom of this post.

We're BAAAAAACK!!!!

In Christ along, our hope and faith were placed...

AND Our flight to the Bahamas AND

Our flight home from the Bahamas were a big success. By God's grace, we were granted safety and non-hassle flights (minus a very agitated flight attendant.).

The FIRST greatest thing we experienced upon returning home was we were greeted at the airport by Tyson, Lilah, Jaxon and Shawn. It was truly the greatest greeting EVER! We arrived at the VERY LAST gate in the airport (I think we were the ONLY plane arriving into the airport, so the airport was dark and dead.) and all the way at the other end of the airport we could hear the kids screaming, squealing, and laughing uncontrollably. The kids were able to see our plane land, Darren and I walk off the plane, AND we were all even able to wave to each other as soon as we stepped off the plane (from outside), so they knew we were just about to reunite. Shawn had to have Tyson physically hold Jax back because he was trying desperately to run towards us. The greeting was PRICELESS. Better than any moment we had in the Bahamas (EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE QUITE A LOT ;) ) The SECOND greatest thing we experienced upon arriving home was when we all went to bed that night. ALL 5 of us slept together in our KING size bed. We didn't want to depart from one another.

Above, the kids were receiving their souvenirs purchased from the Bahamas Straw Market. The visit to the straw market deserves it's OWN post. QUITE a hysterical experience. I wish I had captured some shots of the greeting, but I was just tooooo excited to get hugs and kisses.

When we arrived home, we were greeted with some fresh roses and a card that read, "Someone somewhere really missed you... ME!"

Ashely thinks of EVERYTHING! Inside the note read... "Praise God for a safe return. Love, your small group!" This was the THIRD greatest thing we experienced upon arriving home.

OF COURSE, be on the look out for all the spectacular details of our trip. I also hope to post some of the details the kids have to share during our absence. Shawn and Kaitlyn kept them insanely busy. Just to name a few things they got to do... Chuck E. Cheese, Ice Cream Parlor, Putt-Putt, Vivian's 3rd Birthday Party, the Pool, A Visit inside a Ambulance and the Medi-Vac Helicopter, Vacation Bible School, and Church. When Ty woke up this morning, I think he was bummed to realize I had NO PLANS of even getting out of my pajamas. Shawn and Kaitlyn SPOILED them rotten. WE ARE SO thankful and blessed to have their help. We could have NEVER celebrated in this way without them.

I did get to capture two VERY small video clips of our priceless reunion with the kids. Unfortunately, we were both so excited and the kids were running towards us, so I couldn't focus on getting great footage. I focused on making them my priority, so the clips are insanely short and choppy. See below. If you listen closely, you can hear the kids. THE ONLY thing you hear is them.