Wisconsin Dells - Part 1

Last weekend, we headed off to the Wisconsin Dells for the first Samford family vacation with the addition of 3 little ones. We knew we were in for a thrill, and we were correct! It all began Sunday morning...

Jaxon and Mommy before the 4 hour drive:

Jaxon did so good the whole trip up. We stopped for lunch outside of Madison at Fuddrucker's. It was delicious and Jax enjoyed his lunchtime bottle. After that, it was Wisconsin Dells or bust. Once we arrived, we shopped at the outlet mall next to our hotel until the rest of the family arrived. We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge. This place was huge! They consider themselves to have 3 indoor water parks and one outdoor...plenty of room for 3 kids under 3! We finally checked in around 4:30. Ryan was nice enough to complain about our wait and they upgraded our condo to the biggest they had. Thanks Ryan! In one condo we had a living room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms and a kids room. Adjoining our condo, we had another bedroom with sitting area. Aunt Jessica's family stayed in the second room with Grandpa, Bebe, Ryan, Jax & I sharing the other. The girls used the kids room as a play room when they were over. Sunday afternoon was filled with Ava and Reese's first water park experience followed by unpacking and settling in. We didn't end up eating until around 7. Buffalo Phil's didn't have much of a wait, but it was a bit late for the girls. I think they were so excited to be on vacation that they didn't want to sit down and eat. After eating, we headed back to the hotel for bed. That night, Ryan put Jaxon to bed. A few minutes later, we heard a lot of talking coming from our bedroom. Grandpa and Bebe could hear him all the way up in their loft. Our little giggle monster was laughing away and we were so excited that some of our family got to experience this.

Day 2 involved a morning at the water park. Jaxon got all ready to go and "played" in the water for awhile before crashing. I think he had a good time before falling asleep...

Jaxon and Bebe poolside

While Bebe watched Jaxon, Ryan and I had the opportunity to go down the Howlin' Tornado. This is the scariest water slide I've ever been on. You begin at the top and immediately go straight down into a cone shaped apparatus. I screamed the whole time. I later talked Jessica into going on it with Seth, but didn't give her a full run down as I knew she wouldn't have done it had she known!

Jaxon ready for dinner at Moose Jaw's: Ava and Bebe had a good time at dinner. Ava was adorable with her antlers!

Reese and Jessica enjoying dinner:

We went back to the water park that night and the girls really settled in. Ava loved the jet skis and spraying people as they walked by. There was one unsuspecting gentleman in particular that walked right in front of her. As he walked by, Ava pelted him with water. It was classic!

Reese really took to the wave pool. She loved moving the tubes around and wasn't even scared of the waves by the end of the day.

Reese and Seth in the lazy river:

A fun vacation was had by all. Yes, it was crazy with 2 toddlers, but we loved every minute...I mean... most minutes of the vacation! At the end of the vacation, Aunt Jessica had to ask, "Was Jaxon even here?" Jaxon hardly made a peep, he was a perfect angel! More pictures to come from Grandpa's collection later this week!