Has there ever been a truer picture? Four little peanuts all waiting, hopefully for the water park ladies to move that dang Pool Closed sign and just let them in to play? There was SO much anticipation for the water park this year that they seriously could not stand it one minute longer! We've been taking these little kids to the water park every year since Abby and Conner were 1.5 and Stella/Brianna/Hazel weren't even born yet.
A great late winter/early spring tradition that we started 3 years ago as expanded and grown as our families keep adding more little people. The kids, especially Connor and Abby were so dang excited about the water park this year. Connor had been talking about it since before Christmas. We typically go in March sometime, but since we were in Hawaii this year, we pushed the trip back to early April which must have been pure torture for Connor.
Abby's long ago gotten over here fear of the water....well, as far as the water park is concerned that is. She's still pretty skeptical of the pool at our house, but we made some huge strides last year with her and are hoping she'll remember how much fun she had once she was finally in when it's time to get in again this year. Those Frozen goggles, those may be the ticket for her. She loves them...she even wears them around the house just for fun.
We totally lucked out this year when we tried a new pool that we'd not been to before. We've been renting a three bedroom condo at the Wilderness for 3 years now and have tried just about all of the pools. But this year the kids were up early (mine ALWAYS are) and we decided to head over to one of the two pools that opened at 9. It was on site at the Wilderness at the Lake and while it's still the same hotel, this section is a good 5 minute bus ride away so we'd never tried it before.
As you can tell from the pictures above we were there before they even opened and were the first ones in the park. We quickly, greedily, grabbed up tables and chairs expecting a huge rush of people but we spent nearly 4 hours in this pool/play area and we never once felt crowded. I'd guess there were less than 100 people there the entire time. The slides and play areas were really geared toward the littlest of kids which worked out well for just about all of us. Connor got a little bored at one point so Mike/Stina and Brianna went with him to the bigger area, but all in all, this little pool worked out perfect for us!
So perfect in fact that I think we may try and rent on at side of the resort next year and save ourselves the bus trip. The kids loved it and we loved that it wasn't nearly as crowded and stressful.
Man, isn't that one cute kid?? Hazel loved the water park. So much more than Abby did at around her age. She's just the most content, happy baby! Clearly I need to get her a larger swimming suit though...I don't think this one will last us through the summer.
After hanging at the pool we went back for lunch and naps and headed back poolside later in the day. The kids had SO much fun and we love this little tradition we've started for them. It's great to get everyone feeling like summer is just around the corner.
Stella, let me tell you about her. She's one crazy little lady. She's been taking swim lessons with Jamie since she was about 6 months old and you can totally tell. She has NO fear. Like, none. Well, that actually describes Stella in MANY situations, and the pool is no different. She does not need a life jacket...she would be able to swim to the edge if she fell in (ya know, in that ankle deep water). The life guards made them wear them at this pool. I'd say that was the only downside to this area.
Back to Stella. I was super impressed that she could hold her breath under water. Jamie was showing me that if she holds a toy under the water for Stella to look at she can hold her breath for about 5 seconds before popping up for air. Abby, I'm lucky if she will lay down in the bathtub. She won't do it on her back...stomach only. That kid....she's something!
Kristina came prepared like she always is, with the best kid toys. I tell you what, no matter what I pack it's always Connor's toys and Jamie's snacks that win out in Abby's book. I just can't get it right. But, that's what girl friends are for...thanks ladies!
After dinner we hit up another new spot for the kids this year...and indoor play area with all kinds of fun tunnels to crawl in, slides to slide down and balls flying everywhere. Abby had a blast in that indoor park and I might actually contend that she liked it better than the pool. Hazel had a great time crawling around an area for the smallest kids and I'm pretty sure that's where she picked up the flu that she graced the entire family with that night. Little stinker! That flu went through the entire family and had us down for the count for about a week. I blame the water park germs!
All in all, there was lots of fun had by all and we will definitely be visiting again next year. Thank you Stina and Jamie for making memories with us. And, with that, I leave you with a few more pictures that I just couldn't leave out of this post....enjoy!
