Wisconsin Dells 2017

Well, another spring, another trip to the Wisconsin Dells.  This year the kids were SO much  more excited about the water than they've ever been.  About 3 months ago Ryan and I decided to enroll both kids in swim lessons.  We took Abby when she was a little younger than Hazel but ultimately weren't consistent with it.  Now that we have a big beautiful pool just a few steps away from our back door we knew we needed to get the kids feeling comfortable (and safe) in the water.

Both kids did so good this year, I was so impressed.  They needed to wear life jackets in and around the pool for safety reasons (of course) but even Abby, my scardey cat, is used to being in the pool without her life jacket.  Fingers crossed they'll both be ready for the pool in just a few month.

I don't even know how it's possible, but somehow I ended up with ZERO pictures of Tanner/Jenny/Jack who also joined us on this trip.  I mean...come on!  I'm getting worse and worse at this picture taking thing.  Gah!  And, if I'm honest, part of the problem was that I forgot my camera entirely for this trip.  Doh!  Good thing Jamie had hers and there is always the trusted phone!

Last year we stumbled on a little known pool area at the Wilderness called Wilderness on the Lake.  It's a much smaller pool/play area but it is SO MUCH less crowded than the other areas.  There are no big slides for the adults but the kids were in heaven in this little area and we adults were happy to sit sidelines and watch the little ones run circles around the play equipment.  Abby's favorite was without a doubt the green slide.  I bet she went down that slide at least 100 times each time we went.

Gosh, we have the cutest clan of little girls.  I mean, how can you resist!?!

If there were two things I could change about this trip they would be:

1. The Stadermann family would have been able to join.  We missed them a ton this year!
2. We'd have reserved a different room setup.  Upon check in we were super annoyed to find out that our 3 bedroom loft condo really meant two full bedrooms and the third bedroom WAS the loft.  Stupid.  It was not ideal but we made it work.  All of the adults ended up squishing out in the little screened in porch in the evenings so the kids could sleep (even poor Tanner in the loft).  

All in all though, I'd have to say that we successfully planned and executed our fourth year at the Dells.  Every year we do it I am astounded by just how much crap it takes to move a family of four 3 hours north to a hotel for the weekend.  Good lord!  We had the entire van packed.  Part of it is having small kids, part of it is that we cooked most of our meals in the condo, and the other part is that well, we have a lot of crap!  HAHA!

I mean, that smiling face made it all worth it though!  These are memories I hope they have forever and ever.  I remember back to the spring trip our parents planned for us each year.  It was usually around President's Day or Columbus Day when we'd been cooped up inside for too many months and we just needed a change of pace.  My parents and Jamie's would rent a hotel room somewhere not too far away but far enough to seem like a trip and they'd let us swim and play and be loud and eat pizza and just enjoy being somewhere other than home.  This trip is just that for our family and I hope we keep the tradition alive!

Summer will be here before we know it! (Right??).