Christmas at Great Wolf Lodge

We received an early Christmas present!  Shawn's parents sent us and the Miley's to Great Wolf Lodge for an over night stay.  They wanted the "kids" to experience all the beauty and fun of Christmas at the Lodge.  They transform this place, normally really pretty, into a wonder land.  Our kids have been there many times and LOVE IT!  They get so excited even when we drive by it if we happen to be heading south on I-71.  As soon as you enter, you forget that it is cold, cold and more cold outside.  It's a warm and toasty 86 degrees inside.  Ahh.. that's the life!  Doesn't this just make you smile??!  I just love this fireplace.  It's cozy and inviting.

 Our room was ready for us when we arrived.  We were on the fourth floor, great view.  Shawn's parents booked us the loft room.  It is nice!  Fireplace, a loft room above the regular hotel room.  Darn if I didn't forget to take a picture of it.  I remember that now!  Anyway, the kids ran all over that room and put on their swimming suits.  Off to the water we go.  They love the wave pool.  They both always have.  Will doesn't love it when the waves start rolling.  He knows when the wolves howl to get out.  It was so funny to see him hurry out of the pool.

Shea Bug had no problem jumping right in.  Once the Miley's arrived, Shea was eager to show the girls all around.  There is the kiddie pool with slides, kid hot tub, lazy river, play house.  It goes on and on...

After a full day of playing everyone was hungry.  We hit the buffet dinner which was divine, as always.  The kids were all very excited.  There was a band playing Christmas music, you could get your face painted (this was over when we were done eating) and the best part of all...  Mr. & Mrs. Clause made the trip down from the North Pole!  With Elves!!!  They came in a carriage and you could take rides but it was raining, pouring actually.


Shea told me in this moment she was telling Mrs. Clause that she wanted another American Girl doll.  Get ready for this... She was asked by the Clauses if Will had been a good boy this year and she answered YES! She does love her little brother.

As you can see, Will likes Santa but only from a distance and wants nothing to do with sitting near him.

After that grand meeting it was almost time for the clock tower show.  This is SO neat!  This is the view of the entry way, I just love it.

The clock came to life!  The characters sing songs and tell a story.  At the end, it snows in the lobby!  The kids were in aw.  So were we! Now we must hurry back to our room and get our pj's on.  There might be a special treat!

A pink elf brought cookies and milk to the room for the kids.  Shea answered the door and the look on her face was priceless.  Thanks for sending her up, Santa, the cookies were good.  Mrs. Clause did a great job baking them.

The next day I pulled my camera out in the water park to play with it and I had a great time.  I'll have to post more pictures that I took.  Which is a lot!  Here's Shawn and Shea chilling.

I always love this mushroom looking thing.  Lots of folks run under it.  I took this photo as I walked around playing with my camera.  Then I asked for a couple of people to pose under it for me.  I think it turned out.

 Shea has always loved this activity.  She can do it all by herself now.  Getting so big!  Slow down a bit.

I have to share this photo experiment.  I laughed so hard.  Shawn, Shea, Will and the Miley's went in the lazy river.  I had to use the bathroom and said I'd meet up with them.  Well, I decided to take pics instead.  Watch this series.

Here they come.  Watch out for the water spraying, Shea...

Whoops, don't think she saw it. Took them right through it.

Will liked it, don't you think?!

We had a great time, thanks Grandma and Grandpa Huntington.  I'll post more pics soon.  I have another update to share.

When we got home from GWL, we had a snow day!!! YEA!  Shea has had two loose teeth for a long while.  The adult tooth is already in.  Finally, it came out.  Grandma Godsey pulled it out.  They said come in the bathroom and bring the camera.  Not something you hear often. But, glad I listened.  I came in to see Shea doing this...

While holding this...

The tooth fairy did come Monday night.  She left Shea $5.00.  There is another one about to come out. This girl is going to be rich!

Go For The Gold

Anything worth doing is worth doing well!!




Right??!



Didn't your Mom or Dad always tell you that?



We tell our kids that.



Along with practice makes perfect. I think Shea is getting the message.



First off, her friends Brandon and Brianna had a birthday party the day before Halloween. They did fall inspired activities and one of them was bobbing for apples! The kids were excited about this. Shea dove right in there. I think by looking at her face, it was cold!

She dove in again and VIOLA...

She was very happy with her self and we were proud of her for doing it. All the kids loved it. I could not convince Will to try. Smart boy, I guess.

This particular weekend was also the last soccer game. The kids have all worked hard all season long. Shea kept groaning when she'd have to go to practice. I would explain to her that if she wanted to get better and learn more of the game, she had to go. We went.



The kids were undefeated going into this last game. They played "the pink team". This team was good. The game was good! Exciting! I had no voice after, my throat hurt. We parents wanted the kids to finish perfect, just as much as they did. We quickly scored a goal, thankfully! That was the only score of the game. The kids played their hearts out. THEY WON! Champs! Undefeated! The coaches re-warded them with a bowling party. The kids were just as excited about that. Bowling, pizza, cup cakes...

And medals.  Each child received a medal, with our Cosmo's signature purple ribbon and a patch from the league they played in.  That was so nice!!!  Jen and DJ had each of the child's medals engraved.  What a keep sake and fore thought of them to do that! 

All the kids with their medals.  You can tell they are happy.  Who wouldn't be!!?

They had a very exciting season.  We parents were discussing that they may not get the chance to all play together again like this.  The older kids (in second grade) move up to the next league in the fall.  Enjoy it now kids.  This doesn't happen to everyone nor does it happen often.  We are all so proud of you!!!

Pumpkins, Spider man and a Butterfly

Happy Halloween!!!

Our kids have been really excited this week.  It started out as a warm week, they were playing in the few leaves left in the yard that Shawn hasn't picked up.  After soccer last Sunday we decorated our pumpkins.  In past years we have carved our pumpkins.  Not only is it a mess but we end up all aggravated with one another.  This year I went a different route.  The potato head route!  The kids love it. 

Shea and her princess pumpkin.

Will and the pirate!

The four of them.

Every time we enter or exit via the front door the kids ooh and aah at their creations.  They are pretty darn cute!! 

Last night was Trick or Treat here at the lake.  Shea was so excited, she wanted to know why she had to go to school that day.  She thought it was a "holiday".  Ah, to be a kid again!  Will was super excited about getting candy.  That's all he wanted.  We kept trying to explain that he had to say trick or treat to get it.  He said no very loud followed with candy.

This year our friend Elizabeth brought her golf cart over.  This helped us out so much!  The kids could ride down longer drive ways, go further around the lake and huddle to stay warm.  It turned really cold outside, just in time for our two hour adventure.  I dressed the kids in many layers.  Shawn told me Will looked like the kid from A Christmas Story.  Whether he did or not he never complained of being cold!  The Todd family and the Finke family came over after school and we had dinner and then dressed all the kids.  I think they were just as excited to be together.  It was a lot of fun.

Our group of Trick or Treaters!!  Good looking if I say so myself.

Will our Spider man and Shea our beautiful Butterfly.  Shawn made her antenna's, they are adorable.

Olivia the Dragon and Lilly the Unicorn.

Brandon aka Shawn White and Brianna the Monster Bride.

We all had a fun night and the kids have an over-flowing large bowl of candy.  I guess we'll have to eat our way out of this one!!  I have to say, I'm so proud of our kids.  They came home and we inspected the load.  Of course they wanted some.  However, they did ask if they could have their apple with two pieces of candy.  Will negotiated for two pieces.  We obliged, it's beggars night!

Today as Shea's school is their Harvest Party.  Will and I will be going, he's excited to sit with his Shea-Shea.  Tomorrow we continue celebrating with Bri and Brandon's birthday's and the Buckeye game.  Ending the weekend with our last soccer game.  Hopefully the kids have a howling good time!

Crabs, Combine & Fifty!

Fall is flying by, just as summer did!!  We've been busy with our 'normal' weekly schedule of school, soccer three days a week, riding lessons and weekend activities!  Let me update you on the last couple of weeks. It's been fun!

The first weekend in October we went "back home" to where Shawn and I grew up.  Our school always had this festival weekend called School Fair.  As with most things these days, we feel that it was much better and bigger "back then".  It may be true.  Our kids still enjoyed it.  They were invited to be in the parade, riding on the fire engine.  Will was thrilled to be in a woo-woo as he calls them.  Shea was excited too.  Off they went with Grandma Godsey.  Will was practically hanging out the window the whole time waving to people and saying "hi".  Shea had fun but was a tad bored at the end from all the waving.

This was exciting to them but Shawn was more excited about our dinner plans.  His parents had crabs flown in from Maryland.  Blue crabs to be specific.  Shea can eat her body weight in seafood and she too was thrilled.  We were not sure how Will would react to them.  He was unsure about the steaming part, he just looked confused.  He used his mallet to beat his ravioli that I fixed him.  Then he had Shawn and I feed him the crab.  Not Shea....

During this feast we found out some new news!  Our niece Nevan informed us that Mommy had another baby in her belly.  Yep, we will be adding another member to the clan in May of 2011.  Erin and Nathan are expecting child number three.  Congrats!!!

Erin with the new big sister Nola.



Nathan with Nevan as she told everyone.

Last weekend we made another trip "back home".  This time we had winterized the boat and towed it back to it's winter home, at Grandma Pat's house.  This is always sad for us.  Another summer over and we didn't get as much time on the water as we wanted, seems to be a theme every year.  Next year will be different!

Will loves combines and tractors.  He's all about them.  Recently the farmers have been very busy getting their crops in.  Every time we are in the car we have to be on the look out for any farming machinery!  The other day coming home from school we saw five Case combines in a field.  I thought Will was going to hyper-ventilate.  He was in little boy aw.  The last few days haven't been good, they are almost done with crops near us so the machinery isn't as plentiful in the fields.  Not a happy Will!!

But...  He did get to do something some grown men haven't.  Ride in a combine and take down the corn.  That is ALL he is talking about.  Uncle Nathan invited him out and Dan took him a ride. He now wants to be a farmer.



Dan and Will riding along in a field.  Even Shawn said it was really neat!  I hear Ryan gave him a ride in a tractor too.  He loved it all!!!

We had another birthday!  Whew.. A lot of them this year to surprise!  My Aunt Linda hit a milestone and I was NOT going to let this pass by!  Fifty... Fifty years of life and the last thirty some harassing me.  Nah... not too bad.  I probably deserved it.  We threw her a surprise party and I think she really liked it.

Her face as she arrived. Mark told her he had forgotten to turn by the church so he could check the broiler. VIOLA here we are.  Her friend, Don, helped "an old lady" out of the car.  I'm thrilled we pulled this off.

After we ate a little food and danced a little Will was on a mission.  He wanted that cake.  He went and retrieved Aunt Linny has he calls her.  She listened.

Happy Birthday!  The cake was delicious!!!

Here is the birthday girl, Grandma Pat, Aunt Nan, Mom and Will wanted in... He is a man!

Everyone enjoyed dancing.  Will was all about the lights and tried to figure them out.

The DJ have the kids glow rings. Shea had a great time dolling herself up in them.  We knew where she was.



Another busy couple of weeks.  As far as I know surprise birthday parties are over for a while.  Combines will be gone soon and crabs will have to wait for another year.  Hum...  I think we'll find plenty of other things to occupy our time. OH YEA...  Did I mention that it is football season and the Buckeye's are ranked number one?!!!  We're excited about this weekends up coming game against a tough Wisconsin.  I'll leave you with this....

GO BUCKS!!!!!

Surprise

We had another birthday at the Huntington house!  Yesterday (Sept 27) was Shawn's thirty-fifth birthday.  Since this was a 'milestone' year, I decided to give him a surprise birthday dinner.  Humm... with our schedules this was tricky.  No fear, we pulled it off!  I found a nice seafood restaurant in Centerville, Ohio.  It was perfect, good food, decor was neat and it was in the middle so friends near and far could come.  I just told him that I was taking him out on Sunday for his birthday.  He didn't think much of it.  Nor did he like it when I kept telling him he had to get in the shower!  Now how do you tell a man who works all the time that he'll be late for his own party?  The rest of us got into the car and waited.  I even made him drive!  We did get a little lost but that ended up being ok, a good time-killer.

When we pulled into the parking lot he thought he spotted my parents vehicle.  I just blew him off, but then he saw his parents vehicle.  Oh well.... He didn't know the rest!  He was very surprised when we walked in and there were lots of familiar faces.

Will loved all the fish tanks.  He kept both of his grandfather's busy with this!!

Grandma Pat enjoyed her fish sandwich.

Barry & Jen made it!!

This day also happened to be Paula Huntington's birthday!!  We sang to her, bet she loved our voices!

Paula and Wayne with our kids.

Aw...  Shawn and I.

I sat by these two, but it was fun!  They acted up!

Mom & Wade

Paul and Danielle came down... They even had Wade drive them!

We don't get many opportunities to get a picture of our family.  Even though the sun had set for the day, we took a quick photo on the way to the car!



Shawn said he really enjoyed his surprise.  I hope he did!  I told him he won't get another one until forty!

Happy Birthday Shawn, We love you!!!