Great Wolf Lodge Finale

To re-cap the last of our trip to the Great Wolf Lodge.....
On Saturday night we (the adults) were deciding where to go for dinner & discussing our options. Joe happened to say.....

"This place has to be better than the shitty place downstairs."

Then of course Marissa had to add her two cents & said.....

"But I want to go downstairs to eat."

Gianna not to be outdone, adds her opinion.....

"I don't want to go to the shitty place"

We were floored!!! We didn't know what to say or how to not laugh! I explained to her that she couldn't say that word anymore & hope that she doesn't!!!

We ended up deciding to go locally for dinner & went to this rib place that was advertised in this book that was in the hotel room. We figured it HAD to be better than what they had at the hotel!

We get there easy enough & the hostess asks if we had reservations --no we didn't. She then says in this SNOTTY voice "Well then there's anywhere between 20-60 mins wait". We decided to go for it especially after she asked if we'd opt for a table on the patio. Luckily we didn't wait longer than 10 mins, however it was chilly outside & we forgot our jackets back at the room. Luckily I keep a lightweight throw blanket in the car for each of the girls & that saved us, especially since Gianna was feverish again & even napped in my arms while we waited on the food. The food there was good, the service wasn't but it's way better than the hotel.

The hotel sells this "Magic Quest" game where you buy a wand for $15.00. Then of course there are decorative "toppers" for another $15.00. THEN to add insult to injury there's a $10.00 activation fee!! You go around the hotel down all the halls & wave your wand at anything that has the game logo & acquire points. What you do with those points I couldn't really tell you other than you become a "grand pooba" or something of magic. What a rip-off. I told Marissa who of course wanted to get a wand that she could get 4 (approx) Webkins for the cost of the game & she can continue to play with those at home which you couldn't with the wands. She thought about it but didn't want to go for it. Either way we didn't end up with the wands.

Sunday morning was check out & after loading up the car we did go back in & treat the girls to some time in the arcade. Joe of course scoped out his competition. Afterwards we took some more photo ops. Which to me are way more important than a magical quest that doesn't include a decent meal.

This was at the entrance to the hotel.
This was the front of the hotel.....

This was as we were leaving on our way to the Outlet stores at The Crossings.
We get to the Crossings & have lunch at the food court. After we hit 2 shops & then the sky darkened & we realized we'd hit traffic if we stayed so we left. I was a little bummed that I didn't get to shop like I had planned but it just wasn't worth the trouble.

All in all the trip was good don't get me wrong. It's definitely a family place & it'd be cool to go to a water park during the off season. Besides we're going to Disney in about a week & a half!!

We're Back!

Well we've actually been back. We got back early from Great Wolf Lodge. Due to the thunderstorm that hit as we were just starting to shop at the "Crossroads" outlet shopping center. Bummer.

Here's another update on the Lodge...
Saturday morning we were contemplating a place to eat breakfast that wasn't at the hotel. However the girls were itchin' to eat & get back to the water park so we gave in & ate at the "Loose Moose" again.

Let me tell you that they CAN screw up breakfast just as bad as they screwed up dinner. There was a display of what I assume were "Eggs Benedict" but really looked like a congealed mess. I'd be embarrassed to display those! Wish I'd taken a pic of it but the Chef? Cook? Server? was standing by & don't think he'd appreciate my mocking his talents. The pancake I tried tasted like a sponge, literally. Joe had a made to order omelet & said it wasn't bad but the cook was a ditz & kept mixing up the people & their orders giving people the wrong omelet.

After breakfast, we hung around the lobby since there's a show at the Clock tower & it was almost time for the show to start. Meanwhile we took some pics. Gianna was not a happy camper & didn't want her pic taken, but we managed....somewhat.

Here's my sister, Chet with Marissa.Here's the clock tower just before the show started at 10am.In my opinion it's not a fantastic show but the kids liked it & that's really what it's all about. (I tried uploading some of the video I shot but either I'm incompetent or blogger isn't cooperating.

Here's a pic of the great stone fireplace in the middle of the lobby.After the clock tower show we managed to take some more pics in the lobby.

Marissa was the only one willing to pose....

Then we decided we were ready for some action & hit the water park. When you walk in you see this great big bucket that fills with water & every so often it would tilt & everyone in the area would get soaked.

People would stand there hoping to get soaked & I have to admit this is a COOL photo op....but that's not my family......

These are the tube rides, the blue one is the roller coaster one that Joe & Chet did. I am not that brave my friends, actually I'm more chicken than anything.

This is the wave pool we spent the most time at. When the wolf howled you knew the waves were coming.

Marissa heading into the waves as the wolf howled....This is Gianna all bundled up when she was shivering & cuddling in Titi Connie's lap.Then I find my husband was snuggling up to some hot chick in the hot tub!! She was all over him!This is the outside water area. It's not as big as inside but the main draw of the place was that it is an "indoor water park".Gianna had some issues with this fountain thingy & kept going over there & turning it off.

Since this has turned out to be a lot longer post than I intended I'm going to stop here & continue this later. To be continued......

We're Here!!

We got to Great Wolf Lodge today & it looks really cool. I was expecting a 2 hour trip but it only took us 1 1/2 hrs & that's only because we hit a little traffic. On the way here Gianna seemed off. Chet was sitting in the back with them & said she felt warm, almost feverish. Lovely.

At the hotel when you check in you get writstbands that are your room key & if you choose you can even add room charges to it. Cool. Very neat lobby too all log cabin-ish.

We went right up to our room after we checked in. Let me say that the room is AWESOME!! I'll post pics eventually. So far today I haven't taken any.

**SHOCKING, I know!!**

After we got settled in our room we went to dinner. We went to eat here in the lobby at the "Loose Moose Cottage" it's buffet style. We got there just as it was opening for dinner & got seated right away. We all went up for food & they have a large array of foods. Even a chocolate fountain to dip various fruits into.

However, the food wasn't that great. In our opinion it was awful & not worth repeating. The chocolate fountain was good (duh chocolate!), but that's about all. Everything was bland & needed salt, which isn't something I normally add. The best thing to eat that we all agreed on was the mashed potatoes & gravy. The chicken francaise was dry. The pasta was bland. That's really the best word for the place...bland!

We're debating going there for breakfast. My sister Chet & I say "How can you screw up breakfast?", Joe has his doubts. Usually we go with his gut instinct since it's usually right.

After we ate, we went to the water park. You walk in & it's warm (85 degrees) & the smell of chlorine hits you but not overwhelmingly so. You don't need to bring your own towels unless you want to take them out with you. When you get the towels they're nice & toasty warm. Nice.

We got some chairs & hit the water. We 1st went into the "Wave Pool" & the water was sorta cold but alright. Then Gianna spotted the kiddie section & the girls had some fun going down the slides. This is when we split up & Joe went to look around. Chet & Marissa went to explore too & well me & Gianna just stayed in the kiddie section. I tried taking her to the "Lazy river" but she wasn't having it. She's seemed intimidated a little. In fact she was shivering from the cool breeze flowing through the place, so we took a break & I wrapped her up with some warm towels.

This continued on for a while since Joe, Marissa & Chet were gone for awhile. Gianna definitely had a fever (yes I gave her Tylenol before going to the water park). She would go into the water for a little while, then shiver so bad that it was visible & we'd get out. She wouldn't try anything but the wave pool after that & was content to sit cuddled in my arms. Poor kid.

Around this time, Joe & I hit the bar. I was talked into trying a "mojito" (my 1st one) by the charismatic bartender. It's not bad, pretty refreshing but not something I have all the time. Before we left the bar we went back for a "Rum runner" on the advice of Chet & it was pretty strong. Just call me a lush!

Afterwards we went back to the room. I got the girls showered & dressed. I was fine until after I dried their hair then those drinks HIT ME!! I wasn't drunk, but man was I buzzed!!! I needed something in me (& we were hungry), so we convinced Joe to go downstairs to the Pizza Hut Express for some pizza 'cause we were all .......Hungry like the Wolf! LOL!! Sorry I had to say it!

I'm DONE!

After staying up late AGAIN last night, I got ahead in the book enough so I could sleep peacefully dreaming of romantic vampires & werewolves.

Then this morning I was woken up by Marissa. Who seems to feel like she is the only being in the house & runs through it on her quest to see her dad before he leaves for work. After he leaves warning her to be quiet & not wake anyone guess what she does? She runs through my room through the house, into her sister's room to wake her up. Then they proceed to torment each other until I can't take it anymore.

I am so ready for school to start!

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During breakfast I armed myself with coffee & my book & finished it all. I loved it (I'll reserve other comments for another time--waiting on YOU Susan!!). In the saga my favorites in order are

1.Twilight

2. Eclipse

3.Breaking Dawn

4. New Moon

So so good. I'm a sucker for romance & the whole mystical creature storyline. I laugh when I'm reminded that it's a Teen book.

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On another note, I had to go to M's to pick up one of these. I swore I'd never buy these again but now I needed 1 for a Disney LO & they didn't have it.

Searching through M's they didn't have anything spectacular that caught my eye. No new MM product. They did have Halloween already on shelves & some new Martha, Halloween stuff but I'm usually not a fan of her stuff so I passed. I did remember to pick up the Aug. issue of Scrapbook Trends & I'm planning on taking it with us this weekend.

Now I'm off to pack! Yeah I know, it's STILL not done!

I needed another thing

Since I seem to occupy my time with silly things like stalking the mailman, or whining about deliveries not being made on time, I now started another thing to add to my every growing list of wasting my time online.

I twitter.

Thanks Susan you enabler!!

Breaking Dawn

So I'm almost done with the book. I'm towards the end & I don't want to finish it so fast but it's hard to put it down.

Last night I stayed up till 3AM.

Today fueled with a LOT of coffee I've read more, somewhere around pg 600-ish. I did manage to do 6 loads of wash in between all this so I don't feel so guilty reading so much today. Somehow I managed to keep my concentration even while the girls were chattering to me non-stop while I "hmmm" "uh huh" & "yes'd" them. I'm not commenting on the book until I finish it so I don't spoil it for anyone.

Oh & I'm STILL not packed! Joe still hasn't brought down the suitcases from the attic for me. I see that as more time for me to finish my book!

Finally!!

Amazingly enough that last update about the book being scheduled for delivery was TRUE!

I now have this in my hands!!

I didn't touch it until I was back home from running errands today. Actually I lovingly caressed the cover but that's all! **wink**

After dinner (we ate out) I was all over it! I'm already on pg 164. YEAH!! I am a HAPPY woman!

I wonder if the girls can be trusted to pack for this weekend?? I don't know HOW I'll be able to break away from this book!

Can it be true??

Be still my heart. Dare I say it? Can I truly believe it?? I just checked the status of my book & NOW it says it's out for delivery!! Approx. del date still shows as 8-7-08 so I don't wanna get my hopes up. I think I need to set up camp at my front door!

Yeah I need a life.....

Am I getting Punk'd?

So today I'm working on some LO's that I've only got to title & they're done. I planned on using the Cricut & the new Mickey font I got last week at M's on sale. My dilema? The blade isn't cutting all the way through. Is it me or did the blade not last very long? I don't use it for every LO & I've had it since March. What am I missing?


My biggest frusteration today? Everytime I checked the status of my book, it said it was ready to be shipped. I just checked it again & it said it's been shipped & I should have it on time with a delivery date scheduled for Aug. 7th! WTF!! It's coming from Edison which is about 45 mins away. I could DRIVE there to pick it up faster than how they're shipping it! I'm leaving for Great Wolf Lodge on Fri & if I don't have that book I'm gonna be all sorts of pissed off!! Never again will I pre-order a book from B&N!!!

So besides that non sense I'm in laundry mode so I have clothes to pack for our trip. I should have spent some time today cleaning the house somewhat but I didn't. I'm the type that leaves it all until the last minute & then fly around getting everything done on time. Call me crazy I know it.

Weekend Update

Breaking Dawn Update: Yesterday I got an email saying my book is packed & ready to leave the warehouse.

Ready to leave?? Shouldn't it be in transit??

Just checked the shipping info & it STILL had the same status!! I wish I had followed my instinct & just cancelled the damn order!! I've been by Borders or BJ's at least 3 times this weekend & could've picked it up by now! DAMN you B&N!!

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Yesterday we went to my sister Marie's house. My girlfriend Carolee was there with her niece Madison. After we ate a late lunch, the sun decided to grace us with it's presence. The kids were itching to get in the pool, despite it not being that hot out.


Gianna taking aim at her next victim. She's concentrating very hard, see her tongue hanging out?? That helps her concentrate.



Here's Marissa right before she started shivering from how cold she was...but had to do a few more underwater flips--because she can.


This is niece Nikki, she was all over the pool. She's part fish.

This little dude is my nephew Tyler. He's never gonna be hard up for a date when he grows up. Just look at those muscles.

This is Madison. She was staying with Carolee for the weekend. The kids all idolized her since she was the oldest kid there.

This is where there should be a pic of me, Carolee, & Marie but there isn't. We were busy chatting to think of something like that. So instead I will show you this tasty treat we had for dessert.

I brought my famous chocolate chip cookies for dessert & we stuffed 'em with ice cream. YUMMMMY!

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Today Joe had to work, so the girls & I basically didn't do much of anything. I sorted & reorganized my loose ribbons. Don't ask but it just wasn't working for me the way I had it. I should've been doing more Disney LO's but my computer was acting funny & I needed to print a few pics for this one LO, so I didn't bother.

This week I'll be packing for our trip to Great Wolf Lodge. If anyone has any tips for us I'd love to hear them. I like knowing what to expect when we go somewhere new.

It's a SIGN!

So I tracked my book just now & as fate would have it, the website says it's not shipped! It says it's expected to ship Aug. 2. Excuse me, but isn't that TODAY!?!?!?!?

Yesterday just as I shut down my computer to go to my mom's house, I get up to see someone at my door. I realize it's the mailman AND he's got a BOX in his hands!! I had to fight the urge to rip open the door & grab the box from his hands!! As soon as he left though I was there, I look at the box & realize it's just my order from 2P's. NOT the HAPPY mail I was hoping for!!

However we had a good time at my mom's house. We went through some old photo albums & I scored some pics of me as a kid. Gianna looks just like me! I also got some crazy pics from high school. Can you say BIG HAIR?? I plan on scanning them & will post them soon. It's always good to mock yourself & I'll share the fun.

It's also POURING rain right now. Storming actually with thunder & lightening---maybe I should shut my computer down.....And you know what? We were supposed to go swimming by my sister's house.

On a better note....My sister Marie & I went to the movies last night (everyone else backed out!!) to see Mamma Mia. It was so GOOD!
I told Joe I want the movie when it comes out to DVD AND I want the soundtrack. Do ya think he got the hint for Christmas?? I never realized I liked ABBA that much! But I know I like Pierce Brosnan! When I get the DVD I'll be watching him with the mute on--he can't sing but he makes up for it in other ways!!

"MAMMA MIA hear I go again! My my how can I resist you?"

The Wait is OVER!!

Breaking Dawn is officially out!

Don't expect to see me much. My family better order take out, because my nose will be buried in this book!!


That's WHEN I GET it anyway!! Still Waiting.......

Tomorrow!!

1 more day.....just 1 more....

I'm fighting the urge...

Since I'm not sure when I'll be getting my pre-ordered copy of Breaking Dawn. I've been thinking that maybe it'll get here today--yeah wishful thinking I know! I'm trying so hard to not stalk the mailman. I do check the door constantly just to make sure no one stopped by to drop off the HAPPY mail I'm dying to get my hands on.

So I'm going to stop the madness & go visit my mother. She's been calling me trying to make me feel guilty into visiting her. This will stop the madness!! Then if I should come across a certain pkg on my doorstep when I get home it'll make the day all worthwhile! Right??

Oh yeah I know my hopes are HIGH that I'll get the book today especially since the book doesn't come out officially until tomorrow but I can dream can't I??

Besides, that just means the stalking will continue tomorrow.....or Mon.....or everyday until I get my hands on that book!!!

I Scrapped!

I now know the real reason why I can't scrap during the day & have to wait for everyone to be in bed.

THEY INTERRUPT ME TOO MUCH!!

Oh and I spend a lot of time online...but that's not my point!

Somehow through all the interruptions, I managed to create some LO's. I stayed off the computer & played with papers & pics until it came together & made me happy.

The only thing is I didn't do any Disney LO's. Nope! Not a one! I figured I wouldn't feel guilty if scrapping these would break me out of the dry spell I was having. Besides they didn't take as long as mini album would so I feel no guilt in taking a break from the Disney albums. The topic that I scrapped is way off of Disney as they could possibly be!

The only reason I can give of wanting to scrap these are that I found the journal that I kept when I was pregnant with Gianna & it brought back so many memories of the belly. So I dug up these pics.

Looking back, I wish I had taken pics of the belly each month, but I didn't so these are the best I've got. I have even less when I carried Marissa. Both of my girlfriends in the pics had boys & both had different due dates than me. I actually scrapped this LO second & kept it pretty simple. The colors are REALLLLLLLY better IRL. I swear!

This LO was inspired by Amy's, you can see her LO here. I went & channeled my inner Laura on this LO. I used buttons & floss AND I used my new threading water punch! LOVE that thing!!

So there! I did get some creative juices flowing & I'm a happy girl!

FYI--Just in case you're wondering....I AM NOT PREGNANT!!!