Waterpark Wonderland

I just have to preface this by saying that I have the BEST nieces ever. And I am not biased in the least. Shelby, Rylee and Lexi are all quite a bit older than our girls. That comes from Mitch being the baby of the family by 10 years. But it doesn't seem to make any difference. Whenever we are together the girls are so attentive and helpful with our girls despite the age difference. This trip was no exception. They played with them in the water, took turns taking Leah down the slide....they were all around GREAT, again! I just love them. And so do the girls. They get so excited for the chance to see and play with their cousins. Shortly after hitting the road, Leah got teary-eyed and said she was going to miss her cousins. In addition to being so very helpful they are just sweet. They are good girls, with good heads on their shoulders. Their parents have taught them good manners and they have great morals and values. I'm so glad my girls have some wonderful role models in them.

Back to the swimming...The girls have both been taking swim lessons at the YMCA off and on for the past year, and it's definitely paying off. Leah was showing us her swimming moves and was even jumping in the water and Kiersten showed no fear. They loved the slides. There was one slide there that Kiersten easily went on 200 times and that is no exaggeration. Wouldn't it be nice to live near a water park that you could visit frequently, especially in the winter months when the kids are stir-crazy from being stuck inside.

Hattie even put on her swimsuit for a bit, but she was not amused. Mitch said that while the air temperature in the water park was warm, the water temperature was actually a bit chilly. Plus, I think the poor girl was just tired. With 18 people in two hotel suites she wasn't really able to nap and sleep like she normally would. So there was lots of little cat naps...twenty to thirty minutes at the most. Poor Girl slept for 4 out of 5 hours on the ride home. But she was a trooper. All the kids were well behaved and Grandma and Grandpa did a great job hosting the family Christmas in the Dells.