Waterpark Weekend!

Last weekend we joined five other families for a roadtrip to Duluth, MN, to relax and enjoy The Edgewater Resort & Waterpark. Four of the families had met there two years ago and even though our kids were young and naps were sacred, we had a great time. This time was even more fun. Our kids were older, more self-sufficient (no more pack 'n plays or swim diapers for us!), and were super excited to go swimming and play with friends we don't get to see all the time.

We picked up Brendan early from school on Friday (a big deal for him ;) and hit the road north. Both kids slept most of the way up so by the time we arrived they were rested and ready for some fun. Check-in was crazy with long lines of impatient parents and anxious kids, but after we were settled the fun started!

It was so nice to see our friends, spend time with them and their children - they are all getting so big! We used to all see each other more in our lives before kids when we were in the South Metro. Nowadays, we're all little spread out to the extreme north and south suburbs so getting together isn't as easy as it used to be. The kids all seemed to enjoy their time out of the water as much as their time in the water. With so many friends to play with there was never a dull moment. Brendan's favorite thing out of the water was to have a bunch of kids over in our room to watch a dvd together.

Getting ready to go swimming the first time. Brendan was so cute; he brought his 'beach shirt' to wear down to the pool! :)

Friends, Angela and Frank and kids, who used to live in the Twin Cities, but are now in northern MN were able to make it to play! So fun to see them.

Aiden playing in the zero depth pool (by far his favorite place) and about to have some water droplets get him.

Me and the boys!

Our friend Becky and her youngest.

The boys having a little 'race' in the zero depth pool.

Most of our group (at least the kids) hanging out in our room after swimming and dinner. America's Funniest Home Videos was a huge hit with them. The younger kids like cars, trucks and action figures - not to mention an abundance of attention from the other adults! It was a busy room; the very best kind!


Little Corinne getting 'tossed' on the bed.

Aiden and Paige slowing things down with a game of Sorry.

And yes, even on vacation we must still brush our teeth ;)

The next morning we were at the pool again. Here is Brendan swirling by in the Vortex pool.

Part of our group!

Aiden and I with Becky.

Here we are going around (and around and around) the Vortex pool.

Aiden going across the water walk - he was so confident this time since he's been doing the monkey bars in our basement the past few months. He did think it was kind of funny to 'fall' every now and then.

Daddy giving him a boost up after one 'fall'.

Brendan really is like a monkey going across these - the first couple times across he wasn't even putting his feet down, just using his hands.

He ran into a little boy in his first grade class - small world! They had a good time playing together.

Both of our little monkeys.

Wellyn and Brendan in the middle of the Vortex pool. We didn't get nearly as many pictures with Brendan in them at the waterpark since he was off with his friends a lot. Poor Aiden is still stuck hanging with mom and dad!

Wellyn holding a very mellow Corinne.

A big game of Yahtzee.

Little Ethan was content to play with trucks and curtains for the longest time - sometimes that is just all you need.

Aren't they cute?!?


We were all tired by the end of our weekend away and the guys all slept from Duluth to home... very painful to be the only one awake and driving in the afternoon! Now I know how poor Wellyn feels since I am usually the one sleeping with the kids while he drives ;)

Monday morning brought the much anticipated interview at Medtronic. It went well with only one round of interviews scheduled, but they said it would be two weeks before we would know anything. Thursday morning they called, however, and offerred Wellyn the job!!!! Very exciting and a huge relief. He will start on April 5th, leaving him some time to get some things done around the house and relax. It is really nice to have him home even though we're both busy getting things done. My favorite part of his new job will be the commute - 15 minutes each way! Way better than the 40+ minutes each way he had.

In addition to looking for jobs, doing stuff around the house, etc, we've fit in some more fun things like taking Aiden to lunch after preschool last week, Wellyn has done the carpool in the mornings which both kids really like, he went to Aiden's preschool conference and got all the good news and cute stories and he totally shocked Brendan by meeting him at school for lunch last week. Now that the job hunt is over, he painted our downstairs bathroom and will be painting our utility trailer, along with a ton of other little and not so little projects both here and at the rentals.

A quick cat update, Diego was at the vet this morning to have his staples removed and all looks great. Crazy cat was actually cooperative and didn't try to bite them so they were able to remove the staples without knocking him out. AKA a FREE vet visit!!!