Go to a water park today? Sure, why not?!

Last Thursday morning, fresh from getting out of bed, Brian surprised and wowed me with these simple words, "Do you want to go to an indoor water park today?" To some of you that may not seem that big of a deal, but to me, it was huge! The thought of a little, spontaneous family getaway was so thrilling and amazing I could hardly contain myself!

We packed up in the afternoon and headed out to Key Lime Cove, only about an hour away from our house. Many of you have probably heard of and/or visited water parks in the Wisconsin Dells or even Lake Geneva, WI, but this little gem of a spot, is so close and absolutely perfect for family fun!

We arrived around 5 and entering our hotel room for the night, was like a thrill in itself. The kids went absolutely wild! After a quick bite for dinner, we got right to the water! The kids were so happy and in love with the slides and pools! Unfortunately, the first time Ellie went down the little kiddie slide she went under water at the bottom, which sort of freaked her out for the rest of our stay. But, she would agree to go down (we put a life jacket on to help ease her mind and ours!) if we "caught" her at the bottom...which we did, over and over and over again!

Lucky for Hannah, she was tall enough to ride the big slides with either mommy or daddy and she loved it! She would ride a few big rides with one of us and then we'd all play together in the kiddie area for a bit, before she'd head out again! We played for a couple of hours Thursday night and then headed back to the room for some much needed sleep. Putting 3 little ones to bed all in the same room was quite an experience.  But, I must say, they were so pooped, it really didn't take as long as it could have!

Unfortunately around 4am Hannah woke up crying and complaining that her ear hurt. We tried to calm her down and get her back to sleep, but it just wouldn't work. Finally around 6am, Brian went out to track down some Ibuprofen and ear drops. We thought she had water in her ear or something random like that. After the ibuprofen kicked in, she was MUCH happier and we headed out for some breakfast. After eating a yummy breakfast at Cracker Barrel (Brian first time there ever and my first time in years...), we returned, packed up and headed back to the water park for hours of fun. After a few hours of playing and a little lunch, it was clear that our time at the park needed to come to an end. Hannah was complaining about her ear again and all three were beyond exhausted. It took some prodding and pulling, to get them out of the water and dressed, but we managed. And, thankfully, our trip home was relatively quick and quiet.

Hannah's ear continued to get worse Friday night, so I brought her in Saturday morning and sure enough, it was a full-blown inner-ear infection! Thankfully the ibuprofen kept her happy enough to play, but the poor thing was really in a lot of pain.

So, our little 24 hour trip was just wonderful! It was so special to spend the time away with just our little family and enjoy each other to the fullest. We're looking forward to another water park adventure, but next time would love some company, so if you're up for it, let us know!

*Please be sure to click on the collage to see the images up close! They're too cute to not do it! ;O)

*Ellie is checking out the bed to make sure it will hold her while she sleeps!
*Hannah and Ellie took advantage of the empty stage in the little restaurant we ate at before playing! Love these sisters!
*Sam and Ellie, first one's ready for bed and looking soooooo tired!

*water fun!!!
*the bottom shot of Hannah in the chair was taken in the afternoon when the ibuprofen started wearing off and her ear really started hurting again. She looks so sad here! It didn't help that she had been up since 4 am either!