A vacation from vacations

A few years ago I read an article "A Vacation from Vacations" in the magazine Wondertime and it sounded like a lot of fun. Instead of the hassles of travelling out of town and rushing around to see all the sights of the destination, this kind of vacation was about spending time together as a family with minimal distractions and stress. We certainly needed a break after the last year, and not having to travel with two little ones was certainly appealing. So when a new resort opened up in town and I saw they had special rates for their Grand Opening, we decided to cash in some points and take a break!

Like the article suggested, we left the laptops at home and the TV off. We just brought some books to read while the kids were asleep. Part of the appeal of this resort was an amazing water park and pool, complete with a lazy river to float in and a great children's area. We stayed two nights and managed to hit the pool three times, thanks to a late check-out time on our last day.


Cool lounge chairs right in the pool - a handy perch for the boys!


Alan wanders while Kevin checks out the pouring water.

We had gone to the main pool the first afternoon, setting ourselves up by the beach entrance so Alan would have easy access. This boy knows no fear! Rather than staying in the shallows, he kept heading into deeper water until he started to float. Poor Daddy had quite a time trying to keep his head above water! Mommy and Kevin did some swimming and then did a circuit on the lazy river before rejoining Daddy and Alan for some pool-side snacks.

The next two days we went to the children's pool which was full of fountains, sprayers, little slides and a squirting fish. Since the deepest this pool got was only two feet, we didn't need to worry about Alan heading out into deep water!




The boys LOVED the arching fountain!


Kevin pumps to spray the water.


A ride on the spitting fish!

Since he couldn't head into deep water, Alan decided the next best way to drive us crazy would be to walk in front of the slides and confront the rushing water. He is going to drive us bonkers!!!


[video]

The resort also had a fun kids activity program. Kevin and Alan were too young to be left with them, but there was still plenty to take part in like decorating t-shirts, s'mores at the pool-side fire pit, and a rubber duck race on the lazy river! But even better were all the open areas to explore! There were lots of water features, paths and expansive lawns - including one that led right onto the golf club's fairway. Daddy had to call Kevin back from the greens before he got bopped by a golf ball!


Kevin admires the waterfall behind the lobby patio.


The boys explore the lawn - Kevin heads for the green.


Kevin and Mommy roast the marshmallows.


Kevin had his first s'more, but Alan declined to taste.

On Saturday morning, we went to see the Rubber Duck race on the lazy river. They do this every weekend, but since this was the Easter holiday weekend, the rubber ducks were dressed up as bunnies, lambs and Easter eggs. We stood on the bridge by the finish line and waited for the boys' ducks to come down the river. Who knew that Kevin's duck would be the winner!


Here they come! Go #17 and #19!


The lifeguard captures the winners!


Kevin and #19, his winning duck!

Back in our room, the boys enjoyed the balcony and the view of a pond with fountains. On our first night, after watching the fountains for a while, Kevin asked Daddy "Water up please?". The fountains had cycled to a lower height and Kevin wanted them back up. Sorry sweetie! Unlike the shower head in the bathtub, Mommy and Daddy don't have any control over this water flow!


The boys loved the view from the balcony!


The view from our balcony!

Before we left the resort, we went to one more activity - Zoomagination had a presentation on the lobby patio. They had a lizard, a scorpion, a pair of hissing beetles, a baby wallaby, a snake, a cockatoo and a two-toed sloth! At the end of the presentation, Kevin had the chance to pet Sheila, the baby wallaby.


Kevin pets the baby wallaby!

What fun getaway! We look forward to doing it again!
==========================


[slideshow]

Staycation

Just a quick post from our staycation at the new JW Marriott. This place is awesome! Here is Kevin having a blast at their water park. We'll post the full story later!

Eggs, fire truck and helicopters

We had the first Easter Egg hunt of the season today, one for special needs children held at a local golf course. The boys had a lot of fun - Alan had lots of space to run around, and BeBop the clown brought him a fantastic expanding/contracting ball to play with.







Kevin loved exploring the fire truck and TWO helicopters! One from the SA Police Department and the other one from Air Life. We've been going to the Air Life Santa event at the hospital for five years, and it has never made it because it had to do it's job. How funny we got to see it land and explore it when we least expected it!







------------------------------------------------------------

Morgan's Wonderland

Today Mommy and Daddy celebrated their 11th anniversary with a trip to the brand new ultra-accessible family fun park, Morgan's Wonderland. We went with Kevin's little friend Austin, his little sister Stefanie and their parents.

We started at their water play center -





then headed back towards the entrance to check out the beautiful sculpture "Taking Flight".



We then moved on to one of their covered playgrounds. We spent a LOT of time there with the kids exploring, climbing, and sliding.





After eating lunch in one of the covered pavilions overlooking the lake, we went to the wharf to shoot the giant water cannons and drive the RC pirate boats.





We then took a train ride around the park, where we got to see the many turtles sunning themselves on the rocks and swimming in the lake.



We finished up with a trip to the sensory village, where we played with the tadpole, butterfly and falling candy walls!



With all this fun, we still hadn't tried everything the park had to offer, like the merry-go-round, music village or the cars. And they haven't even had the Grand Opening yet! We will definitely be coming back soon to play some more!


------------------------

Mom's Day Out

After almost a year of isolation, Alan started a Mom's Day Out program today. He will be attending the same school big brother Kevin went to last year for a summer fun program, and it will be the school he will be attending in the fall. We were lucky they had someone moving so soon after Alan was given the All Clear by the oncologist to be in a daycare-type situation. He is starting off slow, just a half day once a week, but this summer both Alan and Kevin will attend the summer fun program twice a week. Then Alan will be going twice a week on his own once Kevin goes back to school.



Alan was so excited when we got to the classroom. We were pleasantly surprised to see Mrs. Huddleston, who was one of Kevin's teachers last summer. He got into the paint right away and was happily making a mess. No tears here... See ya Mommy!



When Mommy came to pick him up, Alan was pooped but content. He had lots of fun on the playground and was draining his milk. Here he is with his teachers Mrs. Curtis and Mrs. Huddleston. He only got cranky when the milk ran out. What a successful first day!

Now I'm off to the washing machine to see if the paint stains came out of his shirt sleeves!

Candidate for cheapest toy ever

Crayon, free.
Kid's cup with lid, free with meal.
Keeping Alan happy during dinner, priceless!

Alan loves Fanny Panda

It's no secret that Alan loves pandas. The other morning, Alan was particularly attached to one of his newest pandas, Fanny. He tried to pull her through the slats of the crib (rather difficult since he was pulling the front legs through one gap and the back legs through another). Mommy lifted Fanny out of the crib for him and he carried her to the top of the stairs.

There he met a new challenge. He wanted to go down stairs to play with his big brother, but didn't want to let go of Fanny either. Alan normally goes down the stairs backwards on his hands and knees. Necessity being the mother of invention, he went down on his bum, using one hand to lower himself step by step while the other hand held on to Fanny. It was slow going, but eventually they made it down the landing!

*

Preschool Christmas Party

Today was Kevin's preschool Christmas party. The teachers ordered pizza and Mommy finally got a chance to use her Wilton Gingerbread Man cake pan. Kevin decorated the cake with M&Ms for his little friends.






He turned out pretty good looking! Too bad we're going to EAT him!

The party started with Pizza! Alan didn't care for the pizza, but he was pretty fascinated with all that Kevin's school room had to offer - computers, big sunny windows, interesting cubbies full of stuff!









After lunch, we went to the other classroom to decorate cookies, dance and exchange books.


Ms. Anna shows off Kevin's cake


Alan takes a break in the middle of the dancing


Kevin and Alan boogie


Books!


Alan and Kevin at the Lego table

After the book exchange, it was time to head home for Alan's nap and for Kevin to finish his day at school. What a fun party!