1) Last weekend we went to the Wisconsin Dells with my husband's family. There were twelve adults and eleven children in one VRBO. It was an eight bedroom, four bath building with a kitchen that was smaller than it probably should have been, but there was an arcade with old-fashioned game cabinets in the basement. If you aren't from the upper Midwest, you might not have heard of the Dells, so let me describe it to you. It's a weird tourist-y area with lots of theme parks, especially water parks, and duck boat rides. There's also anything your childlike wonder would like to do - go-karts, ziplining, mini golf, whatever.
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Our niblings are aged nine to nineteen and every single one of them had a fabulous time.
If anyone wants to know, we went to Noah's Ark on a Thursday. It was a typical water park with long lines, but the kids had a good time. We rented a cabana and there was always an adult there for the kids to check in with. On Friday, we went to Land of Natura, which is not a typical water park. It's a man-made salt lake with huge inflatables that you climb on and because the lake is deep (up to 25 feet in places), our boys spent most of the day practicing dives, backflips, and somersaults. It was also COLD AND RAINY when went (what do I mean by cold? mid-60s! in July!), so that kept down the crowds. I swear our party made up about a third of the people there. Regardless, most kids said Land of Natura was their favorite part of the weekend, so if you're in the Dells and you have confident swimmers, this is a good option.
2) Dells Escape Rooms - We had two big groups do different escape rooms. One group was a bunch of the kids with their grandfather and his wife. The rest was our oldest niece (19) and people of my generation. Both teams managed to escape, although I have to admit our room only had like twenty seconds to spare. LOL. If you like escape rooms, these ones are pretty fun. (You might note that I'm wearing a hoodie and my husband is wearing pants. WE WERE ALL VERY COLD. None of us were prepared for how cold it was that weekend.)
3) Where were the girls when we were in the Dells? I'm glad you asked. Zelda stayed at home and our neighbor came by every day to give her wet food and clean her box. ALSO! SHE READS TO THE CAT. No wonder Zelda ignored us completely when we came home.
Hannah? Hannah was at the swank boarding place just outside Chicago where they take 80 pictures of her doing nothing every day. Maybe I should have put all these photos in some sort of collage, BUT NO, you have to scroll by each one.
Nicole talks about how Rex comes back from boarding like he was at a frat party with messed up fur and fleas or whatever. Hannah came back with a powerful thirst, a smell like she has never had a bath in her life, and refusing to eat food. So, that's something, I guess.
4) Our side and backyard recently became deer daycare. I cannot stress enough to you how crazy this is because WE LIVE IN TOWN. ON A BUSY ROAD. The deer overpopulation here is nuts.
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5) Anniversaries - Earlier this week was the one year anniversary of my mother's death. I am, in a very healthy fashion, ignoring this fact.
6) Giveaway winners - The giveaway winners are Lisa and Jenny! Congratulations! I'll send those packages out in the mail sometime in the next week or so.
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The Dells: what a place! Never been and also ‘No’ to escape rooms and fawns in backyards.
ReplyDeleteThat all sounds very fun! I mean, except for the cold part. I do love a waterpark and haven't been to one in eons. Also! I'm glad Hannah had a good time at the fancy boarding place. Rex always loves his place and yes, it's like a wild frat party. He's always kind of tired when he comes home, so that's good. Tired and filthy! We have deer around here but mostly they don't come into our yard. I think they can smell Rex. We have a deer fence around the vegetable garden but one did walk through the flower garden one night, judging by the prints in the soil.
ReplyDeleteYes to fawn daycare, many times. No to the others although I think an escape room would be fun! The Dells sounds like my personal nightmare, although it sounds like it was perfect for your crew. Definitely seems like you had an epic time.
ReplyDeleteAnniversaries of loss suck, full stop. Sending you love.
Hannah looks like she had a wonderful time. I hope she returns to normal soon!
(This is Suzanne.)
80 pictures a day is pretty close to the right amount, and heck yes I scrolled through every one. We've had fawns in our yard a few times. When they're really young they have no scent, so both Stepdog and Doggo were totally oblivious to them.
ReplyDeleteHannah is SO SMILEY in the photos. She had the time of her life, clearly, and she is now protesting upon returning to her Real Life.
ReplyDeleteI live in a town as well, and we once had a deer WALKING DOWN OUR STREET, ON THE SIDEWALK. I was enthralled (and speechless, for once). I also awoke one morning to a mallard strolling down our driveway; another time I found a wee, bitty owl in our front yard. I know deer can be pesty, but I'd sacrifice a few plants to see them regularly in our yard.
Despite the cold, it looks and seems as if everyone had a great time. How awesome that a big family can get together like that and have so much fun.
Hugs to you at this difficult time, my friend.
It sounds like you had a blast! What a great place for a family gathering. I've never done an escape room. Is it scary? What happens if you can't escape? It looks like Hannah had a great time at her boarding place. It's nice that they send lots of picutres so you can see what she's up to. Congrats to Lisa and Jenny!
ReplyDeleteYES to the fawn bedding down. Many times! I was chatting with a neighbor last week, and she remarked how crazy the deer population has gotten. They don't even bother trying to keep deer out of their yard anymore.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Natura, but then again, I don't really have any reason to get up to the Dells, unless it's for a supper club. When my adult daughter was visiting a couple of weeks ago, we drove past Noah's Ark and all the other fun places, and she was amazed. I told her if I'd lived here when she was younger, we'd have been regulars.