The Wolf Pack in Ohio
The moment we walked through the doors at Great Wolf Lodge, the howling began.
“Awoooooooooo!”
Between the stuffed wolves mounted on every ledge, the fuzzy greeting wolf that Colin ran up to, and the bubble dance party surrounded by wolf ears, we had entered into a realm where Bronte, Conor, and Colin were initiated as official wolf members. We woke up every morning, had breakfast at the buffet or at the oh-so convenient Dunkin Donuts, and spent the day in the water park. It was the first time I ever saw Bronte have a smile on her face from sun up to sun down. Wolves and Water? She was in heaven.
Each day Conor grew more and more brave with the slides he went down, and Colin dunked hoops in the shallow basketball court. Bronte couldn’t decide if she wanted to run into the oncoming waves in the wave pool, sit on the water spouts, or play with the fish fountain more. Grandma Debbie would follow her as she went back and forth between them, and Grandpa Bill was the official lifeguard and photographer all in one. Conor loved the lazy river with Grandma Debbie, and also conquered the wobbly Lilly pads with the help from Aunt Jamie. At the outside pool the kids danced to the music on an island, howling in unison.
This was a very special trip, to say the least. Grandma Debbie’s wish is to be surrounded by her kids and grandkids, and we are so happy we could do this for her. And of course we needed matching pajamas, that came naturally with a photo shoot. We in turn played cards, had a pizza night, battled sleepless babies - in the name of family and adventure. Awooooooooo!
Our next stop after a fun filled weekend at GWL was to see our wonderful Grandma Marcia. While I want to make a reference to going to grandma’s house like little Red Riding Hood in the vein of being now a “wolf family,” I can only attest that Grandma Marcia looked as amazing as she always does - no big ears or big teeth detected.
But to Grandma’s house we went. For Bronte’s baby book, we wanted to take a generational photo, so she will always be able to see the amazing women that make up her family, and that have preceded her story. With an incredible home cooked breakfast we sipped mimosas, and played cards as Bronte played and climbed on the couches. Game day with Grandma is an absolute must.
Grandpa Matt and Grandma Julia hosted the remainder of our Ohio trip. We spent the days reading together, listening to dad’s rendition of the “Hello” song on the guitar, and going on walks to many parks. Bronte followed Conor and Colin as they showed her how to zip line, and Brandy and I got to scope out new boba locations. Jamie and I got to sleep in, as Grandpa Matt and Grandma Julia cooked breakfast for Bronte and had jam sessions with drums and bagpipes. It was very relaxed, and ended with a fun trip to Indianapolis, where we got to witness Joel and Grace getting married at the Indianapolis Zoo! This also included a boba discovery, late night card games with Aunt Anne and Megyn, and family dinners. The wedding itself was wonderful - I got to dance with everyone to “Proud Mary” as Jamie rocked Bronte to sleep by the Sea Lion exhibit. Bronte stayed asleep in her stroller (not as classy as to where Theo fell asleep), and the adults got to dance and boogie.
