Great Wolf Lodge Adventures

About a month ago some good friends of ours asked if our youngest could join them on an overnight trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg Virginia.  I knew she would have a blast and I couldn't say no.  Before I knew it the invitation was extended to not only her but also us the rest of the family....again I couldn't say no :-)

And so our adventure began.  We arrived at the Lodge around 1 o'clock.  Our friends had already checked us in and gotten the packets with the waterpark passes inside (waterpark passes included with price of room).  Our rooms weren't going to be ready for a few more hours so we decided to just have fun at the waterpark until then.  There are changing rooms in the waterpark, as well as towels, a gift shop, and a couple places to get a bite to eat. 

 

 

If you want a seat in the water park I would suggest going early.  They make it easier to lounge while the little ones swim but aren't necessary.  You can take food in from outside so if you are looking to save some $$ you can pack sandwiches and bring your own drinks.  Lockers are also available for rental if you are not able to leave stuff in the room.  I also saw some cabanas available for families but for an extra cost. 

Outside of the waterpark is a bowling alley, arcade, spa, fitness rooms and a couple restaurants.  And while I say outside of the waterpark, I still mean all of this is INSIDE the lodge.  Outside of the waterpark (literally outside) is a ropes course and miniature golf.  There are enough activities to keep both children and adults busy for hours.  Of course most of the activities, other than the waterpark,  cost extra :-)

Since this Great Wolf is in Williamsburg you can always find plenty of places to eat if you don't want to stay on site.  But really with all of the fun right here....why go anywhere!

I think since Emma's birthday is in February this just might be the way we go from now on for her birthdays! 

Happy adventures!

Monday Fog

 After a weekend that started off with the promise of super business and ended with a partial wash out, I find myself dealing with a fogginess that I can only call Monday.  The last couple weeks we have been nothing but on the go.  A trip to Great Wolf Lodge, 4 days at Hungry Mother State Park, Girls Scout Cookies are IN, and the usual hubbub that keeps us on our toes has had me worn out.  And as this weekend started I could feel my body telling me it was time to slow down.  Or was it the stomach bug I was about to encounter telling me that?  Either way I got the stomach flu and I had no choice but to slow down.  Actually I had to come to a stretching halt!  Crawling out of bed this morning was HARD.  But I'm here now....alive and...mostly well. 

 

 

I'll share the details on some of the fun we've been having the next few days.  Hope everyone is well. 

The Not So Great Chocolate Race

We had an entire weekend of adventure planned out.  We were heading to Hampton for the night so that I could run in the Great Chocolate Race 10 miler.  We had plans to stay in an awesome hotel, eat our weight in chocolate and then spend the rest of the weekend recovering from that over indulgence.  Mother Nature had other plans.  So the race was postponed.  SIGHHHHHHHHHH.  I cancelled the awesome room, pretended to forget about the chocolate and started working on other plans for the weekend.  I really didn't come up with much but since the next two weekends are going to be busy I figured spending one weekend at home wasn't a bad thing.  I did manage to get a few things done.

We had the youngest daughter's birthday party this weekend.  To prepare for it I worked on a yummy snack to put in her goodie bag. 

Then I found myself with a little extra time on my hands and decided I needed to paint my nails in a sassy red with a little heart to go along with it. 

The last thing I did was work on this cute craft to add to the girl scout Valentine boxes I am working on.  By the time they will get the boxes Valentine's day will be gone.  But I'm betting the girls still love getting them. 

So no grand adventures this weekend.  But still we found a way to be productive.  I'll keep you posted on that Chocolate Race just how much chocolate I'll be eating :-)

Ready for Valentine

You know that with Valentine right around the corner I've been having some fun getting the decorations changed out in the house.  It is certainly time consuming and often ask myself why I put myself through changing out the decorations...but once they are up I complete forget that thought!  Then I go buy more stuff for that holiday :-)

 

I posted about a really fun heart garland made from felt here.

 

 

 

And if you want an easy Valentine treat then check these out.

 

 

You can see some of the decorations from years past here.

 

 

And my cute table setting from a couple years ago

 

 

Looking back at the older pictures just reminded me that I need to pull out those dishes!

 

Hope your week is going well my friends. 

 

 

 

 

 

Plans for the New Year

I know we are a good month into 2016 but I am just now sitting down to make plans for The Busy Bryant's Adventures of 2016.  I usually have done this by now but I've been a tad busy this month with Girl Scouts, work and a snow storm that had us buried in for 3 days.  Planning while the storm was going on sounds like it would have been the best time but honestly all I could do for an entire day was stare outside at the snow coming down.  Then once it was finished falling we headed outside!

 

Yes that is a kayak!

Ok, so now back to planning...I have an on going list that I keep of the places we (I) would like to visit.  I would say 95% of the places are here in Virginia.  Every now and then a place out of state ends up on my radar and I feel the need to write it down.  It seems that for each one I get to cross off the list I somehow add two in it's place.  I guess that is also what keeps us busy :-)  And with each new year I rewrite my list with all the places we want to visit minus the ones we've gotten around to.

 

Some of the things are just local places I want to try out while other things will take longer to plan and actually get around to.  And now looking at my bucket list and what I'm actually planning I realize the two lists don't really match.  I have some things I'm planning that didn't make it on the paper list...they are just on the mental list.  Visit ALL of the Virginia State Parks, run a race every month, try a new restaurant when we can...that type of thing stays on the Mental List. 

 

So far this year I am planning a trip to Hampton for a 10 mile race this month, a trip to Hungry Mother State Park also this month, a camping trip to Douthat State Park in the summer, a couple hikes, a winery trip early fall, a bike trip on the Mt. Vernon trail and a few half marathons.  My goal every year is to schedule an adventure every month.  This year I want to add in a race once a month along with the adventure.  I already know some months the adventure will be the trip for the race...win-win.  I know a lot of people that plan beach trips every year or a big family vacation once a year....we tend to go for long weekends and the occasional week long trip that allows us to visit a couple places.  That's how we roll. 

 

Anyone planning anything exciting here in Virginia?  I'd love to hear about it :-)

 

Happy planning.