Vaca Part One: Great Wolf Lodge

Brien had several vacation days to burn that he couldn't carry over, so we decided to plan our first ever family vacation. With two of Kristen's soccer games in Dallas on the calendar, we centered our plans around the games for what would make an unforgettable trip.

Day 1: Great Wolf Lodge
We left Tulsa early Thursday morning to head to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas. We have been wanting to go there for a while, but it's kind of pricey, so we waited for the rates to go down after school started up and booked on a weekday to get the best deal. We also got a discount through Brien's work. We booked a standard family room, and Brien asked for a free upgrade when we checked in since it never hurts to ask. Request granted! We got to stay in their KidCabin suite with three cute single bunk beds in addition to a queen bed and pull out sofa for under $200. The upgrade also gave us two extra water park bands, so we couldn't let those go to waste. We called up Sean and Martha and they dropped everything and made it there by ten that evening.

KidCabin Bunk Beds - Too Cute


Killing Time in the Arcade after Playing in the Water Park All Day & Waiting for Sean & Martha to Arrive


Cashed in Their Tickets for Some New Teeth


Having Sean and Martha with us ended up being a huge help. We took turns watching kids so we all got to go down the water slides. (They had baby Owen with them too.) I was really surprised what a wild ride some of the slides are - crazy fun.

Family Picture Minus Cooper Just Before 1,000 Gallons of Water Dumped on Us


View of Water Park - See the Bucket on Top of Fort Mackenzie that Dumps the Water - Kenzie Loved the Name, of Course


Toddler Play Area - Even Cooper Could Go Down These Slides


If you haven't been before, this place is awesome. We plan to go back just as soon as Connor grows another three inches to allow him to go on more rides. They have a 42" height minimum for the milder tube slides, and kids are measured before you enter the water park. Kenzie is just barely at 42". We actually had to request a manager to come remeasure her because she was denied her colored wrist band the first round. Kenzie was measured first, so when it was Connor's turn we couldn't get him to stand flat footed. He wanted so badly to get the same band as Kenzie. It was hilarious watching him try to make himself taller on his toes, lifting his chin and standing up as straight as he could to no avail - wasn't even close, but we think he'll be there when we're ready to return, and next time we'll be leaving Cooper at home with family until he reaches that height milestone too.

Over the next few days I'll continue blogging about what happened next on our six-day adventure, and I may even come back to this post and add some video.