Keith’s work load has been…well…OVERload lately. With 9 hours days and an hour commute each way, he’s only able to see the boys for about 2 hours each day…including dinner & bathtime. What fun is that?
He’s been saying for a while that we need to get away. We finally did it, and we’re so glad! I found a sub for our commitments at church, Keith arranged to work a half day on Friday, Grandma & Papa took our dog, and there just happened to be a few empty rooms left at Key Lime Cove.
Honestly, EVERYTHING fell into place this weekend. We had NO traffic issues…even with driving through Chicago, where there’s always a delay. The boys were angels in the car. Our room was ready when we arrived earlier than scheduled. They had toddler bedrails to hold wriggly Alex in the big bed. Alex had a coupon for a free kid’s meal at Rainforest Cafe – where we planned to eat - handed to him unexpectedly. Really, everything about this weekend was as close to perfect as it gets with 2 small children. (Other than running out of baby wipes. Don’t ask.)
Both boys slept decently at night. Alex kept popping his head up over the rails when we put him to bed. He was excited about the big bed, about sleeping in the same room as Mommy & Daddy, and just having a hard time winding down. Max didn’t care for sleeping on the thin mattress of the pack n play, so he had to be “re-settled” a few times each night, but there were no screams or sleepless nights.
We told Alex about the trip on Thursday, and he was very excited about “go to watuhpahk and swim in vewwy wome watuh”. I think it was everything he expected! :)
Max’s smile is misleading. He hated the water at first. He allowed no part of himself to get wet, and he screamed if he did. It got better, but he still took a long time to get used to that wet stuff! 
Alex drove his tractors along the rock walls in the water park…we were just relaxing & watching the wave pool at this time.
We kept breakfast and lunch cheap by eating poptarts and pb & j (well, jelly & raisin “ladybug sandwiches” for Alex) in our hotel room.
Daddy got the most smiles out of Max in the kiddy pools. It sure took a LONG time to get Max used to that water!
My friend Sara lives in Wisconsin, only about 35 minutes from Key Lime Cove. (She & I used to teach at the same school, and she still teaches there.) I called her to see if she could come join us for a while, and she spent Saturday afternoon & evening with us. It was so good to catch up with her…and to hear Alex say “Miss Sewwa”.
Keith took off for a bit to hit the grown-up slides. Later, Sara & I left Keith with both kids while we went on a couple of waterslides. I’m sure her highlight of the trip was going backwards down the toilet bowl slide, ha ha! ;)
After 2 slides, I could hear Max just SCREAMING. (Pretty bad when you can hear him from the other side of the incredibly noisy park!) Walking back to Keith, I saw that he had a sleeping Alex in one arm & a screaming Max in the other. Poor Daddy!
This was the picture about 15 minutes later – 2 little boys taking their naps while Mama & Daddy let the waves of the wavepool splash our feet. Oh, and don’t let Keith’s smile fool you – his arm is entirely numb and he’s not having any fun. Really.
At 3 PM, they offered make your own sundaes for free, so we all enjoyed some yummy ice cream!
Back in our room – Sara and the boys hanging out…
We headed to Gurnee Mills for dinner at Rainforest Cafe. Before dinner, we popped over to Serpent Safari to look at their animals. Here’s Alex checking out the snakes…
Guess there was no place to mention – there was a Serpent Safari booth at the hotel, and Alex got to pet an albino python on Friday night. He was so excited; he went running back to Daddy & Max saying, “I touch snake!” (It would have cost $8 for a picture, and it just wasn’t worth it.) He got a free kids meal at Rainforest Cafe for being brave enough to touch the snake!
Here we are at Rainforest Cafe. He’s making faces at Sara. (Sara, who saved the day by rearranging our table to fit Max’s stroller in the crowded restaurant. Thank you, Sara!) Daddy took Alex around the restaurant to check out all the animals. Alex wasn’t quite as impressed as I thought he’d be, but he still seemed to have fun.
We wandered the mall for a little while, ending up at Bass Pro Shop where Alex had to check out the “foh weewuhs” (four wheelers)..and the boats and the fishies, too. 
After saying goodbye to Sara, we splurged on ice cream before bed. Ice cream twice in one day? Yep, it’s vacation!
a snuggly moment for Daddy & Max
Alex started off very hesitantly going down the kiddy waterslides with one parent at the top to get him started, and another parent at the bottom to catch him. By Sunday morning, he was running independently to the top and landing on his own two feet at the bottom. True to his hesitant nature in groups, though, he almost always let all the other kids go first before he’d slide down.
We found a nearby church with an 11 AM service, so we visited a new church on Sunday (after one last quick trip to the water park). I think we all enjoyed it! When I got called out to feed Max, I peeked in on Alex in his classroom. I’d been a little concerned that he’d be scared in a new place, but he loved it! (It probably didn’t hurt that they had a train table in the 2 year old classroom!) He was happily listening to a Bible story, and then he willingly sat down at the table for a snack and craft. He proudly held his little boat while he slept on the way home.
Even with 2 small children, it was a worthwhile trip! I admit, having Sara around made it easier…we’re grateful! I invited her because I really wanted to see her, simple as that. But I’m very thankful that she was able to lend a hand with the boys, too. Thanks, Sara! It was great to see you!
I have 2 videos, but the post won’t load with the videos. I’ll try posting those separately…
2 comments:
Super glad you got some time away as a family!
This looks like so much fun!!!! I'm super impressed that Alex would go down the slides!!! Sami wouldn't try them LAST year! Ha!!!!
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