Great Wolf Lodge

Took the kids to the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg Va. last weekend. It's a giant indoor water park. It was seriously a blast; kids dream come true. Definitely something they won't soon forget. Their faces were priceless...pretty much the whole time. Speaking of priceless...kinda cute...when Maddie walked into the room for the first time, she goes "Wow, this place has expensive written all over it!" We got a kick out of that one. Also memorable was Brody on the surf machine (those hardcore things with the monster truck force water shooting at you).  He was probably too small to do it...but did well the first time and got a little cocky...the second time he wasn't so lucky and got "handled" in a big way. Bruises all over his face to prove it. Poor guy. And I can't forget to mention little Marley who was such a trooper. She unknowingly had influenza while we were there. Looking back she may have been a lot little off:/ . Sadly, we didn't cut her any breaks though...almost drowned the poor girl twice. Let me tell ya...she came down the very first slide backwards and headfirst...and the second one, her lifejacket flipped her face down in the water. Not pretty.  She still shutters if you even say the word "water park." Besides those minor details:/ though it was all good.  Fun fun family time. Can't wait to go back someday.  

The room had a wolf den cave in it for the kids to sleep in. They LOVED it. 

Such a good big sister. Maddie takes such good care of Marley.

Here are a few pics of the inside, though we didn't carry the camera so we only got a few. Oh, and don't even be looking for my fat pastey white butt in any of them...cause there is no documentation that I was even there;)

There is a kids club which includes a dance, show and story time in the evening. Maddie was gettin' her groove thing on in a big way...check out those faces would ya!

Look how long my baby looks, can that be real:(

Kids club rec center. Brody's settin' someone straight... no doubt. 

Arcade. When do men grow out of arcades by the way? Brent still loves them? weird. 

Cindy Lou Who.

Today was Dr. Seuss day at Maddie's school. They were to dress like their favorite Dr. Seuss character. Maddie's choice was easy...Cindy Lou Who. I tried and tried to talk her into being Thing 1,  but to no avail;)  Surprisingly it was pretty easy though...a Dixie cup in the hair, and one blue church coat, made for a pretty cute Cindy Lou Who... if I must say so myself. 

PS. My little girl is growing up too fast. I kept glancing over at her profile this morning during breakfast  thinking and wondering about what her teenage self would look like; about how beautiful she would be.  I surmised that something about that mascara and lipstick makes me very uneasy:/ 

LoVe lOvE LOve!

Somehow Valentines day has turned into sorta a big deal round these parts. My kids pretty much think it's right up there Easter... and like birthday's and stuff. They expect it to be special.  I made the mistake of putting a love note in a mailbox for them the first day of February... and had to do it every single day!  I play along;) I mean, i guess IT IS the Holiday of what's most important in this life right...

L    O   V   E   !   

First we decorated and made a she-ton of crafts and goodies..then we had Aunt Amy's annual Valentines day brunch party, which is always a blast...and this morning celebrated with doughnuts and the traditional heart shaped pancakes. We also did some serious "cupid shufflin'" in the kitchen. Speaking of which, Maddie has a dance after school today and wanted to wear all the hearts she had in her closet. How crazytown is that outfit down in last picture..hmmm? Whatever.  Life is good. Valentines day is special. There IS love. 

news

We were "thinking" about it...and apparently that's all it takes around here.

A little surprised... but mostly excited (now;) We're proud to announce that Baby Fishel #4 will make its debut sometime in August. Heaven help us. 

ps. In case you're thinking, "Wow, Shauna really looks bad in these pics...get used to it...I'm pretty sure this is the way i'll look for the rest of my life. 

yard love

 When I was little my grandparents had a huge weeping willow in their yard. All summer long we played around it, climbed up it, and ran under it's swaying branches. Now I get to watch my kids do the same. Brody calls it "his tickle tree," Maddie calls it "Grandmother willow" (from Pocahantas of course), and I'm pretty much just callin' it "heaven".  Full circle moments.... it's what Ive always dreamed of.  Man, do I love these end of summer evenings.  Makes my heart so happy.