Great Wolf Hotel and Arcade

Some random pictures from the room at the waterpark hotel and of the arcade that we walked by on our way to our room.

The hotel also did a story time every evening at 8pm. The first night I tried to keep Lillian in the room to go to sleep while Alan and Simon went to the story time. Lillian was having none of it and she screamed pretty solid for the 30 minutes they were gone. Everyone went to bed at 9:30 that first night (the night of the funeral). The second night, after a day at the waterpark and Lillian's 3rd day with no nap we just let her go to story time and again everyone went to bed at 9:30. Such tired kids.

Story time with Lillian was great. They had a big clock area with animatronics that talked and sang - and a Native American girl came out to sing with a European boy named SIMON! Then Wiley Wolf came out and stood next to the person reading a story. Simon sat quietly mesmerized the whole time, both times. Lillian was amazed as well, but dealt with it differently... she got up and wanted to touch everything. There was a crowd of parents and kids sitting around the lobby and she was so much quicker than me - I had a few parents in front of me who would help snag her and return her to me. When Wily Wolf came in she screamed and jumped she was so happy - then she shouted HI, I'm LILLIAN! It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen (even as tired as I was).

When we registered they asked if we were celebrating. I told them it was Lillian's birthday and they gave her a special bracelet (which she ADORED wearing) and it gave her free ice cream for the duration of the visit. What a nice girl I'm raising, she shared with her mother.

Lillian mirrored Simon's movements with her arms.
We were watching some TV while waiting for breakfast restaurant to open.

She liked to touch all the balls,
but couldn't throw it quite hard enough to get the lift at the end.

Riding like a pro!

Wily Wolf made and afternoon appearance!

Lillian loved him, but from a few steps away. 

Showing off her sticker that Wily gave her - of Wily Wolf himself!

TVs in the restaurant played cartoons - we couldn't get the kids to look at us during breakfasts.

Ice cream in front of a fireplace

Checking to see if it will come alive in the day time too.

Water Park Pictures and Video

On our way home from the funeral we stopped at Great Wolf Lodge Waterpark and the kids experienced a waterpark for the first time. Both kids have swum in a pool and loved the experience, but this was waterslides, wave pools, lazy river and pools. It was a great time for us all - a fun filled break from the very emotional past couple months. The kids absolutely loved it - especially Lillian. We didn't bring our phones/cameras into the water park (except for one quick moment at the end) so we only have a few pictures that give you just a glimpse of the hours of swimming and pool time.

KiKi's Minnesota Funeral

On Thursday we went to Grandma Kiki's funeral. It was a hard day for me and even though we tried we never quite got a family picture. And somehow I didn't really get a picture of the funeral or reception displays either. The kids were great during the ceremony. Lillian called my name when I got up to speak and Simon wanted to hug Grandpa Bart when he got sad - and at the end Simon ran up to Grandpa Bart's arms and waved at the whole crowd. In general it was as good a day as could be expected and the kids brought a lightness to the whole thing (for me at least).

Simon and Suzy

Trying to get a picture with the kids. Didn't work.

Road trip! (From Chicago to Owatonna)

We all took a road trip from Chicago to Owatonna, Minnesota on Wednesday so we could go to KiKi's funeral (still feels unreal). I few home from Arizona on Monday, went shopping to get the kids outfits on Tuesday and we were all in the car and headed out at 6:30 on Wednesday morning. Google says it's a 6 and a half hour drive, but we expected to take a few stops and generally not rush it, so didn't have a time frame.

It was a great drive. Lots of construction on the way out of Chicago so what should probably have been an hour took almost two.  Funniest part of the drive... As we were leaving we told Simon and Lillian we were going to be driving a really long time and just to get comfortable. Before we even got to O'Hare (in the car less than 30 minutes), Simon said "You're right, Daddy! This is a really long drive."

The kids were awesome, though, no sleeping at all on the drive out there but no tears either! In general they were quite accepting of the long drive. We didn't stop as many times as we had expected to as a result. I had packed a picnic lunch so we didn't have to sit in a restaurant and it was raining so it cut short the break.

We were in Owatonna by 2ish and actually one of the first to arrive! It gave us some time to settle into the hotel room - the first that Lillian and Simon have ever stayed in. Lillian immediately asked if she could draw and Simon jumped onto the bed and bounced all over. 

That fist night we went out to dinner with family, then came home and the kids went to bed at 9. *sigh* Don't really know how that happened after no nap. Lillian originally was going to sleep on the queen bed with Simon. But the first thing she did at 8:30pm was roll right off the end. So instead we set up the little tent/travel crib.  With that wedged between the two beds, I could reach her when she stood up to scream which she did about every couple hours for the entirety of the night. I have had better nights of rest before. At least Alan and Simon seemed to sleep through her wake ups (for the most part). 

Helping us pack.

Night before we left!

Snuggled up and ready for no-nap.

Rest stop playing

She was so happy to see the slide and run around!

At the hotel, first thing each kid did. Simon on the bed, Lillian at the desk.

New shoes for Lillian

Lillian got new shoes in to go with her new outfit - I had her try them on and she LOVED them. It was quite the job to pry them off her feet so they stayed nice for the service. 

Grandma KiKi's Arizona Funeral (and Obituary)

Grandma KiKi passed away on September 17th with Colleen, Bart and Emily with her for her last breath. Here are some pictures of the service in Arizona. The kids and Alan went to the service held a few days later in Minnesota.

KiKi's Obituary as published in the newspaper:

Baby gift - 3T clothes!

When Simon was newborn he was given a 3T outfit to wear. He finally fit into it this spring. It took me a bit of time to dig out the old picture.

Simon's First Day of PRE-K 2015

Today is Simon's first day of Pre-K 2015. Hamilton has a 3 and 4 year old class, so he is back with the same teachers and in the same classroom, but as one of the older kids who already knows the ropes. He has been very excited for school to start. Alan and I both dropped him off this morning and he hardly noticed when we left.

Flowers for Grandma Kiki

After talking with Grandpa Bart, Simon decided to take some pictures of flowers to send to Grandma KiKi. He then decided Grandpa Bart and Auntie Colleen could each have a special one as well since they were sad too. Here are his pictures....

Grandma Kiki's flower - he thought she would like the purple ones through the fence.

More for Grandma Kiki

He spent a lot of time framing this up and did about 5 takes before it was right.

More flowers for Grandma Kiki (and the body of the swan)

More flowers for Grandma Kiki - that she can share with Grandpa Bart.

This is Auntie Colleen's flower

This is Grandpa Bart's Flower

Another Flower For Grandma Kiki

 More flowers after the jump...

Simon The Photographer

When we were in Boston this summer, Papa gave Simon an old camera. We held off on giving it to him until we had some time to talk about it and to play with it. We gave it to him yesterday and he started calling himself Simon The Photographer. 

We found a wooden camera to give to Lillian so she has been taking pictures too. Alan and I play with it occasionally so she realizes how fun it is. 

The Sister.

The Father

The Rainbow (he loved this one!) 

The Mother - from kid angle

Everything in the house is getting chronicled. We then took a walk around the block to find more things to take pictures of...

Some action shots of the photographer.

To focused to smile.

So many of Simon's pictures after the jump...