Last summer, we didn't go anywhere. We cancelled the Great Wolf Lodge trip that we had planned, and had a tiny at home substitution.
We've rescheduled a trip to GWL for later this year, but it felt so far away in March that I thought a trip to Jellystone might just help the wait not feel so long. We were all excited! Sadly, the Rosenthals were not able to join us this year, so it was just our family, but we made the most of it.
Not to be outdone by our previous visit when we arrived at our cabin, we could not unlock the door! = ( I ended up back at the ranger station, this time in an even longer line than when we checked in. They sent someone out immediately (he beat me back to the cabin from the ranger station!) He was able to unlock the door for us with his master key, but could not get our key to work either.
While he was working, we started unloading our gear and getting unpacked.
He finally had to bump the issue to a supervisor, who just used a bit of grease to get everything in working order. = )
Once we were unloaded (and had a working key) we headed out to do some events!
First off was a scavenger hunt! We had to find all kinds of items. We were able to ask other campers and run back with pictures. By way of prizes, they all scored a jumbo rubber balloon.
Once we tucked away the balloons, we headed to the splash pad. They were all very excited to get in the water. = )
Despite the warmth of the day (we didn't need even need our jackets!) the water was pretty chilly.
Then it was back to the cabin to change. While Billy grilled up dinner, we walked back to play on the jumping pillows and playground.
After dinner, we ended our day with a glow parade. Turns out, it was a walking parade, which was tiring for us after a busy, exciting day.
We were early to bed campers for sure, after a fun day!
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On our first morning, it was just Me, Grace and Juliet up early. They played with a toy that Juliet brought until the donut shop opened!
We bought donuts for everyone, even though they were still snoozing away when we returned.
We left another note, and headed to the playground next.
By the time we returned, everyone was awake, and Emily was even dressed and ready to come join us. The first craft of the day was a hand 'campfire.' The park was much more crowded than usual. I think we must have previously only attended during the week, versus this weekend trip.
Alice opted to paint 2 ceramic cats instead of making a tie-dye shirt.
This had me making a third trip from our cabin to the craft shack with those who wanted to tie-dye the shirts.
Waiting for the big reveal. Juliet was still dying her shirt.
All done!
The next event was the "Hey, hey, hey ride." We arrived early, and there wasn't yet a line, so everyone wanted to play on the play train for a bit.
Despite having to signup for the ride earlier in the day, we still had to wait in a line and it was long and hot and boring. The kids were huddling in Billy's shadow.
By the time we finished our ride, I had some tired children.
But, there was more fun to be had, so we went back to the craft shack for the dance party!
I guess it was unsurprising, but none of my crew felt up to dancing, so we headed back toward the cabin an stopped in at the arcade. It took them a long time to spend $20 worth of tokens, and they weren't even playing for tickets!
Once they finished at the arcade, we "mined" for gems and fossils. We shared a giant bucket, because we'd done the "everybody gets their own bag" thing before and it took for.ev.er. Sharing one bucket was a bit too quick though, so maybe next time we'll split two.
Our next stop was a trip to the cabin for a wardrobe change, and then it was pool time! The twins and William wanted to practice swimming, so I ended up in the pool with them. We were in the solarium, and it was much warmer than last time's rainy weather!
Billy bought pizzas for dinner, so after a quick change and meal, we headed back to the craft shack for "surprise" Bingo. It was a free buy in, and Alice was very excited to play.
On they way there, my phone died (from signal searching all day) so this is our final picture of the day.
I feel like we snuck a very short splash pad trip in somewhere, but it was such a busy day, I don't even recall when!
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On our third day, we had some early risers! Everyone took turns redeeming their birthday cards and picking out something from the gift shop. It was a nice leisurely morning for my crew, but many people were leaving, so the road was extra busy. The crowds were more on par with my expectations for the rest of the day though!
Our first organized event of the day (I'm pretty sure we had some playground time) was candy bar bingo! I love candy bar bingo, and brought an entire box for buy in! Our kids kept some of their allotment, but it turns out it was unnecessary.
I almost won the "loser" bingo, but lost. During the jackpot round though, I won! It was a cumulative jackpot, and Emily won the next round! (I would have given mine away had I know she would take another pot.) She was only 2 numbers from winning the third one. We made a plan that she would be allowed to call "bingo" if she won, but we would not keep the candy. So, we ended up leaving with more candy than we brought and a rule of one candy bar per person per day!
After all the excitement, it was time to head back to the pool! Emily saved me when their was a sweet little camper who kept talking to me while I was working with WGJ on their swimming, by getting her to play "mermaids" with her.
We spent a few hours in the solarium again, and then it was time for a very tired crowd to eat lunch.
Our camping supplies paint a very rough sketch of our travels and life.
Once everyone recovered, Billy took the kids out on the paddle bikes! They, somehow, lasted the entire 30 minutes! And I got some of the car packed up!
We made another quick trip to the splash pad and playground, while Billy and Alice went to play in the drop-in putt putt tournament.
They were showing "Holes" as the evening movie, so once everyone was changed, we headed that direction.
Emily's shoes were our Jellystone casualty this year. We snipped off the back straps, one of the elastics gave way, and she just wore them as sliders.
oh, Juliet.
The twins gave me a scare when they wandered off to a playground with their camp friend from the pool. Billy found them quickly, but it was scary how quickly the camp went from not too big to "massive."
On our walk home, we stopped by the restroom (since multiple people needed to go) and Juliet finished when I did. She was reading the text on the air hand dryer: "place hand blow" and she proceeded to blow. It was adorable. I told her she was close, but the dryer actually read: "place hand below."
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The next morning was rainy, and busy! I may have packed a little too much food (Billy said it looked like a convenience store in our cabin) but I managed everything back into the car more comfortably than our trip there!
We crossed back into Michigan (on the backroad) and ate lunch at the "good" type of dairy queen.
Ice cream was in order after the meal, of course.
William pretending to be the Statue of Liberty.
We took the backroads home, which was lovely, compared to the construction and congestion of the highway.
As always, I can't wait until our next Jellystone trip!
later days
