Thanksgiving Getaway: Day 3 - Great Wolf Lodge (Day 2)

After we woke up and got dressed, we went downstairs to see what kind of breakfast they offered at the hotel restaurant.  They were all really overpriced so we decided to go find a place to eat in town.  We weren't able to use the water park until 10:00 so we knew we had plenty of time. We decided on the Black Bear Diner, and we shared two big breakfast meals.  We are not generally super hungry at breakfast time, so we thought this was perfect for our family.

After we got back, we got things ready to go back to the water park.  Since Allie and I got tired of swimming quicker then they others, we decided to stay in the room longer and get us checked out and the car loaded while the others swam.  After Allie and I did all those things we joined the others in the water park.

We all played and played and did everything that everyone wanted to do.  At lunch time we decided to get some pretzels and fries for everyone to share.  It was delicious.  I was pretty much done by then.  We let the kids play for a little while longer before getting changed into our clothes.  We said goodbye to The Great Wolf Lodge and headed towards Auburn once again.

Thanksgiving Getaway: Day 2 - Great Wolf Lodge (Day 1)

We ate some breakfast at the hotel before packing up the car and heading back out on the road.  The drive was a nice one from Winnamucca to Auburn.  Tony and I had bought some more Hank Smith and John Bytheway talks on CD and we all really enjoyed listening to those on our drive (okay, Allie didn't really like them).

We made it to Auburn and went to the office where Julie and Wendy work.  After showing the kids and Tony the office (I had already been there) we went next door and had lunch with Julie.  It was pretty yummy food and great company. 

After lunch we drove the rest of the way to the Great Wolf Lodge in Manteca, CA.  It is only an hour and a half away from Auburn, so that was really nice.  We were there before our room was ready, but we were able to check into the water park.  So, Tony checked us in for that and then we got our swimming stuff out of the van before going into the Lodge.  It is a super big hotel with an indoor waterpark attached.  They also have minigolf, mini bowling, multiple restaurants, and many other activities.

After getting changed into our swimsuits we found a spot to put our bags and then we explored all the different fun pools and slides.  Allie was hesitant to do the bigger water slides but loved the little kid slides.  Megan and the boys did really good with the bigger slides.  We played in the Lazy River and the wave pool together as a family.  

Once our room was ready Tony went and took our clothes up to the room.  Once we got hungry, we were able to eat in the water park area.  They had a couple choices inside the water park and places to sit down and eat.  We went with the burger and fries, and it did not disappoint. 

After eating Allie and I were pretty much done with the water.  So, we went up to the room and got changed so we could get our luggage out of the car.  Then Allie took a bath while I unpacked our bags and made up the sofa bed.  We then ran to the store and gassed up the car all before the others were done.  They were still loving it and stayed until it closed at 8:00 pm.  It was a fun day, and we were all happy that we had another fun day of swimming ahead of us.

Thanksgiving Getaway: Day 1

We checked the younger kids out of school early on Monday and then picked up Tyler after his school was over before heading out of town.  We drove to Winnamucca to stay night.  The drive was nice and smooth.  We stopped at the rest stop by the Salt Flats before driving onto Winnamucca.  

Tony checked us into our hotel and then we found a local restaurant to eat some dinner.  The food was okay.  We then went and got settled into our room for the night.  

Fall Happenings

Fun things have been happening here.  Tony and I got to go to the temple with Cortnie for her first time.  It was pretty awesome being back in the temple after such a long time (darn Covid) and especially nice to be there with extended family.

We've also been having fun having family movie nights and it's been super fun playing with Auntie Suzie's new puppy, Milo each Sunday at Grandma's house.  Allie is especially enjoying playing with the puppy each week.  Allie also received a few awards at school for different things.  It's been good weather these past few weeks and we've been enjoying it.

Tyler's First Job

Tyler started his first job today as a referee for the Taylorsville Recreation Center.  He was pretty excited.  He helped with keeping the time for Allie's game.  Then he got to be the actual referee for a different game of 1st and 2nd graders.  He said it was a good day.  I think he's going to like this gig.

Indoor Soccer 2021

 
The girls both started playing indoor soccer.  Megan really likes playing goalie and kicking the ball far.  Allie seems to like running around following the group of kids who are trying to kick the ball.  Sometimes she gets lucky and kicks the ball herself.  It is fun watching them play and trying something new.

Tyler's Halloween Party

Tyler got invited to go to a Halloween party with a bunch of kids from the stake.  They used the church and played lots of fun different games.  He had a good time with teenagers and was glad he got to go to the party since he felt he was too old to go trick-or-treating.

Halloween 2021

We started our night off by going to a trunk-or-treat at a church near us.  We met up with two of Megan's friends and their families.  We went around to all the cars there and we were very impressed with how well they all decorated their cars.  After, we drove to our ward building to get ready for our trunk-or-treating.  We waited for Megan's friends to come join us and once they got there, they went around to all the cars.  I stayed with the van and passed out candy while Tony took all the kids around to the cars and then around the neighborhood.

After I was done at the trunk-or-treat I was ready to go home, but I had drained my battery in the van by plugging in Halloween lights.  So, Brother Barnes tried to jump start the van, but it didn't work.  So, I got a ride home to pass out candy to the trick-or-treaters at my house.  Then when Tony and the kids were all done for the night, he took me back to the van to get it started and back home.  We didn't have very many kids come to the door, but that's what happens when Halloween is on Sunday, and we trick-or-treat on Saturday.  Maybe more kids will come tomorrow.

Friday Night Trunk-or-Treat

We found out a ward was having a trunk-or-treat on Friday night, so we decided to go.  They had some fun games for the kids and a bunch of cars where people were handing out candy.  It was a fun little activity to get us all excited for trick-or-treating the next day.

School Halloween Fun

 The elementary finally had a Halloween parade again.  They did it outside this year around the track.  It was so fun to go and see all the kids in their cute costumes.  I was also able to help in all three of the kid's classroom.  It was a fun and busy day.