Great Wolf Birthday

Nathan opted out of a typical birthday party this year in favor of an overnight trip to the Great Wolf Lodge, which he has been asking to do for years, and daaaaang can I just say this is a great idea? Family time? Fun. Water slides? Fun. Great room with built in cabin? FUN. And no managing rsvp's and filling favor bags and planning party games and worrying your child's friends have summer plans and are hard to catch up with and then cleaning up after them? RECOMMEND.

We woke up early to hit the road, so we had Nathan's birthday cake first thing. For breakfast dessert! (Oh, the small things that delight children.)

(I made Smitten Kitchen's Pink Lady Cake but with raspberries instead of strawberries, and you should definitely do that if you like fruity cake. I only made a third of the recipe since hers is hyuuuge.)

We went to the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg (there are two about the same distance from us, and that one had better ratings), and we only went for one night. We weren't sure of the timing but it turns out that was a great length for us. We got there at 1, which is the earliest you can get a water park bracelet on your check-in day. Our room wasn't ready til 4, but we knew that going in, and we (I) had packed our swimsuits and stuff smartly, so we had "day at the pool" bags separate from our suitcase.

So we had several hours at the waterpark, and this was peak crowds, it turns out (which makes sense, since that day's checkout people can stay til close and people like us were there ready to play before our own checkins), but even at peak crowds it was still fine. Only the biggest baddest slide had a long line, and that was.... fifteen minutes? So, fiiiiine.

And y'all, the slides are GOOD! They say "waterpark" indoors, but people throw that term around loosely, and sometimes a "waterpark" at a hotel is like, a cool pool with several slides. So, you never know. But this was legit! They were big and fast and really fun, even for adults.

You have to be 48 inches to do most of the big ones, so Nathan and Anneliese could go on whatever they wanted. There were a handful of slides for smaller kids too, but Charlotte had zero interest. She mostly just wanted to skip through the splash pools, chicken out at the tops of even the baby splash slides, and find her zen in the wave pool.

Anneliese, meanwhile, is our adventure-seeker and waited in  line for the biggest coolest (scariest) slide a gazillion times.

We went out for a family birthday dinner, and they had a steak on the kids menu, and Nathan desperately wanted it, which is of course fine. Steak dinner!

(He needed help learning to cut it. It was adorable.)

We opened presents in our room, which was sweet.

Our room was great! It had a fireplace and a fridge and a table and couch and sitting area. Plus a balcony. And a cabin! With bunk beds!

They have several kinds of suites (tents, caves, cabins) but Nathan liked this one because it had room for a third kid in the fun part, instead of just getting stuck on a sleeper sofa. So if you have three kids, get the cabin. When you're a child (or a grownup, ha), there's nothing much cooler than a novel place to sleep in a hotel room.

The hotel has all manner of things for kids to do if you get tired of the waterpark (we didn't, really, but some people might). Like a round-the-clock schedule of included activities in the lobby, like kiddie yoga, and crafts, and button making, and character appearances, and milk/cookies at bedtime, and a PJ bubble party. (We did stop by that.) (Mark taught Charlotte the electric slide. Haaaaaaa.)

I had heard that lots of stuff at GWL would cost extra, and we would rack up room charges on all manner of things (everything goes through your room key, which is also your waterpark wristband, which is very easy and also therefore potentially dangerous), but we didn't find that to be the case at all. Everything we wanted to do was included, we went out for one dinner, we brought our own yogurt and cereal and pop tarts for breakfast (there's a fridge in every room, we'd have been dumb not to), and we used a resort credit booking promo to buy lunch and snacks and frozen drinks at the pool.

Apparently there is a magic game involving wands and extra charges that lots of kids love, but our kids were happy to chase Pokemon and no one tried to push any of those extras on us or anything. I don't think our kids even noticed they existed, which is nice. Some places market that stuff directly to kids which is so maddening, but GWL didn't, so A+ to them.

Anyway it was totally a good experience, especially for a birthday (every kid gets wolf ears at check-in, but Nathan's had a special hat on them so all the staff could see he was a special occasion kid, and treated him as such, which was very sweet -- and he also got a token for a free treat at the ice cream parlor, which is a nice touch). It felt special enough and out of the ordinary that for the kids it was a Very Big Deal, and for us it was really easy to have a night in a place that clearly knows how to cater to families.

(Well, I say easy except my broke-ass foot was really tired from walking barefoot all around the waterpark. I have been weaning off my boot cast and into sturdy hiking shoes, but all those barefoot hours were a more strenuous wean than I should have done. I'm still hoping it doesn't come back to bite me later. I feel dumb, yo.)

Nathan at Almost Nine

Nine years ago today, I woke up eager to read the new last final Harry Potter book, and eager to meet my unborn baby, but hopefully not at the same time. (Was secretly worried my  labor would interrupt my Series Ending Feelings before I could finish.) (It didn't.) (Was also not-so-secretly worried that I wouldn't even know I was in labor, doing that awkward 40-weeks mental dance of "pee or broken water?" because the end of pregnancy is so glamorous.)

I can't believe that was nine years ago.

It no longer feels like yesterday, exactly, but it also feels like... well, not like nine years. And if this is what nine years feels like, then I can't believe I only have nine left. He's halfway out of the house! Which is not a ridiculous mental milestone at all so bite your tongue.

Today* he's a full-on big kid, doing big kid things, like reading Harry Potter himself. (Yes! Novels! He reads them now!) (Sometimes!) (He still would choose a biography or fact book nineteen times out of twenty.)

*Well, today today he is not doing any big kid thing or reading any books, because he's battling down a barf bug as I type this. Having a big kid means that when they're sick, you sit ten feet away at the computer and listen to them dry heave while you write a blog post about them. It's both easier and harder than having a sick baby.

(Oh who am I kidding. It's totally easier.)

He's a good sick kid though. He's rull pukey in general when he's sick, so he's kind of a champ at it by now. If one of the kids has to be barfy, I'm glad it's him. Which is a weird thing to say about him at this milestone juncture, but it's organic to our day, so, there you go.

Besides A+ barfing, which I feel like I should stop talking about now, Nathan is doing really well these days. I was told that eight would be as good as five, and I think maybe it has been. Eight is much less moody than seven, and much more helpful, and much more worldly.

He needs me less than ever, but when he does need me, he needs me bigger. If that makes sense. When we do encounter rough patches, it's not about whining or potty training or grabbing anymore, it's about honesty and sneakiness and work ethic and bullies and the balance between fitting in and being doggedly confident in who you are. Raising tiny humans is no joke, and we are constantly flying by the seat of our pants, especially with Nathan, because the oldest kid is always throwing stuff at you you didn't even know you didn't know, didn't think of to think about. Parenting: not for the faint of heart.

He is still doing great in school, although he's right in that space where from a teacher's perspective he is fiiiiiiine and doing his work well enough, and not causing trouble, that he flies under the radar a bit when he's not doing his best, because it's still good enough. So we have had a lot of conversations about not half-assing his schoolwork, and not rushing to be done, and not practicing only the parts he already knows just because they're more fun to play, etc etc etc. How do you teach an eight-year-old the intrinsic value of hard work, especially in a reward-saturated world? That's not rhetorical, I'm really asking. TELL ME IF YOU KNOW PLEASE FOR REAL.

He has a handful of good kids at school that he buddies around with, and a handful that make me purse my lips, which I assume is about normal and will always be the case. He goes to a super diverse school, so he has friends from all continents and many religions, and is becoming a person who knows how and what to ask people about their heritage, his cultural curiosity unstifled by the fear of being offensive, because he is in relationship with all kinds of kids. I've admired him several times when, for instance, he sees the Asian man playing as a guest violinist from church, and he is happy and friendly to walk up to him and ask him about his instrument, or if his family is from Korea or another place in Asia - and what unfolds is a perfectly natural conversation that isn't about race but also doesn't shy away from it. He takes in stride that some of his Muslim friends pray several times a day during school, or that his Sikh Indian friend wears a turban. He just... casually knows a lot about a variety of things, as we all do about our friends, I suppose, but it's so cool that he lives it and is growing a kind and nuanced language for something we, as a culture, struggle to do, or at least to do well. The kids are all right, as they say. (They give me hope.)

 His favorite school work is science, for sure -- he is curious about the world and nature and animals and astronomy and matter, and loves being able to build some tool or model that will help him test an idea. He also does math extremely well; I kind of can't believe how quickly his little brain can grasp a new concept and be able to apply it. He still likes to read a lot, but mostly for fun; it's not something he seems to want to push himself on. He likes writing stories but prefers... reports. "This is an informational text about x," he tells us on the reg. (It's usually a historical ship, or an animal; yesterday, it was a commodities report about how some virus is affecting coffee beans and the world might be running out of coffee; this is information he thought I would like to know.)

He loves legos, if anything, even more than he has in the past. He is less and less married to the idea of keeping his creations together as they look on the box, and increasingly into making his own designs, or replicating designs he sees in the real world. His need to build things extends beyond legos and now includes a variety of trash, which he raids from the recycling bin, and I am constantly having to gently* urge him to remove the coke can boxes and coffee cans and Gatorade bottles from his room, where they are inevitably taped to each other and to rocks and strings and folded paper, because that's a dinosaur habitat/ ship yard/ new solar system/ airport/ lemur rescue center DUH MOM CAN'T YOU SEE I NEED THAT. (*What, I try.)

Nathan is so independent and helpful at home; he's definitely the chore workhorse of the three kids, and helps his sisters and both Mark and me, so much. He fixes his own breakfast and packs his own lunch (and often helps the girls with both those things) and fancies himself a budding master chef, so he loves to help with dinner too.

He loves his cello and his choir at church, and he loves running. The big kids do a track club every Friday morning before school, and he often gets a couple of miles in, which impresses me. He's also become quite a fast swimmer this summer, which blows my mind a little. Two years ago he couldn't swim at all, and now he's one of the fastest in the pack at his swim meets. He just looks like a swimmer in the water; it's the most athletic thing we have ever seen him do, and it's fun to see him grow in confidence with it.

He's still one of the smallest in his grade, less skin and bones now that he is getting stronger, but still just... short. We've been saying for over a year now that he's due a growth spurt at any moment, but it keeps not coming. So.... yeah? Any day now? I guess? Or maybe never.

He loves minecraft. He films himself talking to the camera for his "youtube channel, please subscribe!" (which is locked to everyone but him, but he can dream of his internet superstardom if he wants). He sends lovely heart-feelings texts and emails. He has a teenager voice he uses to talk on the phone. Has spent the year obsessed with Pokemon, so the current GO trend is blowing his mind and providing some good Daddy-kid bonding time to be out exploring. He plays fine alone but still clings to attention from Anneliese, which often wanes these days, because of Charlotte's equal demand and more interesting (to her) playtime ideas. He is bossy and firm and kind and generous. He remains sensitive, and is easily hurt and offended. He saves his silly side for people he really trusts. He is ever more self-assured, and no longer scared of real conversation with new people, even adults. He is polite and witty and full of fun! facts! and loves studying the giant world atlas that hangs over his bed.

He is a wonderful person, and now I need to go wipe his face with a washcloth and scratch his sicky back and offer him some ice chips. (He's patient zero. Pray for us.)

We love you, sweet Nathan. Happy due date, you excellent human, you.

Days 5-6: Wisconsin Dells

(backdated, again, etc)

5th Night: Wisconsin Dells!

Last summer when Another Nathan and I were driving for his move, we stopped for dinner in the Dells, and I was so delighted I could barely stand it, and all I could think was that I wanted to come back there with my family. So much kitsch! So many water parks! Like Myrtle but in Wisconsin!

So when we decided to take this road trip this summer, this was the first stop I planned, and I sort of worked backwards from there. Y'all, it was just as fun with the kids as I wanted it to be.

I labored over hotel decisions forever and ever, because there are a million choices, and they run the gamut from roadside motel pay by the half-day (me: wide eyes) to, like... fancy resort with all-inclusive meals and booze and unlimited water slides.

Knowing that we had three young kids who would be too short for many slides, one of whom can't swim unassisted, all of whom get randomly nervous right when we aren't expecting it, we opted for a less expensive hotel with a great series of pools for designed for young kids, and it came with free included park passes for a huge waterpark in town. (We figured if the kids didn't know the "fancy" waterpark existed, they would be thrilled with the slides and play areas at our pool -- and we were correct -- but then we would have the option to go to the big park too, if the crowds didn't sound annoying or if there weren't other things in town we wanted to do, etc. OPTIONS.) So anyway that ended up being a great decision.

We checked into the hotel, and it was a suite, so the kids all had beds, and Mark and I also had our own separate bedroom with a door that closed (this was a godsend by this point on our trip IF YOU KNOW WHAT I AM SAYING). and immediately put on swimsuits and played outside in the outdoor pools.

Y'all. Wisconsin in August is still chilly. It was like, 75 out or something. For us, that's not exactly swimming weather. I do not know how this whole town stays in business when you can only swim maybe two months a year, but hey! Whatever! Some of the pools were heated (IN AUGUST OMG HAHAHAHAHA *wipes tear*) and the kids were happy even on the cold slides and waterfalls, and it was super fun.

We went to a famous* pizza and brewery place for dinner, where I had the weirdest beer of my life (wheat beer filtered with banana? Wisconsin WHAT EVEN) and we wore moose antlers because hey America family road trip (!?) and then we drove through the (kitschy, delightful) downtown area of Wisconsin Dells.

And then, because the main thing to do in the dells is swim, we went back to the hotel and got in the indoor pool. At nine o'clock at night. Because the kids seemed fine, and vacation had apparently made us punchy. (*Famous for small town Wisconsin standards. Mostly I just wanted to yell MYRTLE Y'ALL but I refrained.)

The indoor pool was adorable, with a polar theme and lots of penguins and polar bears (who live at opposite poles, which is now a Thing I Know because I brought my pedantic 8-year-old to a pool with a polar theme, and he had Concerns about how realistic it was/n't) and the children were very taken with it. (Me too.)

Day 6: Wisconsin Dells, Ginormous Water Park

We did indeed decide to go to "the big water park" the next day, and it ended up being gobs of fun. Here's the thing about Marky and me: we really love waterparks. We were basically giddy. I don't think the kids knew what to make of us.

So we did a few slides all together in the big tubes as a family (Charlotte basically sobbed down one of them, she was terrified and then super angry at us and we felt like crap parents, but also, you know, she was fine so whatever.) And then Nathan and Anneliese got rullll brave and did a few by themselves. Mark waited for them while I took Charlotte a huge splash pad where she found the quietest corner of the quietest slide and then sat in an inch of water and watched other kids come down while gently splashing water over her thighs. So, to each her own I guess.

There was no slide Nathan and Anneliese didn't want to try. I went with them on a bunch (there were a few things they wouldn't let me do because of my cast and broken arm (OH WAIT DID Y'ALL FORGET I WAS TRAIPSING AROUND THE COUNTRY LIKE A NEON STORM STROOPER?) and anyway we had Mark's work phone with its waterproof case so I got some fun pictures.

Anneliese was the only one in our family brave enough to try the zip line, where you hold onto a handlebar thing and jump off a giant tower over a pool, and she was crazy nervous and did it anyway, and sometimes I am so proud of her little quiet adventurous spirit that I might burst.

The only thing better than being super proud of your kid is seeing them feel super proud of themselves.

We finished the day with a long swim in the wave pool all together, and then good showers with actual hair washing and such, before we needed to get in the road for a long drive. (Again, I give myself an A+ for packing.)

Really excellent day. I would go back here every year, I really would. Delightful and cheesy and I won't lie, a waterpark day without the blistering heat is pretty awesome.

Pool Party!

We had a sweet little pool party for Nathan on Sunday afternoon for his birthday. He had no specific theme requests this year, so the theme was, come over and swim at our house and have cake. EASY AND FUN.

I made favor bags with treats like candy and sunglasses and goggles and some mincraft toys and origami-type folding crafts. These bags were nothing fun or fancy like the lego or dinosaur or rainbow ones but I lined them up on the mantle like always, because THAT IS A THING I DO OKAY.

I got some color-your-own beach balls for the kids* to color as everyone was getting here. (*For me. Okay? Fine. I wanted to color a beach ball. The kids liked it too so hush.)

I ordered a variety of inflatable things to "decorate"(/play with) in the pool, including a bunch of adorable beach balls and a dolphin ring toss. And a cruise ship because obviously.

Charlotte hoarded them mostly to herself. (Which makes sense because in my Big Book of Facts About Boolers, on page 16 it says that boolers love balls. So.)

But the kids all played together in the pool for a while, I checked out the sexy lifeguard with a few up-downs, and all was well.

And then Nathan opened presents and we had an ice cream cake, which is what he requested, which I had never made before in my life, which I wasn't ready to outsource to baskin robbins, so we watched some videos and we tried it. (Post about that later.)  It came out great! 

(Yes, that is corn growing back there behind his head, by the pool deck. Also a post for later. To be filed under: OH MARKY.)

Speaking of Oh Marky, a day after the party there are still balloons stuck in our tree out front, and Mark keeps doing THIS to get them down, and we keep joking that this is the only use a southerner has for hockey sticks. It makes me laugh. 


(If you cant see the embedded video, click here to watch on YouTube.)

No, I don't know why we own a hockey stick in the first place. Someone asked me and... I honestly don't know. I have no good answer. I don't even have a bad answer. KEINE AHNUNG.

Twelve Quick Takes for Summer Break

1.) Reading outside. I make such a habit of sitting or walking outside for a while every day (sunshine is good for my soul, also it's my hippie Sleep Plan attempt at making the days bright and the nights dim, in my never-ending quest to sleep better), and often it's to read, that it seems the kids have picked up on the habit. On library day a few weeks ago when I chased them outside, they did... this.

I tried not to look at their pillows on the ground and just decided to feel happy they were all reading and quiet.

2.) Better swimming. I can't believe that this time last year, none of the kids would even put their face in the water happily, much less let go and swim on their own. Now Nathan and Anneliese are both little fishies, with endless energy and bravery, and Charlotte (with her puddle jumper on) will go anywhere in the pool too, for hours. Until she's exhausted, clearly.

when you're swimming with your thumb in your mouth, it's time to be done

Nathan has gotten to be a really decent diver, too! I'm legit impressed with this. Mad props to his teacher whoever that was. *brushes shoulders*


(If you can't see the video embedded above, click here to watch on YouTube.)

There was a time when I was worried about owning a pool, and now I never want to live without one again.

3.) Duck Donuts. We found a new (to us) donut place where every donut is made to order. Which means you pick your frosting or glaze, and whatever sprinkes/nuts/sugar topping you want, and they serve it to you warm and ooey gooey with a fork.

I'm not a huge donut person, but this is really excellent. RECOMMEND.

4.) Noemi. The fabulous Noemi came over (and we went once to her house) and, well, fabulous Noemi is fabulous. She is fun and funny and her kids behave and are polite and adorable and she's just generally excellent to have around, and she better watch her ass or I will smother in my attempts to conquer her friendship heart and she will have to awkwardly pretend she doesn't know me. Not that it will come to that.

5.) Yay marriage! Mark and I finally had that anniversary date we missed on father's day. And it ended up being on the same day that marriage equality passed nationwide. What a great day to celebrate marriage, amiright? Cheers, everyone! Everyone!

And happy dozen years to the best person I could hope to share this life with.

6.) Booler bruise. Charlotte fell off her bed, and apparently she landed on her... chin? I don't even know with this girl. She is my delicate flower who bruises and breaks and seems to fragile, or maybe just klutzy, or yeah I don't know. Another booler injury for the record books. It turned all sorts of colorful shades for several weeks before it finally went away.

7.) Paper chain. Anneliese made a paper chain to count down the days to Montreat. There are links on that chain with labels like "grandpa" and "Another Nathan" and "skate camp" to mark the time and plans for the month. I guess this is as good a calendar as any, when you're five?

When she and Nathan were at Grandpa's house, Charlotte took over tearing a link each day. She took her responsibility very seriously. (And yes I am aware of the irony of letting any of my kids, especially my breakable delicate flower stand on the very ledge from where Anneliese fell and smashed her face all those years ago.)

8.) Ice skating camp. Yes, Anneliese did a day camp for ice skating. We had her signed up for something different, and then it got changed, and then she reminded me she had liked skating when we tried it back in February, so she suggested ice skating camp instead. Um, okay.

It's the most random thing. We are not a people of ice. Or skates. But I do love about her that she is willing to try new things she knows nothing about, and assumes it will be fine. I like that she wants to do her own thing. And she did great, made new friends, and by the end of the week she was super proud of herself for being able to skate without holding on to anything.

On the last day, they had the option to skate a little "program" where they choose a song and skate around by themselves for the parents. She thought she was doing it, but apparently she didn't sign up in time, so she didn't, and was sad, but then when I saw how she "skates" I realized she could never have done a whole song:


(If you can't see the video embedded above, click here to watch it on YouTube.)

But! So proud! She is so proud, y'all.

9.) Two-piece swimsuit. Her best friend has a two-piece tankini, and she asked for one on repeat forever, so we found one that isn't triangle cut on top, doesn't have a skimpy back, doesn't show her belly, and comes in rainbow colors. It was a quest. She is now happy.

10.) Bee stings. One more about Anneliese, apparently. Mark and I went to dinner tonight and the kids were playing at Nick and Barbara's house, and apparently there were suddenly bees, and one of them got in Anneliese's shirt, and she came away with like ten stings or something. She was fairly traumatized. Apparently some of the the bees even followed them into the house! (They ended up eating pizza for dinner on the floor of Ali's nursery to hide from them.) Props to Uncle Nick who took a few stings himself trying to get Anneliese away. Oh man.

11.) Sardi's Den. A restaurant that Mark and I loved when we lived in Clemson just opened up a branch in Raleigh, and we took Charlotte there for dinner. Ribs and backyard punch! Was really fun and tasted like memories of our early months of marriage.

12.) VCS. We survived another year of vacation church school! This year instead of teaching my own class, I did a variety of a/v tasks to run the assembly each day, and compiled a slideshow video for the last session as always, and did a rotating science teacher thing where we taught about movement and reactions by building lava lamps and playing a catapult game. Was fun and also unbloggably annoying in some moments, but mostly it's a really great week every year.

I took our annual pic in the matching shirts, but before I could get everyone to smile, I got them to frown for a few tries.

Let's just take another look at Charlotte's face here.

Excellent, yes? Yes.

Mt. Holly for the Fourth

We spent the weekend with my sister and her family in Mt. Holly for the holiday weekend. Let me tell y'all something about small towns: they know how to do patrotic holidays in the best most 'MERICA ways possible.

On Friday night we made a campfire at Ashley's and lit sparklers for the kids, and made s'mores. It was hot as the blazes and John's idea of a campfire is basically FOREST FIRE (just kidding) (except kinda not) but the kids loved it and baby Everett didn't seem to mind the cloud of ashes blowing around his head too much.

But! The s'mores were fantstic, and the sparklers were SO FUN, and John even got some long rainbow ones for Anneliese, because he is an A++ uncle, for real.

On Saturday morning we got up early to take the kids to a parade in town. Except they were actually in the parade -- one of those things where all the kids can dress up in red, white and blue and ride a bike or a wagon or whatever, and wave. Since they are so little, we all decided to walk with them.

Which is, apparently, what everyone else decided to do too. Because basically everyone else who showed up for the parade was also in the parade. There were maybe ten bystanders along the whole route.

Basically, the whole town took a walk together, is what I'm saying.

And then afterward there was free ice cream for all the participants! (So, the whole town.)

(And yes, it really was free. I finger-erased those quote marks for them.) (I also erased the ones around parade but Ashley pointed out in hindsight those probably could have stayed. Ha.)

So here we are, parade completed and eating ice cream, all by 10am. 'MERICA!

After the parade we went to John's dad's house, where he lives in a compound of sorts with his mom and sister. (It's not really a compound, they just call it that. Their houses all back up together and they share a pool and tennis court and such. It's cool!)

The kids swam in the pool and John jerry-rigged the slide with a hose so they could use that too. We had pizza for lunch and the baby slept in the outdoor bar area and then it started raining and we still had trouble pulling the kids from the water.

Anneliese did this slide easily a hundred times. Just, on repeat, never less delighted with it.


(If you can't see the video embedded above, click here to watch on YouTube.)

That night, John set off a bunch of fireworks and... okay. Here's the thing. They weren't fancy by like anyone's downtown official fireworks show standards. But they were waaaaay fancier than what any one person should be shooting off at home in their front yard. I mean. It was very cool to see, and also a tiny bit terrifying.

John had some noise blocking ear covers for the shooting range (of course he does) so Charlotte wore those until she fled away with Anneliese.

The boys were impressed and the girls were... impressed from the window inside the house.

Happy small town fourth of July, everyone!