Great Wolf

My daughter became a teenager recently... as a gift to her, I promised to take her and a friend (and me and Caleb of course!) to the Great Wolf Lodge...

now, I had heard a lot of hype about the GWL... I hoped that it would live up to the hype. I wanted Jess and her friend to have a blast. I wanted to have a stress free vacation. I did not want to blow the bank.

Well, the GWL completely delivered. Now, please do not misunderstand me - you can completely blow the bank if you choose. The one in Charlotte has a bowling alley, arcade, Magic-quest, kid spa, adult spa, two gift shops, a "build-a-wolf", putt putt, glitter tattoo parlor, and numerous restaurants...

I think the girls went to the arcade last at night. We did hit the gift shop for purchases for siblings. One girl got a violet hair piece and one got a tattoo... other than that, we were all happy to play in the water forever... Caleb did take a break for the pj story time with Wiley the Wolf...

If you are thinking about going - I think you should. Monday and Tuesday nights are typically their cheapest nights. There are coupons floating around the internet, so search for some.

Remember check in is at 4pm, but we arrived at 11:15am and were allowed to go into the water park immediately.... Check out is 11am, but you are allowed to stay until water park closes and we stayed until 7pm.

It was a perfect trip with three perfect kids. I could not have asked for better behaving youngun's, better customer service, yummier food, or more laughter.

I know this is not really a "blog" entry... it is more like an advertisement for the Great Wolf Lodge... but I think all of my mother friends should know about a great place to take the family!!!

66 years later

Do not usually make political statements - certainly not with my blog... but this was strong...

I am all for WORK-fare... not a fan of well-fare. It is an abused system.

66 years later!

What is the story here?
What happened to the radiation that
lasts thousands of years?HIROSHIMA1945

We all know that

HiroshimaNagasaki were destroyed in August 1945
after the explosion of atomic bombs.

However, we know little about the progress made by the people of that land
during the past 65 years.
HIROSHIMA - 66 YEARS LATER

DETROIT- 65 YEARS AFTER HIROSHIMA

What has caused more long term destruction -- the A-bomb,
or U. S. Government welfare programs created to buy the
votes of those who want someone to take care of them?Japan does not have a welfare system.

Work for it or do without.

13

Last Friday, on June 8th, my middle child turned 13.

13

holy crap, did I really just type 13?

well, I thought most of the day about what was happening 13 years ago... cramps, contractions, one push, baby scream... but I can blog about that another time, how that impacted me differently this year...

But, my daughter is 13. She looks 15, at least... But, she is a beautiful 13. She is naive. She is innocent. She is my positive out look on most things. She is boy crazy.

She is always having the best or worst day of her entire life. She loves music and loves to sing.

She dances around our home like there are hidden cameras everywhere...

and would love it if there were.

She loves eat Mexican food and laugh with her best friend Abi.

Now, she is also a normal 13. She is self conscious in public. She hates bathing suits.

She has a negative opinion of her appearance and self-worth.

This year I pray for peace in the heart of my child. I pray that she will find her worth in her Lord and that her family can continue to try to let her know how important she is to us. I pray that her inner joy will continue to bubble out and will infect all of the people around her. I pray that all of the "mean girls" will stay away... at least until she is strong enough to cream them on her own....

I love my girl. I always thought that I wanted to be the mother of three boys... girls were too prissy... and well, girly... but God knew what he was doing when he blessed me with her sweet heart.

She is my favorite drama-queen.

Puddin', I love you