Weekend Wonderland

The weather in Seattle has been crazy this past week. Last Wednesday, weather forecasters predicted a big snowstorm so schools were cancelled, only to not get any snow at all in Seattle and Issaquah. But then Thursday we got a little dusting of about an inch or 2, even though Redmond, just a few miles away got 8 inches! Phil was sorely disappointed that we didn't get better snowfall in Issaquah, but I was happy because we had plans to go to Centralia over the weekend for a wedding, and I had been looking forward to staying at The Great Wolf Lodge for months.

Even though the forecasters predicted a huge snowstorm to hit on Saturday night, we headed to Centralia after our nephew Greyson's First Birthday brunch party. The snow started coming down around Fort Lewis but luckily we made it to The Great Wolf Lodge around 4pm just as snow was really coming down hard.



Hayden unfortunately didn't sleep a wink in the car, even though it was precisely during his nap time, so he was loopy by the time we checked into our room. He luckily took about an hour nap before we ate dinner and headed to the wedding. The wedding was about a 15 minute drive away in Centralia, and the roads were covered in snow at least 6 inches deep. Even I-5 was covered. We made it to the wedding along with a couple hundred other family members and witnessed the beautiful ceremony.


The reception was back at the Great Wolf Lodge, where Hayden got to party it up until about 9:30pm.





I took Hayden to our room while Phil stayed behind and danced with his family at the wedding. Needless to say, Hayden completely crashed for the night back at the hotel room.

The next morning we awoke to over 8 inches of snow covering the area. It was a beautiful scene. We packed up our stuff, and had a big breakfast buffet before hitting the amazing waterpark inside the Lodge.


I was totally impressed by the whole experience and can't wait to go back with Hayden when he's a little older. He was pretty apprehensive about the water, especially since water sprays at you from all directions without warning on some of the play areas! He really liked just looking around and watching everything. He liked the big wave pool when it was calm, but hated the waves. He was very clingy and whiney at first, but after a while, he got more used to it and enjoyed walking around holding our hands and exploring around. Phil and I took turns with Hayden so we could also go on some of the big waterslides. WOW! I felt like a kid again. They were incredible! Such a rush. By mid-day, Hayden was getting a little chilly so we called it a day and got all dry to head home.

The roads were still treacherous from the lodge all the way to about Olympia, but then just slushy the rest of the drive home. Hayden even managed to actually fall asleep in the car for about an hour of the drive home!

I highly recommend The Great Wolf Lodge to all families. It is totally family-friendly and a wonderful experience. I can't wait to go back sometime. I think the ideal age is probably 3 yrs old - 16 yrs old, but even Hayden really did have a great time. I would definitely recommend spending 2 nights at the hotel, that way you can go back to your room after the waterpark and shower and not use just the locker rooms in the waterpark to get dressed. It was especially challenging to do it all with Hayden by myself in the Women's locker room. I wish I had more pictures to share, but we were just so caught up in the excitement we didn't remember to take many. Plus, we didn't want it in the waterpark area. You'll have to just go and see for yourself (or check out the website!).