Last week, I told you about the first part of our vacation, and now, as Paul Harvey said, "is the rest of the story." After our trip to Colorado, we came home for about 48 hours to regroup, do laundry and repack, and then we were off to the Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City. If you have never been, you have to go! We had a blast!
The two-hour car ride was a piece of cake compared to the seven-hour drive to Colorado. When we walked into the lobby of the hotel, the kids were in awe. I did not tell the kids, but I booked a room that had bunk beds. There was even a television in the cubby where the bunk beds were. The kids were so excited, because they had a television in their "room". They don't have that at home.
I was excited because we were there to meet some friends. These are not just any friends. These are friends from one of our first duty stations, Fort Huachuca, Ariz. Through the magic of Facebook and my friend's vigilant Christmas card sending, we have remained in touch since 2003. The last time I saw my sweet friend, my now 9-year-old was 1, and she didn't have any children. We would walk in the Huachuca mountains and all over post almost every day, me and my stroller and her and her dog. She introduced me to the Protestant Women of the Chapel, and she was a really good and patient friend when I needed one at our first duty station.
I am sure that by now, you may be wondering why I chose "The Climb" as the song for this week. For those of you who have been through at least one deployment, if you are experiencing your first deployment, or if you are a single parent for any reason, things get overwhelming at times. Thinking of taking three kids (to include one with special needs) on vacation tends to send me running to the fridge for an adult beverage, but I am learning that "it ain't about how fast I get there ... it ain't about what's waiting on the other side ... it's the climb." I have had people stop me in public to ask how I can take all three kids out by myself, and I have come to discover that it is a choice. I choose life during deployment and being at the Great Wolf Lodge was that sort of experience for Team Young.
The youngest sweet boy has issues with spraying water (not to mention wandering away), so I knew that I had to have eyes on him at all times. Sweet girl doesn't swim, but she is not adventurous. She hung with the friends that were her age. Oldest sweet boy went straight for the largest water slide! He was there for the entire three hours we spent at the water park.
I have to say that my favorite part of the evening was watching my youngest sweet boy ride the "snake" that was in the pool. In the large pool, they had this huge snake. It was not attached to anything, so it floated freely. People sat on it. They jumped over it. They dove under it. I carried him into the water and he resisted, at first. Then I took him to the head of the snake and put his hand on it and he resisted, at first. I put him on the snake, and he did not want to get out. He sat there with me holding him firmly around the waist for 15 minutes! When it was time for the park to close, I had to drag him off the snake, exhausted. Then I had to go find the oldest sweet boy and get him off the slide. I had not seen him in three hours! Sweet girl put her life jacket away and she got ready to go back to the room.
The next day we opted for Magiquest. For those of you who don't know, that is a game where we walk (albeit quickly) all around three (yes, three) floors of the hotel looking for hidden treasures based on clues. There are wands and everything. This day, "the climb" is all about the oldest sweet boy slowing down and making sure that sister and brother are participating and gathering treasures. We started at 11:30, and we walked and walked and walked and walked. I looked down at my watch as the youngest sweet boy was melting down and it was 5:30. Holy Cow! We have been at this all day, but with a little prompting, everyone made it through.
We didn't spend all day with the friends we came to see, but we did have some fun dining experiences. We went to the T-Rex Cafe. I knew it was going to be a little overwhelming for the youngest sweet boy, so I prepared myself. I began to call it Mommy Cross Fit. Take one, 46-pound boy, add in fear and panic and that is one insane workout! The animatronics put him over the edge, but to balance that there were huge fish tanks and chicken fingers. It's all about the climb. We made it through and had ice cream after dinner.
We have been home from vacation for a week now and as we were running errands today, "The Climb" came on the radio. As I listened to the words again, I began to think about how far our family has come since our last deployment. Last time my sweet soldier deployed our kids were 1, 3 and 5. Today, they are 5, 7 and 9, and what a huge difference that time makes for them and for me. I can honestly say that I don't know what is "waiting on the other side", but I am determined to enjoy "the climb". Although we have not done very many things this summer, we have enjoyed being together. I can't imagine what I would do if I didn't have these sweet little lives in mine.
Make sure you hug your two-legged (or four-legged) babies. "The Climb" is worth every minute! Enjoy the rest of your summer! School starts soon - not that I am counting down or anything!
Strength and Courage ... sby
