Great Wolf Vacation: Day 2

This morning was a great day for sleeping in, overcast an cool. Olivia did pretty well and slept until just about 8:00am. Mia and Jennifer slept until after 9:00! That is unheard of. I cannot remember the last time Mia slept so late. It is probably because she did not get a very restful night of sleep. We shared one of the queen sized beds and I have never been kicked and hit so many times in one night. I bet Mia moved more in her sleep than most kids move all day. It showed when she woke up, she was not happy and it took a couple hours for her to stop fussing.

But after a breakfast of cold cereal (who knew Mighty Bites from Trader Joe's were so yummy) and coffee (No, the girls did not drink any coffee) we slowly got ready for the water park. We did not leave the room until 10:30 and by that time the water park was hoppin. Our first fun was the giant water slides. As usual I was with Mia and Jenn with Olivia. The water slides are cool, you ride on big two man inner tubes with the biggest person in the back. Of course on our first ride down Mia and I tip at the very end and we go under. No harm done, but Mia won't have anything to do with the slides the rest of the day.

However, we did discover the hot tub and that became one of Mia's favorite places to visit. A warm relief in a rather cold water park this morning.

For lunch we get in the car and drive to the Legions, a large out door mall with tons of places to eat. We choose the T-Rex Cafe just because dinosaurs are cool. After we did a little walking around and then ice cream at a Cold Stone Creamery.

When we got back to the lodge the girls wanted to play in the arcade, but it was having some repairs done. Instead we did the touristy thing and bought some magic wands so the girls could go on a MagiQuest. Basically it is a magical scavenger hunt where your wand helps you open or find magical elements. There are magic chests, pictures, crystals, and such all networked so your finds are tracked for you. A little cheesy, but Olivia loves accomplishing a multi-step task and having a computer screen tell her what a great job she did. Almost a real life D&D, so right up my alley.

Then back to the water park for more fun and wet adventures. This afternoon was great. It was a little warmer and empty. I would say at 10% capacity. There were no lines at all and everything was empty. Unfortunately, Mia still did not want to go down a slide, but she did enjoy the hot tub.

By now, the girls are exhausted, but Mia still does not want to go back to the room, or our "pretend home" as she calls it.

We decide to get Pizza Hut (available at the lodge) and while it is being made we do a couple more quests MagiQuest. Then back to the room to eat it and watch a little TV. At this point Mia is so tired, she is completely unable to control herself. I pick her up and in about 45 seconds, she is out like a light.

So, I put her to bed and head to the computer to write about our second day at our pretend home.

NOTE: Post edited on 4/25 to add more photos.

Great Wolf Vacation: Day 1

The story really started on Saturday night right before dinner when Mia slammed her finger in a door. OUCH! Mia and I were off to the ER. Long story and a longer stay at the ER (almost 4 hours) to find out that Mia broke the tip of her finger and also ripped the nail out of its bed. SUPER OUCH! But Mia was great and we were told to keep it dry. Easy enough to do unless you are leaving in the morning to go to an indoor water park for vacation.

Sunday morning and we have to get some supplies and a prescription for Mia. I have a plan. We cover Mia's hand with a water proof glove, tape the wrist with water proof tape and cover the tape with that plastic wrap used to hold ice bags in place by athletic trainers.

We finally get organized, packed, eat and on the road at 12:45pm. A little later than planned, but check in time is 4pm, so it is ok. The ride is uneventful for the most part. Mia tried to sleep most of the way but said, "I want a comfortable bed to put my head on." a number of times. As we get to KC, Mia decides it is time to puke. This is becoming typical so we were prepared. A plastic tub with a lid, a roll of paper towels and two scented garbage bags (gotta double up) and all is good.

We pull up to the lodge right at 4:30pm and the girls are amazed. Mia right away decides she is all better and this is where she wants to live. We drop the bags in the room and take a quick walk around the lodge to scope things out. The girls are so happy they are even being nice to each other, walking down the hall holding hands and being perfect.

Once we change into our swimming suits and cover up Mia's hand, we head to the main attraction. It is full of kids, parents, grandparents and every type of person you can imagine, but it does not seem crowded. The first thing we want to try are the slides. We are not sure if Mia is tall enough, but we grab two double tubes and climb up the stairs. Olivia is excited and nervous at the same time. She did some smaller slides a number of weeks ago in Chicago, but these are higher and longer. Mia does not know what to think. The closer we get to the top, the less Mia wants to try. But we know Mia is a thrill seeker and really encourage her to go with me just once. It was a fairly fast ride and we were up and down the sides of the tube, but Mia LOVED it. We do it again with switching who goes with who. Olivia and I try the other slide which is a little faster. We were flying and at one time felt like we were going to flip right out of our tube. What fun!

Olivia and Jennifer head off to do things and Mia takes me to the kiddie section. She was loving the jets that shoot water out of the ground and the little slides. We also did a couple laps in the lazy river before we take two more trips down the giant slides. Wow! What an exciting 75 minutes. The best part, Mia's glove worked perfectly.

But everything must end, so we wrap up, dry off and head back to the room to change for dinner. The girls are very eager to go the arcade, so we eat at the lodge and head down for games.

I left the camera in the car, so there are no photos from today. I did shoot a little video that I hope to edit when we get home, but otherwise you will just have to use your imagination.

It is 10:45pm and I am wiped. Time for bed. It looks like I am sharing with the Moo. I hope she does not kick too much.

NOTE: Post was edited on 4/25 to add photos.

Support the Down Syndrome Association

You might have noticed the new widget on the right side of this page. I have just set up my team (Pomranka's Paparazzi) and fundraising page for the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis (DSAGSL) 2008 Buddy Walk. I hope you will take a moment to go there and donate at least a small amount.

As yo may or may not know, their are three types of Down syndrome with the most common one being Trysomy 21. It is the triplication of the 21st chromosome. Typically there are two copies of each chromosome, in Down syndrome the 21st gets an extra. Some might see this as less than positive, I think the diversity should be celebrated. Therefore, I have decided to ask for all donations on my team's page to be a multiple of $3.21. I have even put up a nice little table to help you figure the right amount for you.

So, click here and donate to the DSAGSL! Thanks!

Imagination Celebration

Last night was "Imagination Celebration," a musical journey celebrating University City Children's Center. It started with great food and drinks from around Missouri and then the audience was delighted with music from some amazing artists.

"Imagination is more important that knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create." -Albert Einstein

The journey was....

Opening Greetings - Steve Zwolak

John McGrosso (Arianna String Quartet) performed various works on violin.

Dan Rubright (guitar), his brother Ted Rubright (percussion) and Willem von Hombrecht (bass) (please help me find a link for Willem) played some great jazz & blues selections:
Danielle, Blue Junk, & Saving Missouri.
John even joined them for a stint.

A brief intermission was followed by Dan's great performance of "Finklehopper Frog"

Lynn Rubright then took us into the world of storytelling.

Members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra performed Schubert String Quarter in d minor.
Jooyeon Kong, Violin
Lisa Chong, Violin
Jonathan Vinocour, Viola
Melissa Brooks, Cello

The evening ended with a Lullaby performed by Lydia Ruffin.

"The future belongs to those that believe in the beauty of their dreams." -Eleanor Roosevelt

For all the photos from the event, please go to my Smugmug site.

Playing Outside

PlayingOutside-4
Originally uploaded by ucitysoccer

April 5, 2008 is World Pentax Day and since I shoot with a Pentax I had to go out and make a few photographs today. Since the girls were playing, they were my subjects.

Out of these photos I need to pick 1-3 to post on www.pentaxforums.com as my contribution to WPD. If you feel so inclined, go to my WPD Set on Flickr and leave a comment under the photo(s) you think I should choose. I have until April 19, 2008 to choose & upload.