A few months ago, we scored an awesome deal - a huge blessing, straight from God! Our local newspaper runs weekly promotions which are generally 1/2 off deals. This particular day, they were running a deal for Grizzly Jack's Indoor Waterpark in Utica, IL. The deal was for a Vacation Villa, reg $350 for $150. This package included passes to the waterpark, indoor amusement park and accommodations in a villa (sleeps up to 9, full kitchen, 2 bath, laundry). After I purchased this deal, I shared it on my facebook wall so that people would have the opportunity to purchase it. If 3 or more purchased this deal through my recommendation, my purchase would be free! Well, low & behold, I received a credit for the full $150 the next day!!
Fast forward to last weekend...the kids had a long weekend thanks to teacher conferences and President's Day. We decided it would be a perfect time to break up the winter monotony. We arrived on Sunday at 1:00, which is the early check-in time. Our villa wasn't ready yet, but they gave us our wrist bands so that we could go play until it was ready at 4:00.
We decided to head to the amusement park for the 3 hours...The first ride was this tiger ride. As soon as it started going, Maddie started freaking out (no big surprise there). After reassuring her that she was safe, she settled down. BUT, she declared that she would not go on that one again!
All 6 of us piled on to the Rockin' Tug boat ride where we quickly discovered that Alex and Maddie would not ride this one again! We were dropping like flies!
On down the line we went...next stop, the vertical drop! At this point, Maddie said no. Alex tried it and declared no for future rides! This was quickly becoming a problem!
Next to the vertical drop was the Tilt-a-Whirl. All the kids decided that they wanted to try this one...after our other ride failures, I was skeptical about them doing this. We all got on 2 separate cars and started twirling...after the ride, they all declared that they LOVED it!! Matt & Maddie rode for 3 or 4 rides and then both declared upset tummies. Alex & Katie rode it nonstop for the next 1 1/2 hours!
Here is Maddie - feeling down in the dumps
But then she noticed the bounce houses...
And the Scrambler...
The kids and a bit of drama - reacting to the robotic monster.
At 4:00, we received our villa key and unpacked for the night.
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| The view of the canyon from the master suite. |
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| The kiddos - checking out their balcony. |
After exploring the villa, we unloaded the van, ate a snack and changed into our swim gear. One quick call to the shuttle bus and we were on our way to the waterpark! Due to some obedience issues earlier in the day, Will was not allowed to swim for 30 minutes. These pictures were taken while he & Matt sat out Will's punishment.
We all loved the lazy river! After one time down the waterslide, Alex & I were coughing for the rest of the night (inhaling water is not good for the lungs!). We also enjoyed our time in the wave pool (see below - waves not going at this point).
We went back to the villa, ate a late dinner, took showers/baths and called it a night. While eating, we discussed our options for the next day and 3 of the 4 kids said they only wanted to play at the amusement park (no pool).
After breakfast, we packed up our stuff and turned in our key (we had to be checked out of the villa by 11, but had access to the parks until closing time that night). We then headed to Matthiessen State Park to do some hiking and letterboxing. Here we are enjoying Matthiessen Lake and Lake Falls.
We hunted for 5 letterboxes, but only found success with one. We are pretty sure we were in the right location for 2 others, but no luck. We will be back soon to hunt for the others. The park is a beautiful park with amazing canyons - which you hike through!
At this point in our hike, we needed to make a decision. The creek was partially covered with ice and some of the rocks were slippery. We also wondered how we would all make it over the middle, not knowing if the log was secure or not. As Matt & I looked around for our best option, we hear Maddie & Will hollering to us from the other side!!! They had tried the rocks & logs and had made it across! Wow - that was humbling! At this point in time, Will decided to give all of us instructions on how to get across. He told Matt to come back for me since I was older than him and needed help. Thanks kid!
When we arrived at the park, it was 40º, when we left, it was over 50º! We were actually sweating in our winter coats!
Finally done hiking, it was time to eat! We headed to the Enchanted Forest (amusement park) to eat lunch. We ordered and let the kids play on the rides until the food arrived. After eating, we decided it would be best to drive around and explore the area for an hour or so - to let everyone's tummies settle before playing at the amusement park.
We first headed to Buffalo Rock State Park to see the buffalo.
We drove around Starved Rock State Park and then headed back to the Grizzly Jack complex to drive around (much bigger than we anticipated). At this point in time, it really clouded over and started to sprinkle/rain.
They had a nice observation deck overlooking the canyon. It also gave us full view of the waterslides.
A total of an hour later, we stepped back into the Enchanted Forest and played for another few hours.
We ended our time at the amusement park, as a family. We all rode the tilt-a-whirl and then all did the vertical drop. We were so proud of Maddie & Alex - making that sacrifice for the family!
Still raining and a bit cooler (but still near 40º), we ran to the van, but not before snagging a few fun pictures...
It continued to rain as we stopped for dinner in Princeton, IL (30 minutes from park, 1 hour from our house). Leaving town, we noticed that the rain was turning to sleet and before we knew it, it was a full fledged snow storm. It was very slow going - it took us the better part of 2 hours to get home, but we made it. At times, Matt would turn on the bright headlights and it felt like we were on Star Wars - warp speed ahead!
We had a wonderful time - yes, a few bumps in the road, but we've come to expect that! Matt & I asked each other if there was anything we would do differently (for the future or if we had the trip to do over again) and both of us agreed that we wouldn't change a thing. Of course, the best thing was realizing the blessing of a free night and time together as a family.
