Yesterday, the temps here hit 80º for the first time this year. I love summer, I love the heat, and I'm thrilled to have a little boy who wants to play outside 24/7. (Remind me of this sometime when I'm whining about how all he wants to do is play outside and the epic tantrums that result when you make him come in) So, it just makes sense that we have a summer bucket list!

Mason's Summer Bucket List

• Go swimming at the outdoor pool
• Go see Thomas the Train in Duluth
• Learn to pedal his tricycle
• Go to Irvine Park
• Visit a zoo
• Eat an ice cream cone
• Have several play dates with his buddy A
• Meet his new "cousin" in July
• Draw with chalk outside
• Go out of state
• Play with his cousin Chloe
• Learn to use the potty more than once every two months
• Go to a petting zoo
• Go down another waterslide
• Visit the Children's Museum
• Go for lots of bike rides
• Play in a lake/river
• Get a new furry brother/sister
• Go to at least three parades
• Eat lots of summery foods
• Go on a picnic
• Go to the fair
• Wear a tank top to show off his Gabba temporary tattoos
• Make a craft project for the Grandmas
• Dig in the sand with all his sand toys
• See his Uncle Russ & Aunt Jen
• Try three new parks/playgrounds

My Mother's Day has not really gone as planned. The original plan including me sleeping in while SuperDad and Mason made breakfast and worked on a top secret Mother's Day project. Then we were going to eat and enjoy the day together as a family. Instead, SuperDad got called into work at 6 am and it's just been me and one cranky little boy all day today, and thus, just another day of sweeping the floor, doing the laundry (which SuperDad usually does!), and wondering why I can't get the blu-ray player to work.  But I've learned by now that motherhood is all about rolling with the punches, expecting changes in plans, and making the best out of something, even when it isn't what you planned.

We enjoyed a long lunch with Grandma J at the cafe, where Mason was the star of the show, greeting waitresses by name and hamming it up whenever anyone approached him. He may have also announced "Person going POTTY!" every time someone went to use the restroom too, but at least everyone found it funny.

After a trip to a jam packed Wal-mart, a few too many tantrums, and a hard fought nap, this mommy is happy to be sitting down with a box of Andies Candies at her computer to enjoy a little me time, even though blogging wasn't really part of today's original itinerary.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Mother's Day and for those who have lost their mothers, never really had a good mother, or are missing children who left too soon, my heart is with you. To those people working today (like my mother and my husband) who would rather be home celebrating with their families, thank you for being willing to work a job that requires you to work un-ideal hours so that others may be safe (police, firefighters, hospital employees, etc) or have a bit of fun (retail, casinos, etc etc) on the holidays. You are appreciated. And to all of the mothers supporting other mothers in this wild journey that is motherhood, thank you for holding out your hand and helping. We're all in this together.

Happy Mother's Day everyone.

This time last year - Bachelor's Weekend

Two years ago - Little PeaPod

Our trip to Wisconsin Dells was our first overnight trip with Mason. He's spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's plenty, but we've never had him to a hotel before this and I was kind of concerned.

Well, our Kalahari experience was AWESOME and I'm pretty sure I'm ruined for staying in regular hotels with a child from here on out. Our suite had two bedrooms and two bathrooms. That's right, Mason had his OWN ROOM and we didn't have to worry about the TV, lights, or our voices keeping him awake past his 8:30 bedtime.  Unfortunately, he thought having to sleep in his pack and play next to two unused queen sized beds was totally unfair and tried hard to fight sleep. He did end up sleeping on one of the beds for quite a while the first night, but night two went a lot smoother. I don't really blame him for wanting to sleep in the beds though, the king size bed in our room was seriously one of the most comfortable beds I've EVER slept on. I kind of wanted to bring it home with me....

Our suite had a full living room area with a huge couch that Mason loved, an armchair, a TV, and a fireplace. This was great because then SuperDad could stay up watching TV until 2 am without keeping Mason OR me awake.

We also had a big balcony that was accessible from the living room or the master bedroom area. Mason was super excited to have "big winnows" and I was happy that the balcony was of good quality - have you ever been on one that made you think it was going to tumble to the ground with each step? Not this one! Had it been warmer, the three of us would have totally eaten breakfast out there every morning with no worries!

The kitchen area included a microwave, coffee maker, full sink, and lots of cupboard space. It was awesome to be able to store away all of Mason's snacks and microwave meals out of sight so he wasn't begging for them all the time.

The master bathroom had a whirlpool tub that I took advantage of at 1 pm on Friday because nothing says vacation like a bath in the middle of the afternoon, right? One bathroom even had a pull-out clothesline for us to hang our wet swimwear on - how cool is that?!

It wasn't just our room that was amazing - so were the resort staff! From a super friendly check-in, endless comments on Mason's cuteness, elaborate instructions on what were the best "family waterslides" from one of the lifeguards, to the woman in the tourist shop giving us the 10% discount even though we'd forgotten the coupon, all the staff we encountered out of their way to be kind and accommodating.

There are several restaurants ON SITE at the resort and most of them boasted a kid-friendly menu and one of them even had a "Kids eat for $1.99 for every adult entree" which I thought was pretty impressive - I was expecting to drop some serious cash for every meal! We ate at Damon's our first night there and we were blown away by how quickly our food was ready and how GOOD it was. My burger was seriously one of the best burgers I've ever had! Had I not been set on going to the train restaurant (another post coming about that!) the following night, we probably would have eaten at Damon's both nights of our trip!

When we passed this beautiful sight in the lobby, I was super glad that Mason doesn't really eat candy or junk food, as I'm pretty sure he would have been screaming "Candy! Chocolate!! MINE!!!" upon seeing the Sweet Hut. I know I was drooling a little. I meant to bring home goodies for our dogsitter but realized I totally forgot until now.... #failure So Deb, if you're reading this, pick something out from the picture and I promise I'll pick it up next time!

While I was at first bummed to have to take a day and a half off of work for our vacation, I'm super glad I did. It felt like we basically had the place to ourselves on Thursday and Friday, although things started getting a little busier Friday night. When we were leaving on Saturday, the resort was a bit of a madhouse with long lines to get into the waterpark and to check into the resort itself. (In their defense, we were leaving right when the parks were opening) Such big crowds on a random cold weekend in April definitely make it clear how popular the Kalahari is, but it made us realize that when we go back, we'll definitely be sticking to another weekday trip! Lines and toddlers don't mix! We took advantage of the option to check out by dropping our bill and room keys in a box by the door as we left and that was really a nice hassle free way to end our vacation.

All in all, Mason's 1st hotel stay was a total success. We had a great time and I'm much less concerned about future trips, although I can't imagine any other location will have so much entertainment for our little guy! Six thumbs up to the Kalahari Resort from Wee Mason's family!

This time last year - New Skill: Climbing / Biting / Plagiocephaly Update #6

Two years ago - Hands Together Now / Garage Sale-ing / Good Sleeper

Disclaimer: The Kalahari Resort provided our family with a two night stay in exchange for a review of their resort. All opinions stated in this post and my other Kalahari related posts are 100% mine and have not been influenced in any way, monetarily or otherwise. Thank you, Kalahari, for this great opportunity!

This time last year -13 Month Pictures / New Spare Carseat

This time two years ago - Tuesday Hater / My New Morning Routine / Full Time Daddy

I have to admit, when I think of Wisconsin Dells, I think of myself as a 10 year old, so excited to go there with family and again as a teenager, so excited to spend the day with friends, going down super fast slides while getting a tan. Before having a kid, I would have told you that a waterpark was no place for a preschooler, let alone a toddler Mason's age. Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells definitely proves this wrong!

Just this past winter, they renovated their indoor waterpark and the renovations included a baby/toddler water area, called "Tiko's Watering Hole." Once I heard about this, I knew it would be a perfect vacation destination for our little fishy. And boy was I right!

Complete with 10 waterslides, lots of geysers, musical turtles, and its own lazy river, this area was restricted to children under the age of 5 and under 48" tall. We spent a LOT of time here both days of our vacation. The water in most areas was only a few inches deep and there were two lifeguards roaming the area on foot, so had we not been taking pictures (and possibly occassionally going down the slides ourselves *cough* me *cough*), we definitely would have felt comfortable to lounge on the ample seating and watch Mason play, possibly even enjoying a few adult beverages (maybe next time!)

Mason LOVED the musical turtles (their heads responded like xylophone keys) and could have played tunes on them all day long had not kept distracting him with waterslides and "kitties."

He loved "riding" all the various jungle animals

He wasn't so sure about the lazy river, but he sure looked cute in the tube!

After that, he tried to get us to chase him through the tunnel

The geysers were a huge hit and totally made me wish splash pads were more common in Northern Wisconsin!

He LOVED the waterslides in Tiko's Watering Hole and went down the same one about a hundred times. It was super nice that he was able to do the steps on his own without our assistance, because by trip 40, we would have been less than enthused by his love of this particular slide. LOL

There are more pictures of his waterslide fun here.

 Tiko's Watering Hole was an absolutely perfect park for Mason (age 25 months) and I really liked not having to worry about him climbing up stairs that were too big for him or getting shoved aside by the bigger, faster kids. I can definitely see Mason still enjoying this area in a year or two and it seems like it would be a great area for kids who are a bit scared of the bigger slides or who aren't very comfortable in the water as well.

Mason, SuperDad, and I give Tiko's Watering Hole 6 thumbs up. Kudo's to Kalahari Resort to really putting some thought into the ideal family vacation - one that includes stuff for the youngest crowd too!

Tune in later this week for way more vacation photos and fun!

This time last year - Best of Intentions: No! / Easter Egg Hunt

Two years ago - Tummy Time / Smiley Boy

Disclosure: We received a 2 night free stay at the Kalahari Resort in exchange for this review. We were not compensated monetarily and all opinions are entirely my own and not influenced by their generosity in any way.