The Gosselins Do the Dells 2019!

Hey everybody!

Surprise!  This is not a Lady Advice post (she'll be back next week and needs some new questions)...but instead, it is a VACATION MEGAPOST.

We are back from a super fun few days at the Wisconsin Dells with G-ma, Pa, Auntie Cat, Uncle Dan, and Auntie Hanna.  We had a couple visitors during our time too: Dan's friend Jim and my Uncle Larry and Aunt Mary! Also, Boom couldn't come with us this year because of her shoulder surgery...we missed you Boom!

Alrighty, here's a breakdown of our adventures in the Dells!

Sunday

We left on Sunday morning in two cars: Team Callie (Dan, Hanna, Cat, Callie) and Team Maya (G-ma, Pa, Chris, Maya, and me).



We got to the Dells for lunch and ate at a family-style Paul Bunyan restaurant. After some sight-seeing and grocery shopping, we made our way to the AirBnB house we rented for our trip.  The girls found the arcade games right away, and they were one of the highlights of the house, obviously.

We learned quickly that the Dells is a very strange place!

That afternoon we were so hot from the steamy Wisconsin weather, we decided to do a Gosselin Family Water Olympics to cool down.  So fun!





For some Water Olympics videos, click here!

We ate dinner and hung out at the house that night, in preparation for our BIG day on Monday.

Also, I MAY have put dish soap instead of a dishwasher pod in the dishwasher the first night, so Cat and Hanna helped me manage alllllllllll the bubbles...:)

Oops! :)

Monday

On Monday morning we headed to Noah's Ark WATER PARK! It. Was. A. Blast.  The girls were fearless and went on as many waterslides as they could over and over and over. Luckily they had a bunch of fun big kids adults with them who wanted to do the same!  I didn't do the water slides, but had SO MUCH FUN watching for them and taking pictures and videos of their excitement.  I'll let the pictures and videos speak for themselves!







Chris and Dan rented a cabana for us as a home base all day.  We enjoyed lunch, a few quick breaks and afternoon ice cream in the shade of the cabana!



We also did the wave pool and lazy river and other water slides that I didn't have my camera out for.

But I made sure to take videos of some of the big waterslide action.  It meant a lot of waiting around for them to come down, but I think you'll agree that having videos of them at the end of a few waterslides is worth it.  Click here to see all the fun!

After a full day in the sun, we headed back to the house and Team Callie made a delicious spaghetti dinner.





TUESDAY

We woke up Tuesday morning (like at 6:15am early, thanks to the children...they didn't give us a break on our anniversary!) and hung around the house a bit before heading out to play miniature golf.  We had quite a few members of the HOLE-IN-ONE club...including Maya.  TWICE!

Dan got one too, but I missed getting his picture.

It was a beautiful morning and the course was just lovely- lots of natural shade and next to the river.





We got to feed goats too!

After mini golf we headed back to have some quiet time at the house.

Sewing, Cryptoquips, and Chinese Checkers

The boys headed out for a round of golf while the girls headed out to Buffalo Phil's for lunch- a restaurant where your food and drinks are delivered to you VIA TRAIN. How awesome is that?



Click here to get a taste of Buffalo Phil's train service.

After some quiet time, the girls, Hanna and I did some tie-dye!



And then later, once the boys got back, Hanna set up a fun blindfold taste-test game for the girls (and Uncle Dan!).  It was awesome! Auntie Hanna is our very own family camp counselor and we love her.




For some taste test hilarity, click here.

One of the taste test things that became a running joke was Maya eating the Macaroni and Cheese.  For some reason she thought it was hot syrup, so she brave spelled hot syrup on her paper, but it looked like Hot Smood.  So we called lots of things Hot Smood for the rest of the trip and it was amazing.  She was such a good trooper and went along with the joke too.

Larry and Mary rode their motorcycle over to see us that evening.  We did animal balloons, the girls showed Larry the Buck Hunt arcade game, dinner was cooked by Team Maya, and we celebrated Cat's birthday, our anniversary, and Larry's birthday too!

Also, the girls put on a little show.

Wednesday

This morning we got all packed up and headed to our final stop in the Dells- the DUCK BOATS!  The weather was gorgeous so we had a lovely hour long tour around the Dells, complete with a funny tour guide who told lots of CHEESY jokes (cheesy jokes in Wisconsin, GET IT? Yep the jokes were all that bad).





To see some video of the duck boat getting in and out of the water, click here!

It was then time to head back home. But we stopped on our way back for some delicious woodfire pizza and a little more family time (as you can see, Maya was over family time).

All in all it was a super delightful family trip and one I hope the girls will remember when they are older!  Thanks to G-ma, Pa, Auntie Cat, Uncle Dan and Auntie Hanna for always being so amazing with the girls and making our vacation so much fun!





...And once we got back to the cities each car picked up a furry member of the family so we are all reunited and back to reality.

I'll leave you with one of the funniest pictures I took this week: a scene I came upon after going downstairs to check on the girls after our big waterpark day.

Maya.  In her swimsuit.
Playing Buck Hunter. By Herself.

Have a great rest of the week!