What A Day This Has been – And There’s More to Come!?!
Here we are 24 hours + into our big family reunion at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas, and what a day this has been! The thing is – it’s not over, yet. It’s 5:30 p.m. and hours to go before night falls out here in the great state of Texas. Somewhere around 9 p.m., more or less, seeing as how we are on the far west side of the Central Daylight Savings Time time zone.
Tom & I left south Mississippi Saturday morning and arrived in Grand Prairie, Texas that evening to spend the weekend with his daughter and family. As it to happened, Tom’s older brother and nephew arrived in Dallas Sunday afternoon from Bowie, Maryland and we all (8 of us) went to dinner at Pappasito’s where I had the BEST Mexican food since I was a kid on vacation with my family in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Wow!! Everything we all had was outstanding.
The rest of my family all congregated at my daughter’s house nearby on Sunday evening and yesterday morning and then they all caravaned over here to the Great Wolf Lodge about 4 p.m. to meet up with Tom & me (we arrived about 2:30 in the midst of total bedlam caused by about 20 million kids and their parents, who totally filled the grand lobby and snaked out the front door in the 105 degree heat). What chaos! We’re way too old for this, I’m tellin’ ya!
Once we got all of our stuff in the room, we immediately went back downstairs to hang out in the Loose Moose Cottage eating/bar area open to the lobby so we could sit at the bar watching out for incomings. Sure enough, here they came, all faces looking as if they were in total shell shock from the heat, combined 9 children, 6 adults with tons of luggage in tow.
The youngest grandchild, all of two, screamed bloody murder for the 45 minutes it took them all to check in, being totally traumatized by the sound decibel range. Tom & I went to say our hellos upon arrival (one at a time) and then retreated back to the bar area taking comfort in the fact that we were grandparents and could let our children handle their own children.
My son-in-law, whose two sons are 20 and “nearly” 18, joined us as we plotted and planned a first night’s “adults only” dinner with Tom & me, my daughter, Rebecca, and son-in-law, Garth, along with my mom and sister, Laura, upon their arrival.
Garth treated the six of us to a Brazilian all the meat you can eat, with a fabulouse salad bar to begin with, and all I can say – again – is WOW!!
Right now it is a little after 6 p.m. and we are all gathering in the hall (our rooms are all nearby on the 3rd floor), at 7 p.m. to go to dinner together at the nearly Rain Forest Cafe in Grapevine Mills Mall. As we gather in this end of the hall outside our rooms at 7, Tom’s grandson, Julian, will play classical music on his violin as our “call to arms.” There will be 22 in attendance to dinner.
So far today, we have lost several children for way too long a time. This morning, my younger son’s two older girls, Zoe, 6, and Hannah, 4, got lost in our hallway with their magic wand. Luckily (thank God) they knocked on the room of my mom & sister and were “rescued.” Then, this afternoon, Zoe was “lost” (talk about panic) for over an hour down in the indoor water park. I contacted security and with the help of the staff and multiple family member urgently seeking her, she was found – safe and sound – in the water park right where (when we found her) she was supposed to be. Again, thank God!!
Then, mid-afternoon, one of my other granddaughters, 10, was missing in action. I haven’t heard more lately, so presume she turned up.
I did a good deed this afternoon when I met a young 11 year old boy who has been diabetic since he was 15 months old. I encouraged him, his mom & his uncle, all I could that he could do well if he was smart and took good care of himself. He had pale blue eyes and was so sweet. God bless this little one.
So far, we are all having a great time!! Wish y’all were here. You’d really enjoyed it.
More tomorrow as we enjoy our last full day here.
Many Blessings to you all today! Dee
Dee Andrews
Well you finally said something about the water park, even if it was all about lost kids. For a while I was thinking how odd that you are at a great water park and all you’re talking about is the FOOD! Is that what happens to us old folks??
Reminds me of a guy in Florida who went to Los Vegas every year for vacation because he loved the cheap buffets out there. When we went, we didn’t find them to be all that cheap. I was disappointed.
I’m glad you are having such a good time and that the family can be together in such a spectacular way! Aside from that, a lot of it IS about the food!!
Vacations, entertainment, nights out all seem to center around what we eat, doesn’t it?! But I hope, if my family ever gets to do this, it will be someplace that has temperatures in the mid-80’s! Keep on havin’ a great time of food and fellowship……….
Play, play, eat and play. Enjoy the “kids” young and old.
Hope you are feeling good too.
Eat some of those goodies for me. Have a safe trip home!