Home again, home again...

The trip coming home wasn't nearly as eventful as the trip going out. We did hit some nasty roads in Wyoming again, but the freeway never shut down. Yeah! It's good to be back. We had a great time. Here are a few of the highlights of the trip:
When we pulled in on Sunday morning we discovered church had been cancelled because of the weather so we just lounged and recovered at my mom's for the day.

Chula Vista
On Monday, we went to Wisconsin Dells to the Chula Vista resort. We stayed at the Kalahari last year, but it was expensive. We got this great deal at Chula Vista though and as soon as we arrived, we realized why. The package included a golf villa and passes for 5 to the indoor waterpark for 2 days for about $120. However, the rooms are on the golf course, far far away from the pool. We had to load everyone up and drive to the pool! It was about 15 degrees when we came out the first night all wet. But the room was great! It had two queen beds and a sofa bed, a full kitchen, great view of the golf course, nice fireplace, and a big flat screen TV. The waterpark was fun too! They had a water roller coaster that I really liked, but no one else did. I don't like to have water splashed in my face and there was none of that. The kids wanted a more wild ride. Oh well. Our favorite was probably the "toilet bowl" slide. You just spun around inside a huge bowl until you got flushed out the bottom. That was great! The kids LOVED to play on the rope walk. They spent much of their time there. Carter's favorite thing was the hot tub.



Christmas Eve
For as long as I can remember my dad has cooked a turkey for Christmas eve. This year was no different. It was so tasty! The kids each get new PJ's, we read the Christmas story or watch the video, then it's off to bed! Carter has wanted a bath robe for quite a while and was so excited when he finally got one! I sorta messed up the girls though, I gave Hillary Cinderella and Whitney Sleeping Beauty and it should have been the other way around. OOPS!
Christmas Morning
Carter had about the most disappointing Christmas ever, at least he thought so. It started with this great dart gun that turned out not to be a gun, but just a scope that goes on a gun that we didn't own. Mommy messed that one up. Then he got church pants. That's always a bummer for a kid his age. Then he opened some Clone wars action figures that he already had. Then, both Brian and Santa had gotten him the same GI Joe figure, just a little different. Poor kid was devastated. It got better when he got a snowboard and even figured out how to use it a few days later.
Hillary got a video camera from Grandma and Grandpa Swensen and she video taped herself opening her gifts. It was pretty funny. She got a lot of clothes, but she needed them. She liked her snowboard too and can't wait to get out on it again.
Whitney got some playdoh from Grandma and Grandpa Nelson and that was a huge hit for her! She wasn't thrilled about the clothes either, but that's ok.
Kemery got a chewy toy for her car seat. Glad she doesn't really care!
The whole family got some games to play and we spent much of the rest of the trip playing Scene it Disney edition, Cranium, and Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games for the Wii.
Chicago
We decided to go to Chicago and check out the Shedd Aquarium. It looked really interesting and seemed like something that was worth the 2 1/2 hour drive to get there. We waited in line an hour just to get in, then it was so crowded you couldn't even see anything. They had the oceanarium closed that had the dolphins, killer whales, and penguins. The best part of it was seeing the Polar Express in 4D. That was worth it. Then (sorry dad!) the drive home was like the scene in Harry Potter when he rides the knight bus. Check it out on youtube if you've never seen it. I was in the very back of the Expedition and it was a little nerve racking for me.
Wisconsin Dells
We thought about going to Milwaukee, but it's an hour and a half drive and after Chicago, I didn't think I could do it again. So, we headed 45 minutes up the road to Wisconsin Dells again to a place called Knuckleheads. We did cosmic bowling there. Whitney would bowl then immediately run to the ball return and watch the balls come back. That was her highlight. They also had some rides and a jungle gym thing that the kids played on. That was fun!
Bounce U
After Knuckleheads, we had an appointment for Bounce U. It's a place that just has giant inflatable slides and stuff. At first, it didn't seem great. It was small and not a huge variety, but we got more into stuff and had a great time! Except poor Hillary, she didn't feel well so she just sat on the floor most of the time.
New Year's Eve
We had dinner and then the games began. Of course, we had to play more Scene it and Cranium, then Dominoes. It was way too much food and lots of fun! At midnight, we rang in the new year with sparkling grape juice and kisses.
After that, it was time to head back to Utah. We stopped in Ankeny and got to see a few old friends that made me want to pack up and move back there. It was a great trip with lots to see and do. The best part was just spending time with my parents and letting the kids get to know them. We miss them and we really appreciate them letting us stay there.