Vacation...

The vacation was a success!  The kids loved the water park, and Mr. EM and I were impressed with it as well.  It was clean, there was a wide variety of stuff to do, the lifeguards were beyond vigilant and the boys never got bored.  I would highly recommend the Great Wolf Lodge to any family looking for a weekend getaway. 

Outside part of the water park...we had great weather, in spite of how the sky looks in this pic. 

Big M., enjoying the good life.

Little M.'s first trip down a big water slide.  I was a little concerned about whether he'd like it...turns out my concerns were unnecessary.  He LOVED it.

One of the three inside water park sections, this place is ridiculously huge.

One of the best slides in the whole place, in my opinion.

We also took a Duck boat ride, it was a nice break from the water and a very interesting tour.  Our boat was called the New Caldonia and had fought in the Korean War.

Enjoying Dippin' Dots from the candy shop.

After leaving the Dells, we spent a day in Madison, Wisconsin.  We visited the zoo, swam at the hotel and enjoyed a fan-freaking-tastic dinner at Monty's Blue Plate Diner.  I absolutely LOVED Madison, totally my kind of town.  What we saw of it was clean and kind of funky, in a good way.  We plan to visit there again next summer, take in more of the sights and get the know the city a little better. 

That's my boys being silly at the zoo...

A look at one of the more decadent sections of Monty's menu...Mr. EM really-really-really wanted to order the Donut French Toast.

But, he chose wisely and got the Meatless Loaf of the Gods instead...and I had nothing to do with his choice, seriously!  The Meatless Loaf of the Gods was really quite good.  I ordered a roasted vegetable quesadilla that was also really good.  Both boys got breakfast items and we all took home some delicious desserts.  I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant.  If you visit Madison, WI, you really should make time to eat here!

Mr. EM and I outside of Monty's, Big M. took this pic.  Look...it's the last day of our vacation and we're not ready to kill each other! 

I would say my only regret from this whole vacation is that we didn't spend more money on cheese.  We stopped at one cheese shop near the resort and got some smoked string cheese, sweet basil jack and beer cheddar.  It is all TO DIE FOR and I'm kicking myself for not cleaning that place out.  Live and learn, I guess.  Just gives us another reason to visit Madison next summer.  I saw in their travel guide that there's a cheese shop there called Fromagination...how can we NOT visit there?! 

So, it would seem that we CAN travel together and get along and enjoy ourselves without any drama.  Whodathunkit?  The night we got home, as we were getting ready for bed, Mr. EM said, "Well, sweetie, I hope I wasn't too difficult to be with this week."  And I told him he was not, but I was getting ready to brush my teeth and didn't say anything else.  He laughed at my short answer, reading more into it than he should have, and said, "What?  Was I just the right amount of difficult?"  We both had a laugh at that...yes, we were all just the right amount of difficult!  No major meltdowns by either kids or parents, no major mishaps, just four imperfect people trying to have a good time and actually succeeding.  Really, what more can you ask for out of a family vacation?