Kalahari Trip: Part One

Last evening we just returned from our 5th annual vacation with my parents, my siblings, and our families. Every year we gather at a new location, yet this year we reprised last year's location because we had such a great time. We journeyed to Kalahari in Sandusky, Ohio to enjoy the enormous waterpark. There is one thing I know. . .

It's all about the kids.

Our trip started Friday morning at about 2 am as we wearily dragged ourselves from bed and began our pilgrimage to Kalahari. The kids went back to sleep until about 5:30. Then, Evan perpetuated an age-old stereotype of repeating "Are we there yet" about every 5 minutes until our 10:30 arrival.

Upon arrival, the kids all were thrilled to see their cousins and began playing, laughing, and jumping on the beds. We had lunch and went swimming and riding rides. After dinner, Evan could no longer fight his fatigue.

Our daily routines consisted of food, swimming, food, swimming, and more food, and more swimming. We would put the completed exhausted boys to bed at about 10:30, and my boys would be awakened with the sun at about 6:30!

Here are the boys enjoying a round of putt putt with their cousins.

The waterslides at Kalahari were also amazing. My boys were a little more tentative than their cousins Matthew and Adam. Yet, somehow Matthew and Adam convinced Brendan to ride this huge waterslide that the kids called the Toilet Bowl. Essentially, you have a four man raft that is driven down a huge hill and into a toilet bowl looking area where you circle around until you "flush" out the bottom. Brendan was terrified and never set foot on it again. But he did it! And he had bragging power over his brother. This is a picture of Matthew and Brendan on a smaller waterslide called The Cheetah Race.

There was also this huge wave pool. For those of you Ohioans, you remember a similar pool at Geauga Lake. It was fun to watch the boys jumping in the waves. Even Ev got in the spirit. He loved the wave pool. The boys were also bonding with their cousin, Noah, who they remember as only a little baby. Noah was walking, talking, and having fun with his cousins. Here he is tackling Evan and having a great time! Ultimately, the boys all had an amazing time. What I loved was watching the pure joy on all of their faces as they conquered some new aspect of the park or when they were just hanging out with their cousins. They were so happy, and I know that this is what the trip is all about. However, as the time neared for us to leave, all three of my boys had massive tears brimming in their eyes and were not ready to depart their cousins already. This almost broke my heart because I know how much they love being together. But, we did leave and arrived safely last evening.

What a great trip!