I talked my husband into bringing back a fun family tradition that we haven’t done for over four years.

We’re taking our kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City. This will be the first trip for our youngest and a much-needed return adventure for the rest of us.

Prior to Christmas, I asked my oldest, who will be turning 11 in January, what he thought his favorite vacation was of all time. He and his brother have seen moose and mountains in Estes Park and visited Water World outside of Denver. Their one and only plane trip thus far was to Chicago, where they got to ride the historic Navy Pier Ferris wheel and explore Millennium Park.

I’ve shared before on this blog how I can feel him moving away from his childhood and reliance on me and his dad.

You can imagine my surprise when he responded that Great Wold Lodge was his all-time favorite place to vacation.

The more I thought about it, the more it made perfect sense. The drive there is relatively short for us, and once there, we don’t have to leave the lodge for anything. We swim, eat, sleep, and repeat. It’s uninterrupted family time, something we don’t make nearly enough time for these days.

I captured the moment my kids learned that we are heading to Great Wolf again. You can’t quite see the expression on my oldest’s face, but our middle son’s reaction basically says enough for both of them.

The Great Wolf Lodge website shows a 17-second video of a family riding down a giant water slide together in a tube. The caption beneath the video reads, “Your kids’ childhood goes by just as fast.”

I couldn’t agree more.

First year at GWL

Second year at GWL

Third year at GWL

My how fast time flies!

Created by Heidi Woodard