I struggle at times to remember what it feels like to step away from the everyday grind and have no set agenda other than to relax and have fun as a family.

It’s been too long since we’ve experienced that feeling. We’re getting ready to re-embrace it at one of our boys’ favorite places, Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City.

We’re rarely at home. Always on the go. Stressing about getting kids to school and ourselves to work on time. Stressing about leaving work on time to rush home. Stressing about meal planning and getting out of the house on time to make it to basketball. Stressing about getting the kids to bed at a decent hour.

Shoot, I’m stressing with guilt right now over the fact our daughter has never experienced a Great Wolf Lodge getaway. And she’s 4.

The boys loved to pretend their bellies were as big as mine when I was pregnant with their baby sister.

We’re lucky that all three of our kids LOVE getting wet. Water slides, lazy rivers, spray stations…you name it…I remember the boys having a blast standing under the 1,000-gallon bucket dump.

You know what’s even better than getting soaked by such an extreme force of water? Watching your 4-year old sister experience that combination of fear and adrenaline rush for the first time.

Lazy boys in the lazy river.

Some of my favorite memories from Great Wolf Lodge have nothing to do with water at all. Each evening, lodge guests are invited to attend a story time in their pajamas in front of the Great Clock Tower within the grand lobby.

The Great Clock Tower has timed lighting and mechanical animals that sing and talk to the audience. Anyone who is my age may recall Showbiz Pizza back in the 80s. This Clock Tower is like Showbiz on steroids, highly entertaining for kids and adults alike.

I’m going to make it my goal to use my iPhone for picture taking and maybe a periodic Facebook status update. One of the best things about vacationing at an indoor water park is that water and electronics don’t mix.

We deserve the uninterrupted time together and each other’s undivided attention.

The rest of the world can wait.

Created by Heidi Woodard