Yes, I realize that we technically still have another month of summer left. But when school starts, it always feels like the end of summer for me. Anyone else feel like this?
It was actually a beautiful day outside, but I am still learning the camera settings on my new phone.
Since our family didn’t really take a vacation this year, my husband and I decided to take a fun weekend trip to end summer break. We just got back from spending a couple of days in Kansas City, where we went to Great Wolf Lodge and spent some quality time with family that we don’t get to see often enough.
Mike and I have actually talked about going to Great Wolf Lodge for a couple of years now, but since our kids took swim lessons this summer, this seemed like a perfect time to test out their new swimming skills.
In all of my years growing up in sunny Southern California, I had never been to a water park, so this was a new adventure for me. The kids were beside themselves and had a blast going down the water slides! Of course, Mike and I had fun, too. It was awesome!
This was the view from our balcony…
I don’t even know how many times we went down these slides. We would get to the bottom and the kids would beg to go again. 
There’s a lot to do at GWL, but of course – me being the cheap smart and frugal gal that I am – we didn’t eat at the GWL restaurant. Instead, we hit up the local fast food joints, to save a little cash. I should have planned better and taken some fresh fruit and veggies with us, but time got away from me. We also limited the amount we spent on souvenirs and playing at the GWL arcade, etc. Otherwise, it’s easy to spend a small fortune at these places – which is exactly what they want you to do!
And this how Mike and I felt after hours at the water park. haha
We took a little jaunt to Raytown, MO to visit our cousin Travis and Aunt Donna. Of course, we were too exhausted to remember to take photos. But we had a great time hanging out with them and we ate some of the best Mexican food. Mmm… As always, it never seems to be enough time to hang out. We need to make more trips to Kansas City.
We had a beautiful drive home. The weather lately has been awesome and it finally feels like we’re getting close to fall weather. (I LOVE FALL!)
I would love those waterslides!!
We went to Salt City Splash with our church yesterday on their last open day, but man that water was like ice!
There was quite a bit to do inside the water park, in addition to the slides. The water was heated, even in the outdoor pool, which was really nice.