For two days we got to soak up the slides, wave pool, hot tub and live our best lives.
Courtesy of Sarah Shrader
Instead of a big, far away vacation this year, Lee and I decided that we would do some smaller 2-3 day trips closer to home — spread them out a bit and give us more glimpses to look forward to. Up first, was an indoor waterpark.
For many reasons — it’s off season and cheaper, Mama needed a little break, half of the fun is missing school (and the three littles were out of school for a few days because of the tornados), we decided that this was the time to do it. However, as I started looking for a last minute deal (as so many rave about) at the popular indoor parks, I was quickly defeated.
For a family of four, the pricing is completely manageable. Heck, even jumping to 8 people is doable. But add in one more person — like our family of 9 — and those places cost about as much as a long, far away vacation.
Bummed, but not giving up, I turned to my sis who knows all the deals. While I was expecting a coupon code to make it doable, she instead hit me with another option — a smaller name but a place she loved.
When I started looking at options, I wanted to cry! It was about 1/3 of the price just to stay there and enjoy the waterpark than any of the other places. Not only that, but it freed up funds to actually be able to spoil these babies a bit — while if we went to a big name, all we would be able to afford was to swim.
We were sold on it — taking a chance — but excited for it. The kids were over the top when we told them. And so, we packed everyone up and headed out.
After a family prayer for the trip and quick drive with homemade snack bags, we arrived at our destination. Check-in was a breeze and these babies were ready to hit the slides. But first, we went over the basic rules — I mean, there are seven of them and only two of us.
After reminders of the buddy system and checking in, we finished with one more piece of advice — show the park Jesus by being like Him through our stay. We reminded the kids to be kind — look out for other kids and if someone really needed to cut in front of them, let them. No fighting — just loving — and being grateful for every single part of this trip.
It’s funny to me how Jesus shows up when you are busy trying to be like Him. You guys, this place — the people all around it — showed us so much love from the second we walked in the door. All of the staff members were a joy – super helpful, knowledgeable and friendly.
Because of our savings on the room, we were able to eat at the restaurant on site – something I don’t think we have ever done – take all seven kids out to eat at once. The hand-mixed specialty lemonades that are typically one and done were brought out in refills for free (and offers for to-go cups). When I joked that Lee was disappointed that his dinner didn’t come in a racecar box like the kids, the manager grabbed a stack of the cardboard racecars, showed us how to build them and handed them over to us for fun for later.
As a special treat, we allowed the kids to each get a Starbucks drink the next morning – refreshers and such. Not only were the workers kind and patient as each kid took their time to figure out their flavor, they seemed to take pity on us for ordering nine drinks and one of them swiped their employee discount saving us enough to offer the kids ice cream later in the day. And when we went through the same routine of indecisive kids with ice cream later, again an employee badge was swiped granting us a discount.
With an inviting arcade glaring at the kiddos every time we passed, we decided to let the kids play – explaining that, although it didn’t seem like much, we dropped some bucks and this was all they had to use. I think it averaged out to about 10 games each (which is unreal knowing the price), but not one kid complained – they used their cards and Preston won big allowing all of the kids to reap the benefits at the ticket counter. The guy behind the counter had to deal with the decision making and did great!
For two days we got to soak up the slides, wave pool, hot tub and live our best lives. And these kids, they were amazing. When we had Uncrustables and Sunny D brought from home for breakfast instead of the super expensive one on site, no one complained. When we had to change into dry clothes for the ride home, we received tons of “thank yous” and “best vacation ever.”
It was perfect and magical and exactly what we all needed – a little escape and a little fun away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I am pretty sure I have thanked God a million times for allowing this trip – every single minute with our babies – and every single glimpse of hope, kindness, love and Jesus along the way.
Sarah (Pitson) Shrader was born and raised in Lima. She is a Lima Central Catholic and Tiffin University graduate. Sarah is a full-time working mama who enjoys writing about her somewhat crazy, always adventurous life as a mother. She lives in Bath Township with her daughters and writing inspirations, Maylie and Reagan.
