Wisconsin Dells Trip, Day 1

Our long-awaited trip to Wisconsin had finally arrived! It was such a fun and memorable trip.  I've been there a couple times as a kid (going to WD was the only vacation I ever got as a kid), so it was fun to revisit! Wisconsin Dells itself was pretty much the same as I remember it.  I've been to Great Wolf Lodge once as a teenager, but I'm pretty sure its been remodeled since I've been there, that or I have a horrible memory.  I'm pretty sure its the former. We left for our trip the same day Grandma and Grandpa left our house.  Christmas was officially over, and is there a better way to bring in the new year than going on a super fun vacation? I don't think so!

Our flight left in the evening and we got to Milwaukee pretty late.  My brain must have been tired because I don't remember much about that night. And for the record, I absolutely was not drunk, haha! I have zero recollection of our first hotel in Milwaukee, but here are some pictures of that evening:

Cutie all ready for the plane! I bought her some nice snow boots at Goodwill.  I figured it would be helpful for her to wear some warm boots in the below-zero temperatures, courtesy of Wisconsin's winter.

Ian, mid yawn.  Me too, Ian.  Me too.

A very tired but excited Elisa on the plane.  She was happy to enjoy some hot chocolate.

Ian was so adorable in his winter coat! Unfortunately, it was a little bit small on him, despite it being a size 3, but it worked for this trip.  

The next morning we went to downtown Milwaukee to pass the time and explore what Milwaukee had to offer in the dead of winter.  Even though Ian had a sweater on, he started crying when we took him out of the car because the wind was so cold. He calmed down after we got his coat on him. Our first stop was Milwaukee Public Market to try a famous lobster roll from St. Paul Fish Company. The market had several other offerings such as bakeries, candy shops, and lots of places to buy cheese.

A lobster roll from St. Paul Fish Company.

We got the kids chocolate suckers from the candy store. Gabe had a shark, Elisa the Eiffel Tower, and Ian a motorcycle.

The kids were hesitant to try the cheese curd at first, but Ian and Elisa devoured it after they realized how good it was. When we sliced the wedge of local cheese, Gabe shouted "Eww! What stinks?"

It was still too early to check in to our hotel, so we drove around Milwaukee for a while to see a few famous buildings. When we drove by the Pabst Mansion, we decided that we had enough time to take a tour. Captain Pabst worked on a ship briefly in his youth. After that, he went into business with his father in law as a co-owner of the company. He mostly worked in marketing and was able to expand the company from a local business into a nationally recognized name. When his father in law died, he became the owner of the company and he also became very wealthy. He had this mansion built in the 1890s over a 2 year period. Unfortunately, he died just a few years after the mansion was completed. What, you may ask, was his successful company? Being Wisconsin, it was Pabst Beer, of course.

I think the most amazing aspect of the mansion was the detailed woodwork in each room. It's amazing to look at the intricate molding along the doorways, windows, columns, cabinets, and ceiling. I suppose it's the small details that make a mansion so glamorous.

A gorgeous German piano that I wasn't allowed to touch

All decorated for Christmas, still.

Erik in the dude's fancy schmancy office.

A huge painting of kids drinking beer.  Classy.

All tired out!

Our first night was spent at the Great Wolf Lodge. We got a room with a Kiddie Cabin, which included a walled-off "cabin" for the kids with a twin bed and a bunk bed.

The outside was how I remembered it.  The inside, not so much.

The kids loved their fun beds!

After getting settled into our hotel room, we decided to try out the indoor waterpark.  Afterall, that is what we came all that way for! The park was much, much busier than I had anticipated, but it was still lots of fun! I couldn't take my phone into the water for obvious reasons, but I did manage to sneak a few. Was it cold? No, not really. They kept it at 84 degrees, no matter the sub-zero temperatures.  Was I cold? Yes, I am always cold! Lol but it wasn't too bad.  Our first stop was the wave pool.  Gabe and Elisa absolutely loved the wave pool! And right by it was 4 different slides.  The kids rode all of them at one time or another.  I even went down a few with Elisa.  Ian liked the water too, but he was too little to ride the water slides.  Okay, so I didn't get any pictures of that, but tucked away in another section was the water playground.  It is an impressive sight to behold when you first walk in the room.  It is huuuuuge and there is a ginormous bucket that fills up with water and when it gets too full, it dumps it all out.  I swear you can hear that thing a mile away! The Gabe and Elisa ran into the playground and were practially lost to me, but I was able to spot them here and there. 

Ian discovered the kiddie pool and seriously had the time of his life.  I've never seen him so happy to play in the water! He was in that pool the entire time Gabe and Elisa were roaming the water playground.  It was a cold walk back to our hotel room (especially when we passed a door to the outside). That concludes our first day at Wisconsin Dells! What a day!