We left Friday morning, taking Delaney and Kate out of school for the day. We got to Marshall/Olivet, MI and picked up GAP (Aunt Patty) and had lunch at Mmm, Mmm--Turkeyville! GAP rode with us, while Grammie and Poppy followed. It was nice to have another adult in the car with me. We chatted about everything and nothing as the kids watched TV, played, colored, napped, etc in the car. As we passed Bronner's, the famous, ginormous Christmas store, the girls squealed in delight, knowing we were close and beginning to remember more about the trip last year. The check-in went well and we were in our rooms and back out quickly. We started at the "dollhouse" as Delaney likes to call it, awaiting Uncle Charming, Aunt Leann, Baby Izzy, and Uncle Teddy Bear's arrival.
We played in the tiny arcade area for a while, and then, all of a sudden, Poppy put in a $20. And, just like that the addiction began--for just about everyone. Video games were played like crazy, tickets spilling out, ready to be spent on something fun and completely unnecessary.
Dinner was good--full of tasty food and fun entertainment. The girls danced while waiting for their pizza to get to the table, and then for it to cool off. Then, and I am so proud of their courage, all three took turns doing Karoake. Delaney began by singing B-I-N-G-O, Katie did "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", and Rowe sang "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" by just saying "Rowe" over and over into the microphone. Then Delaney sang Tim McGraw's "I like it, I love it, I want some more of it." She did a great job, but we all kinda giggled when she sang "8 bar music break".
We ended the night at the pool, swimming and try to spray each other with water. Poppy, Wesley, Leann, and Izzy hung poolside as the HenderGirls, Brian, and I swam. Grammie stayed back with Charlie for bedtime. Girls went to bed, and GAP, Brian, Wesley, Leann, and I went out for a couple drinks.
Brian wants a ride to the pool...
Saturday began with a breakfast and straight to games. After a while, Grammie, GAP, Leann, and Izzy went to Bronner's. Brian, Wesley, and Charlie napped, while Poppy stayed in the room with Charlie. The girls and I swam. It was so fun. It was just my three girls and me; no one else was at the pool. It was quiet, private, and oh-so-fun! The pool was cold and the hot tub was warm (and big) so we spent most of our time in there. After about an hour or so, we headed back for showers. We tried to get Rowe to nap, and Charlie was going down for is second nap, and Brian and I took the older girls out for some fun.
They fed some peacocks and turkeys:
There was a dog agility contest.
A haymaze.
Bounce House and Super Slide.
Delaney and Kate decided to go down the slide together, hand in hand, and jumped to get started. It looked like a lot of fun, but I guess it wasn't because they both got a little banged up. 
And then we went around the fun shops and little town area (which is super cute and very touristy).
We went through the Mirror Maze a few times. It was great, and very strange. One minute I was facing Brian, and the next I was touching a mirror and Brian was 30 feet to my left. At one point, Katie got so excited to see these bubbles, she ran full-force toward it...right into a mirror, stopping herself with her face (into the mirror). She went down hard! After that, she no longer liked the Mirror Maze, but did go back another time or two.
Then the girls painted pumpkins.
Saturday night we went to a family-style, fried-chicken dinner. I didn't make it through dinner. Katie and I got into it, and Rowe woke up very crabby right as dinner was being served. I took Katie, Rowena, and Charlie back to the hotel with me and we all settled down and relaxed. We played some games, got our prizes, and called it a night.
Rowe passed out on the walk to dinner, Charlie all ready for some tasty food!
Rowe with Poppy
Delaney with Wesley, aka, Uncle Charming
Sadly, I didn't get a picture of all the kids with their prizes, but Rowena with this ginormous monkey was absolutely hilarious! She named it "JuJuDibs."
I went out with my brothers...something just the three of us haven't done in years! It was really nice.
We played video games until they kicked us out. We found out that Wesley punches harder than Brian, something with which Brian now struggles. I, obviously, am the weakest. The boys played this game forever and I got bored.
Sunday we had breakfast, packed up, and said our Goodbyes. Brian rode with us, and we made a pitstop at GAP's which turned out to be Delaney's favorite part of the trip, as the girls got to pet the horses across the road from GAP's house.
The rest of the ride was uneventful, and everyone was happy to be back home...only to begin a fun-filled 8 days with Uncle Brian!
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