Chloe celebrated her 11th birthday! As most of you know, I usually let the kids decide between a party or a road trip for their birthdays. Evan always chooses a party, but Chloe usually opts for a road trip.
This year, she let me know a few months prior to her birthday that she wanted to go to Great Wolf Lodge in LaGrange, Georgia, so this momma got to planning. Chloe and I stayed at Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, North Carolina a year earlier when she competed at the 2018 JBQ Southeast Regional. However, this was our first trip to Great Wolf as a family.
Even though we had a trip planned to Great Wolf, I couldn't resist having a mini-celebration at the house, especially since this was my Harry Potter fan's 11th birthday. Every kid deserves cake on his or her birthday!
I found the cutest custom Hogwarts acceptance letter and train ticket on Pinterest. For those of you who haven't read the Harry Potter books, like me, Harry receives his Hogwarts acceptance letter on his 11th birthday.
Chloe's birthday fell on a school day and she had a chorus performance that morning, so I sent my 11 year old off to school for half the day.
We checked the kids out of school around lunchtime and arrived at the lodge right at check-in.
Selfies with the birthday girl were in order!
And, a picture with brother...
First things, first! We headed to the indoor water park. (These pictures were actually taken over the few days we were there.)
After dinner, the kids wasted no time in throwing on their Gryffindor pjs and robes, so that they could play Magi-Quest in the resorts lobby. This was literally hours of fun for them.
Chris and I hung out in the very spooky lobby while they played. On both nights, we had to hunt the kids down to go to bed. There was a little drama on the second night when our walkie talkies stopped working and Chris had to find the kids at 11pm to go to bed...They knew better.
And of course, we found the only pressed penny machine in the building. We've got to have our souvenir pressed pennies!
I couldn't resist snapping this picture as the walked down the halls of Great Wolf. They looked so cute in their Hogwarts' robes.
I purchased Wolf Passes for each kid and I thought it was money well spent. Along with wands and toppers to play Magi-Quest, they played putt putt golf!
They bowled!
And, they received credits to play arcade games!
The Wolf Passes even came with goodies like ice cream and a cup they could fill candies from their candy wall!
We forgot our closed-toed shoes (staying at a waterpark resort and all), so they weren't able to climb the rock wall or the ropes course that came with the Wolf Passes, but we hope to do them on our next trip.
For souvenirs, the kids made bears at the Build-A-Bear Workshop. They did have to spend a little of their own money for these, since they were more expensive than our typical souvenirs.
We had a howling good time at Great Wolf! We went into town for our dinners where we found a few good places to eat and loved the downtown area! We hope to make a few more trips before the kids are too cool for school.
Happy Birthday, Chloe! We hope you enjoyed your birthday vacay. Love and hugs!
