fun at the fairfield

in order to help with the coping of missing bradley while he is hunting, the children and i took holland's fairfield inn by storm. we were not alone on this adventure. the adorable habers, nyhof, and kamphuis families joined the overnight fun fest. we pulled front and center into the parking lot promptly at check in with a whole entire van full of kids, supplies, and food. the process of unloading is much compounded when you are outnumbered three babies to one mama. i tried locking them in the room, but alas, they escaped. well, not ayla, she was an awesome listener the whole time.

other than the fab fams, the main draw to the hotel was the pool. swimming in november, fun for all ages! even the large troupe of 9 eight year olds celebrating a birthday. whoa. they were loud, the pool area was tiny and oh so humid, they had rhythm and chantings, and they were super intimidating to my easily overwhelmed swimmers and ears. after a fair amount of pool time, we headed to our room to destroy, i mean to play and prepare for a delish supper of little ceasars.

when our delivery girl, steph, arrived with food in hand, we all stormed the breakfast area and enjoyed the meal. translation: the adults quickly wolfed food down while taking turns trying to round the littles up and keep said children from running wild in the hotel and turning the lights on and off. good times were had by all.

eventually we could no longer keep the children from the pool and headed back into that hot arena. we had some time there without the birthday girls which really increased the fun level. fave activities included playing with the shower head meant to clean one's feet, kicking a large ball into the pool and nearly beheading the swimmers, running and slipping hard on the tile. ayla's fave was looking stinkin adorable

bathtime followed pool time, and sanck/movie time followed bath time. all the swimming and ramming made for some tired boys, so they were mellow as i prepped the babe and got cleaned of the pee/chlorine combo that made up that pool. brad called to report all was well at deer camp and gave me a beautiful pep talk. a good night's sleep ensued, during which both boys ended up with their feet on the pillows and baby ayla giggled in her sleep. so presh. the heat/ air conditioner presented me with a constant struggle to maintain the right temp so all peoples were comfy, but all in all morning found us raring to go.

6:30 am, ayla and i started coffee. i sipped while she smiled. bliss

7:00 boys awake and hungry. with ayla in the stroller, i wheeled back and forth to the the breakfast area bringing loads of cereals, fruit, bagels, and orange juice to my waiting boys. we consumed some food and spilled some food. sorry fairfield cleaning peeps.

another round of swimming with the preteens kept us busy until we cleaned up and checked out. reflecting on our mini vacay, i am so grateful for great friends, cute kids, and a delightful husband who suggested such an endeavour.