Kalahari Water Park

We said goodbye to the Bloods... for 4 days. We drove with my awesome parents back to McLean, then rented a car to drive to Kalahari Water Park in Pennsylvania. This place was mind blowingly awesome. We spent a night there so we had two days to play at the country's largest indoor water park. The park was HUGE and had something for everyone- two baby areas, lazy rivers, splash pads, indoor/outdoor hot tubs, a wave pool, and the coolest water slides ever. 

We joked that the park lets you feel what it's like to be flushed down a toiled in every way imaginable. There was a ride that blasted you into a bowl that you go around until you fall through a hole in the bottom. There was another one where you stand on a trap door that opens up, and you free fall onto a slide. There were also tons of inner tube ones and one where you race headfirst on mats. Elliot went on all the ones he was tall enough for and one that we snuck him onto even though he was too short. He partially fell out of the tube and was a little traumatized by that one, but was super brave in going on all the ones he was appropriately sized for. Annie's favorite part was the "family ride" with the 4 person inner tube and the hot tub that went outside. It snowed on us while we were outside! It was oh so nice ducking back under the divider and going inside to the warmth when getting out of a hot tub in December.

We took turns watching babies and getting to go on slides. There were tons of Bloods there, but it was still hard to find them sometimes because the park was so huge. My favorite was hanging out with Megan and psyching ourselves into going on the giant terrifying rides, and when Elliot and I paired up with Stephen and Bree to go on the 4 person tube rides. Aaron went back with some of his siblings at night after putting the kids to bed. Many of the slides go outside the building. These parts were pitch black, which added a whole extra element of adrenaline to the experience. By the end of the second day, Aaron had gone on every adult slide.

I feel like it is worth mentioning that we all ate tacos in Jonny and Megan's hotel room for dinner. It felt like a very Blood thing to do. The trip was an absolute blast and a great way to connect and have fun together after the funeral.