I’m part of several Peloton mom Facebook groups where, naturally, we talk about nearly everything except Peloton. I’ve learned a lot about haircare products, vacuum cleaners, appliances, minivans and reasonable babysitting rates. (Living Proof texture spray, Tineco, not Samsung, Toyota Sienna and don’t even get me started!) The most common topic, however, is that of what to gift our children.

There are a lot of good ideas for physical gifts, but most of my favorite suggestions are “experiences.” Along those lines, I decided to gift Landon and Bryce with a trip to Great Wolf Lodge for Christmas.

Landon and I went to Sandcastle a couple summers ago and he had a ball on the big waterslides there so I knew he’d love it. Bryce’s love of the swimming pool and bathtub gave me a pretty good clue he’d love it, too.

Because I know my limits and how I am not capable of wrangling two young boys in a busy water park, my wonderful 14-year-old niece came with us.

Great Wolf Lodge is complete chaos. But somehow, it works to create a really fun overnight trip.

We spent hours in the waterpark, which I think was the trip highlight. Landon and Frieda did the slides and were all over the jungle gym/park part of it, which had plenty of water features.

Bryce and I spent a lot of time in the toddler pool and tiny slide area and also ventured into the jungle gym/park area to climb and have water dump all over us from all angles.

Bryce even went down a large slide all by himself! We made it to the top of the jungle gym and the slide assistant said Bryce could go down if someone waited at the bottom. Frieda and Landon went down and I stayed up top with Bryce, set him on the slide and pushed him on down!

Frieda said he looked a little shocked when he got to the bottom; Landon said he looked happy and smiley. I’m guessing shocked was more accurate. Bryce started out feet first and somehow ended up headfirst. He’s a good sport!

I enjoyed floating around the tiny lazy river in an inner tube with Bryce and also barreling down one of the two big slides there in a double tube with Landon.

We also checked out the arcade where Frieda mastered a claw machine to pick up a giant ball, Bryce rode a mini merry go round and Landon battled dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures.

Bryce, who historically doesn’t sleep well while traveling, maintained his streak of bad nights while away. Being in a new environment and in a pack-and-play, which he doesn’t fit well in, is a recipe for a bad night. The noise of the lodge with people jumping around above us and people running and yelling in the hallways made it even worse.

Despite the painful lack of sleep, I think we all had a great getaway!