Avery Rose turns 5

Today Avery Rose turned five today. I can't believe how quickly this last five years has gone by. I'm so proud of the little lady she is. She has her own way of doing things and a generally sweet disposition that makes it fun to be around her. So, today Avery, Asher, Jamie and I went drove over to Traverse City to go to the Great Wolf Lodge for the night. Avery and I took off with Sam (who's been staying with us for the last couple weeks) so we could drop him off at Niver's. Asher and dad followed close behind in the car. We all met that evening at the Olive Garden for dinner. This is Avery's favorite restaurant, and we don't have one nearby so it was a treat. Grandma, mom and Paul all were there and we had a great dinner together. Then we checked in at the Lodge and went up to our room where Avery blew out birthday candles and opened presents. The kids were so excited to swim in the water park that they put their suits and we promised them a half an hour or so. We had so much fun sliding, floating down the lazy river and playing on all the water equipment! We didn't get to spend much time there though because it was getting late. We said bye to everyone with plans to meet back there in the morning. We went upstairs and the kids put their jammies and slippers on just in time to go to the lobby to hear a story and meet Wiley the Wolf (although Rudy Reindeer was standing in for him). We sat in front of the big clock and watched animated animals sing Christmas songs and were very surprised when it started snowing right there in the lobby. Tons of sudsy bubbles came down and it looked just like snow, covering everyone and making the lobby look like a little wonderland. Very cool. Then upstairs, and the kids went to bed without a fight. Of course they were already looking forward to the next day full of fun in the water park. I asked Avery if she had a good birthday and she confirmed that she did and that she wished we could live at the Great Wolf Lodge.