Waterpark fun & letting go… they’re growing up

It was the last day of school and lately we’ve been working so hard that we really felt like we needed a little fun in our lives. When I was given the opportunity to take my little family to Niagara Falls I jumped on it.

I love, love, love Niagara Falls. At only a one and a half hour car ride away from us, I try to go there at least twice a year. Sometimes just for the day, sometimes for the weekend, it’s perfect for a girls weekend, or a much needed romantic getaway without the kids but it is a great place for family time.

So I picked up my little kidlets and it was the start to so much more than I thought it would be.

We checked in to the Sheraton On The Falls and it was raining, and so my usual walk along the falls was not looking like it was going to happen, but it really didn’t matter because the view from my room was breathtaking. We were greeted with a delicious basket of chocolate from Hershey’s and such a lovely view that I could have sat on the couch for the rest of the evening, but it wasn’t happening with my two energetic offspring.

After a bit of bouncing and jumping on the beds, (sorry, not sure if that’s allowed…) we made our way out to dinner.

I think they were scared that we’d be dinner.

Dinner and some serious silly faces.

After dinner we walked over to the arcade. Fun, fun, fun. (the fact that we didn’t have to go outside was a real bonus — it continued to rain.) My son had a blast, and my daughter had a very special encounter with ‘the claw’. You know the one. When she moved up to that game, I immediately thought, “There is no way that she’ll be able to pick one up.” But I kept my doubts to myself and what do you know? She got one. The chosen one.

“I have been chosen! Farewell, my friends. I go on to a better place.” – Alien, from Toy Story.

The kids had their fill of fun and we then had a glorious night of uninterrupted sleep… it doesn’t happen too often. My morning started off perfectly with a cup of coffee that I brewed myself in my room and I watched the falls in my pajamas.

Perfection.

Here’s the part of the story that gets good. We had four passes to the Fallsview Indoor Waterpark. I hadn’t been on a water slide for ages… I can’t even remember the last time to be honest, but I do have great memories of tirelessly enjoying water slides as a kid.

Here’s the thing, when you promise your kids a fun time and they ask you to go down a water slide with them, you really just need to buck up and go for it. So up I went with my five year old and a double tube. I have to admit that I was a little nervous, and I may or may not have pulled a muscle getting on the tube * cough * but going down the bowl slide and then going into the black hole backwards was a little frightening for my old soul, but I had fun and went back for more… several times. Both my son and my daughter got a real kick out of me going down the slides with them — my husband is usually the fun one around here.

Mommy needed a break while Alexandra enjoyed the wave pool.

The really scary part was this: After about eight times on the water slides, my husband and I made the decision to let our kids go on the slides on their own as long as they stayed together. I was a little nervous about this, but felt confident that they wouldn’t be out of sight for long and while I kept my eye on them all the way up the stairs and they were out of my vision a little during the line up and for the time that they were actually going down the slide – once they were in the line ups there really was nowhere for them to go but either back down the stairs or down the slide — both places in my view.

They loved it. The looks on their little faces when they came off the slides and how well behaved they were in the line-ups while carrying their tandem tube was amazing. It was a little — ok, a LOT — scary for me but they loved the independence. They were buddies, they followed my rules and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them having fun together.

Best buddies… if only just for a little while.

So I’d like to say thank you to the Falls Avenue Resort for hosting my family for those two days. It really was a life changing experience for us. I’ll be heading back there for another weekend before the summer ends. It was that fun!

Please note that I am in no way telling you that you should let your kids roam around this water park alone. While there are plenty of lifeguards around, you are still responsible for the safety of your children.