Wisconsin Dells with Family and Friends

Team Mlakar is on the go these days! Last weekend was our annual trip to Wisconsin Dells with family (Jason, Cassie, Emerson, and Miles) and friends (Jesse, Brooke, Peyton, and Calvin). We had a blast - the kids and the kids-at-heart! And it's kind of fun to check out last year's trip here and 2012's visit here to see how the group has grown. 

A highlight of this year's trip was that we finally got to meet this sweet, sweet boy...

Our nephew, Miles! He is totally a go-with-the-flow, take-it-all-in kind of baby who blended right in with this relaxed, fun-loving group! He's just awesome :)

We have always said - and many people agree - that Kendall looks a lot like her cousin Emerson. They are blonde-haired, blue-eyed, fair-skinned girls. With a passion for hot pink. See what I mean?

We had fun catching up and hanging out on the first night. And the kids were no doubt all excited to see each other and hit up the water park the next day. 

Saturday morning, we woke up and had breakfast and rocked baby Miles :) It was no surprise that Kendall was drawn to him like a magnet since she just loves babies. 

We eventually made it out the door with our crazy crew only to find out we were there an hour before the water park even opened! Such is life with excited and early-bird kids! Luckily, there was another park open a few buildings down and that worked out just fine. 

We spent the whole morning at two different water parks. Since the parents in our group all have two kids, we were all playing man-on-man, which meant no one had much opportunity to take any pictures. Whoops! But I'm sure you can imagine the fun that was had by all. Michael was paired up with Katelyn and they went down a tube water slide together probably 20 times (and it was pitch dark!) in addition to other smaller slides, the lazy river, and played in the water. I was with Kendall and our morning was a bit more tame; we enjoyed the lazy river, a couple toddler slides, and the water sprayers. She loved it and kept saying "poo! poo!" for pool ;) 

We came back to the condo for lunch and quiet time/naps. 

And then mid-afternoon, we went to this large indoor playground with slides, climbing structures and tunnels. There was no doubt the kids would be tuckered out by the end of this day! Michael was a champ and helped Kendall navigate the playground, which was no small feat considering the small climbing spaces. Do you spy Kendall in this crazy (scary!) picture?! This was the end of one of the tunnels and she was up there about 20 feet!

After the playground, we enjoyed some time playing outside. It was a little brisk but nice to get some fresh air before dinner. Here are Michael and Jesse probably talking about Hawkeye football :)

Kendall having fun with Daddy!

Katelyn, Emerson (2 1/2), and Peyton (6) had a great time together. They spent time discussing Disney's Frozen, pretending to be Queen Elsa (from Frozen), and belting out the songs from... you got it, Frozen. Such sweet, fun girls!

Calvin made sure the girls got a dose of "chase" in while we were outside. (That's our condo in the background of this picture - it was spacious and rustic.) 

The three Mlakar guys had fun bonding :)

Can we all just admire what a precious picture this is?! Daddy and son snoring snoozing on the couch. Awww!

Before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye and make the trip back to our respective states (Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota). We had such a great time with these people! 

We're reminded, once more, just how fortunate we are to have wonderful people to make great memories with in this life.