Waterpark ... again!

This was our third trip to a hotel waterpark, seems to be becoming a tradition - and we learn new things each time.  This trip, since we went in warm weather, we found out that the outdoor parks are also really fun, especially when you just need a break from the loud, chlorine-heavy indoor park.  We also learned not to eat at any of the hotel restaurants (who would've imagined that kids eat free really means 1 kids eats free while adult meals are double the price - and anyone over 11 is considered an adult? yikes!)
For Clay's 12th birthday, he'll actually be spending the week with his grandparents in Memphis.  So he decided to celebrate early by inviting a friend to Wilderness of the Smokies waterpark.  It is only 1-1/2 hrs away, in Pigeon Forge, TN.  I love that he encouraged Reed to invite a friend as well - that gave Reed a pal at the park, so he wouldn't be getting on Clay's nerves (a win-win, I thought).

This type of waterpark is only open to hotel guests, which makes it a little less chaotic than a regular park.  There were two outdoor parks and one indoor park - the outdoor areas has very similar things as the indoor, but it really was quieter because it was smaller, I guess.  Outdoors, the younger kids mostly stuck to the climbing structure, and the older kids played LOTS of basketball:

ZB had lots of fun in the baby area - it was very shallow, not many kids and no chance of getting sprayed with a watergun or a fountain spraying too high!

We were bummed to find out we couldn't bring in ZB's floatie that we had found for the trip - she was content to just play in it, though :)

The inside waterpark had the bigger slides, a wave rider for surfing and boogie boarding, and a wave pool, as well as the climbing structure and another baby area.

Whew!  We were exhausted at the end of the day!  A great thing about it being a hotel park is that you can relax in the hotel room after a long day of playing, and when you check out in the morning, you can keep playing in the waterpark the entire next day (we lasted until about 6 before heading home).

Clay is so excited to turn 12 ~ I'm really glad we got to celebrate here at home before his big trip!