Here are 5 wonderful things about Wisconsin Dells, and also why we will absolutely be going there again:

1. Our Hotel Room: We stayed at the Wilderness resort in a 2 bedroom suite. It had a full kitchen and could easily sleep 8 people. With granite countertops, leather sofas, and a huge plasma screen, it was easily the nicest place I had ever stayed.




2. The Tanger Outlet Mall: Greg was kind enough to get me a gift card to the outlets for Christmas so I spent several hours (alone!) shopping to my hearts content. The weather was gorgeous and I came home with a goody bag full of great things.

3. The Waterparks: Wisconsin Dells is known as the "Waterpark Capital of the World." Our hotel alone had 3 indoor waterparks that were connected to the hotel by covered skyways. Included was a wavepool, lazy river, several body and tube slides, and what seemed like an endless amount of play structures. Once Jackson was able to get past his fear of falling water, he quite enjoyed it.

4. Paint it Pottery: This is not a place unique to Wisconsin Dells, but it was the first time we did something like this with Jackson. I painted a "You are Special" plate, and we let Jackson choose what he wanted to paint. He chose what turned out to be a very neat looking gray airplane bank. We had such a fun time, and I was surprised it kept Jackson's attention for so long. Greg was so sweet to take on "kid duty" while I painted.



5. The Shuttle: In addition to covered skyways, the hotel also provided a complimentary shuttle from place to place. Jackson would have been happy just to ride the shuttle all day. It was convenient, timely, and free!

The best part of the trip was watching Jackson conquer the dreaded orange slide. We coaxed him up to the top only to have him stand frozen watching kid after kid go down the slide ahead of him. Finally after what seemed like hours, Greg was able to convince him that he would go down first and then catch Jackson at the bottom. So Jackson went just seconds after Greg. Greg waited at the bottom, so excited to see Jackson's smiling face come around the corner. Instead he saw the back of Jackson's head as he came sliding out headfirst on his back. The speed of the slide had spun him around midway down causing him to come out backwards. We cheered at his accomplishment as did several strangers who had witnessed his triumph.

Jackson's response? "Lets do something else."