Lava Hot Springs!

This year for our family vacation we decided to go somewhere new. So we packed up our sunscreen and headed to Lava Hot Springs. I had never been there, so I didn't know what to expect. We headed up Friday June 13 and got there about 8pm. A little late to swim so we just chilled in the hotel. Early the next morning we got up, sunscreened up (except Josh who decided he didn't need it) and headed for the pool. The kids were sooooo excited! When we got there, we disappointedly discovered that it didn't open until 12! What kind of water resort doesn't open 'til 12??? So we headed across town and dipped our feet in the natural hot pools. We only went in the "coolest" (temperature) hot pool and about burned our feet off. We eventually got used to the heat and leasurely soaked for an hour. The kids didn't like the idea of not splashing, so we decided to go to the park for an hour and have lunch while waiting for the pool to open.

Finally the pool opened. We played all day and had a fabulous time! Laci and Cullen loved the huge waterslides. Cullen immediately found a friend and they went on the slides non-stop. Just before we left, Cullen took me on them. The red slide was super fun but I wasn't so sure about the green one. It is fully enclosed and I am super claustrophobic, so I had a little aneurysm on the way down. I really had to talk myself through it. Amazingly, I made it out alive!!! Things we do for our kids! After dinner we decided to head back to the hot pools. When we got there, Josh realized what a mistake it had been to not use sunscreen. He couldn't even dip a toe into the hot water without excruciating pain. So we didn't stay there long. We walked around downtown for a little bit to waste time, got some ice cream and headed back to the hotel. The kids escaped major sunburn. Josh was red as a lobster and his feet were blistered. My scalp, shoulders and chest were burnt and my chest ended up with split thickness burns. It still has not resolved all the way. OUCH! I guess I missed a few spots with sunscreen. We all slept well that night. The next morning we headed home. It was a quick, but really fun trip. And of course the kids loved it!