Branson: Day 4

Sunday (7/10/11)

No Pictures! (Insert sad face here)!

Day 4 was spent shopping! We went to a little craft strip mall that our resort lady told us about and then headed to Tanger Outlet Mall! We ate lunch at El Charro on the strip. It was delicious, but then again I love Mexican food. After lunch we headed down to the old Branson and went into a Dick's 5 and 10. I had no idea what this place was. Jane and Gene said that when they were young they were called "5 and Dime stores" because everything was either 5 or 10 cents. They had everything and anything you could possibly think of! After walking around downtown we headed back to the cabin to cook dinner and just hang out for the evening. Brinley and I took a little swim and then we all got ready to go to bed. A relaxing day!!

Stay tuned for Day 5, our drive home!

Branson: Day 3

Saturday (7/9/11)

Once again Brinley woke us up at 6:45am!! This girl must have been excited to be on vacation because she stayed up late and woke up early every day! But it's vacation so who cares....right?! Since B got up so early we went out onto the deck to have some breakfast! Who doesn't love Raisin Brand...and this face?!

We decided the night before that we would rent a boat and spend some time on the lake. I had only been on a boat 1 other time and I had never been tubing. This was Brinley's 1st time on a boat and in a lake. We rented this pontoon boat for 4 hours.

B wasn't too happy about having to wear her life jacket the whole time but she soon got used to it. I was a little worried she wouldn't like being in the water because she wouldn't be able to touch and she likes to run around at the water park.

I was right. She only liked it about long enough for us to get a decent picture. She had just as much fun running around on the deck and watching everyone else tube. She also loved helping Papa drive.

Brinley and Gma Jane sat at the back of the boat to watch Greg and I tube. When we would fall off B would turn to Gma and say "uh-oh"

The boat didn't have as much power as Greg would have liked to whip us around but I was just fine with it as this was my very first time to tube. I was very skeptical and wasn't so sure I would enjoy it. Boy was I wrong. I had a blast and can't wait until I can do it again!

B even got to tube. Here we are getting ready to go out. Let me just tell you that Greg and I are in trouble as soon as this one can drive something with a motor or that is gas powered. She was not happy unless we were going fast enough to splash water up so she could it. Papa was nervous about driving that fast so her ride didn't last too long!

Greg and I even talked Gma and Papa into tubing. Jane didn't last long because it hurt her knees really bad but I give her props for trying it. B liked watching her at least. She is gonna kill me for posting this picture but I just had too do it! Gene rode it out for a while, but wouldn't go again. I think he enjoyed trying to throw Greg and I off more that anything! HaHa

After the lake we cooked lunch at the cabin. Brinley took and nap and Greg and I headed into Branson to go to the Our Body Exhibit. This was a little freaky but very interesting. You get to see all the different parts of the body, and I mean everything. These exhibits are real life bodies...CREEPY! I know that my mom would enjoy this because she is a nurse.

After that Greg and I grabbed some Andy's Frozen Custard and headed back to the cabin. By then B was up and ready to play! We spend quite and while our in the play area. She absolutely loved this Little Tykes Playhouse! I think I'm gonna have to try and find one at a garage sale! She also like riding being pushed around on the bike.

After today I was we were all worn smooth out! We all went to bed early because tomorrow would be our last day in Branson!
Stay tuned for day 4!!

Branson: Day 2

Friday (7/8/11)
Day 2 started early!!! B woke us up at 6:30! She is such a good sleeper when we are at home, but anytime we are away she is up and at 'em early! We all got around and headed into town. Our first stop was the Titanic Museum.

I loved the movie and am very interested in history that I can go see. It was wonderful. B didn't enjoy it so much and thanks you Gma Jane for entertaining her so I could read everything I wanted to! When you enter you are given a boarding pass and at the end you can see if you are a survivor or if you passed with the sinking of the ship! everyone survived except Gene!

I was married to a 47 yr old man who was the richest passenger on the Titanic. I was his 18 yr. old pregnant mistress. There was a picture of me and my husband and a replica of our 1st class cabin room which was large compared to the 3rd class cabin rooms. Hard to believe that such a small room was a big luxury. Brinley was a 1st class passenger as well. Greg was also a 1st class passenger and he also brought many dogs with him. As soon as you walk in there is an iceberg that you can touch. They have a deck chair that was actually on the Titanic. It was amazing.  

After the Titanic we ate lunch at a Waffle House and then headed to Branson Landing to "Ride the Ducks". It is a land/water tour of the city.

This contraption is an amphibious truck. Brinley enjoyed it. Here are some of the sites we saw on our tour.

When you purchase your ticket you get a duck bill. Brinley wanted us to blow on it all the time. She just smiled and laughed every time.

 Here is a picture of another duck on the water. It makes a huge splash when it enters. Our tour was of Lake Tanycomo and the old Branson. The water in this lake is COLD!

After the Ride the Duck Tour we walked around Branson Landing and ate dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ. Delicious! Their BBQ was wonderful. Brinley loved the ribs and corn on the cob. There are lots of shops on Branson Landing and Greg loved the Pepper Palace. They have lots of dips, rubs, and marinades of all kinds. Greg loves to cook on the grill and could spend hours in this place if I let him.

 Brinley thought it was hilarious for Papa to chase her around. She would take off running and he would try to catch her and she would just laugh uncontrollably.

It isn't easy to get a family picture anymore with this busy girl! She is always on the go and never wants to be still.

B and grandma looking at the boats in the water.

We had a great day and there is still more to come. 3 days in fact. After hanging our at Branson Landing we headed back to the cabin. We drove down HWY 76 "the strip" for the first time on our way back "home". There are so many things to do. It is so busy, bumper to bumper traffic, especially when a show is over and everyone is trying to get out.

 Stay tuned for Day 3 of our trip!

Branson: Day 1

Thursday (7/7/11)
We got up and left our house early in the morning. We headed to Gene and Jane's house to pick them up and head to Branson, Mo. I was very excited because I hadn't been to Branson since I was in H.S. and I didn't remember much about it! And it was the first time to take Brinley on a vacation!

B and I before we left

Our plans were to try and make it to Eureka Springs, AR to eat lunch. I was worried that B would be very restless in the car. We made a pit stop in Tulsa where we all got to stretch our legs. Our next stop...Eureka Springs, AR.

Not to long after we entered AR. We saw this sign! It was no lie! Little did we know that we wouldn't see a flat stretch of land until we headed back home!

B made the rest of the way. Almost a 3 hour drive, she did awesome! We ate Lunch at a place called Local Flavor. It was delicious!

After lunch we did a little bit of shopping and then loaded up and headed on to our resort, on Table Rock Lake. This was the view everywhere. All you could see for miles was trees and hills. It was beautiful!

We drove across this bridge. I thought it was neat. You don't see bridges like this everyday where I live!

We finally made it. We stayed at Valley View Resort on Table Rock Lake. I was a little skeptical about staying on the lake because I am not much of a country girl! I like to be in the hustle and bustle of the city! But I enjoyed it much more that I thought I would! This is our deck at our cabin. B loved it. She wanted to be out on it anytime we were there!

I'm not sure what I was expecting but our cabin was pretty nice. The area was very peaceful and beautiful. We had a view of the lake and there were plenty of toys for B to play on! After settling in it was time to eat dinner and go to the grocery store so we had food at the cabin for the weekend. We headed into Branson. Our cabin was about 30 minutes from "the strip" in Branson. Not a bad drive, it was beautiful scenery to look at on the way! We decided to eat at a steakhouse. BTBones. It was  yummy!

After dinner we drove to Branson West to do some grocery shopping and then head "home" to get some sleep for a busy day of sight seeing! I was so proud of Brinley on the ride to Branson. She did AMAZING! Greg and I are so lucky to have such a happy and well behaved little girl. Don't get em wrong, she's got a temper but is usually very well behaved when out in public (when it counts)! Ha

Stay tuned to Day 2 of our trip!

Happy 4th of July

Yesterday was the 4th of July! We had a pretty boring day but an exciting night. We went to my mom's for dinner. Mom grilled hot dogs and my Grandparents and Aunt Betty were there. After dinner we went to Meadowlake Park to watch the fireworks.

I was worried how Brinley would do. Her bedtime is 8pm and they weren't even starting any of the celebrations till 8:30. Brinley did awesome. When we got to the park it was so busy we had to park across the street and walk over. We decided to go get a snow cone.

The line was so long. We waited about an hour to get our snow cones. Brinley loved being able to walk where ever she wanted to. She found the putout course and was climbing over all the hills. We walked back to our spot to watch the fireworks and got back just in time. Brinley was in AWE of the fireworks at first.

But after a short while she just wanted to walk away from us and run back and fall in our laps. Every now and then she would turn around and watch a few go off then continue to play.

I was so happy that she wasn't scared and didn't throw a fit until we got in the truck to go home. By then she was a sleepy baby! I hope everyone had a Happy and Safe 4th of July!

And just for comparison: 4th of July 2010. B was 2 1/2 months old.

Just Chillin

A girls gotta take a break from swimmming to eat some animal crackers!

The Aquatic Center

Thursday (6/30/11) Amanda, Maleah, Addison, Chelsea (Amanda's friend), Brinley, and I loaded up and headed to Fairview. They have a new Aquatic Center and we wanted to go check it out! It was a blast. We stopped at the bowling alley to eat lunch. I had a grilled cheese sandwich, french fries, and gravy (yummy). The girls shared chicken strips and french fies, and we all shared an order of their fried pickles. OMG...they have the fried pickle spears and they were delicious! I will be going back!

We got to the pool at about 12:30 and we didn't leave until 3:30. This place is nice and cheap. It was $2 for me and $1.50 for B. (It cost an adult $10 to get in a Splash Zone!) Their kiddie pool goes from very shallow to about 1 ft. deep. It has a boat that has a slide on the end.

It is all a squishy material and the girls loved climbing on it. On the shallow end there are 3 holes that squirt water out. If you cover one the other 2 squirt water higher and if you cover 2 the other one squirts water really high. Maleah and I would cover 2 of them and Brinley would stand there and laugh while the other water splashed all over her.

They have a big slide in the big kid pool. Amanda took Maleah down and I decided to take B down.

She sat on my lap with her floaty on and we went down. She loved it. As soon as we got to the bottom she was asking to go again! This girls isn't scared of anything!

Brinley fell asleep before we even got out of town! She was worn out. The trip was definitely worth it. We go to Splash Zone all the time and it was nice to get to see a little different scenery. I know Brinley had a good time and I can't wait until we can go back!