Branson - Day 4

On Tuesday morning we got up and had breakfast together at a restaurant at Big Cedar. We had to check out of our rooms that morning so after that we headed into Branson. Part of us went shopping at the outlet mall while the rest of the crew went to an Automobile Museum. :) It was raining that day so we decided soup from Panera sounded like a pretty good lunch. We all headed back to Kansas City later that afternoon. It was a great trip spent with family!! Thanks to Bev and Darold for all of the fun we had.

And since I stopped taking pictures the day before I have nothing to share for this day, except one....

 

Parker's first selfie. :)




Branson - Day 3

Brad will probably not like that I put this picture on the blog, but I had to share. Parker is definitely the mini version of his Daddy, and I thought they looked like twins in this picture. Brad was eating his breakfast and Parker thought he needed some, too. :)

 

Monday was forecasted to be a pretty nice day so we decided to head outdoors for some fun. Our whole gang went up to the Top of the Rock. We rented a couple of golf carts and took our leisurely time riding through the nature trail. We saw lots of waterfalls and trees and even drove through a cave. I am sharing a lot of pictures but I didn't want to leave any of them out. :)

Entering the cave...

 

Inside the cave...

Overlooking Table Rock Lake

We decided to stay for lunch so we rode a shuttle up to a restaurant that over looked the golf course.

 

This picture cracks me up - Drew had just gotten his lunch and couldn't believe how many nachos were on his plate!! I also snapped this picture because he was head of the table!



Pretty Mommy and two of her boys.

Looking out on to the golf course.

I could get used to a view like that. :)

 

On our way back to Big Cedar we stopped by the stables so the boys could check out the horses.

 

Even though it was cloudy, it was too nice to be stuck inside while the little boys napped so we put them in their strollers and walked around Big Cedar until they fell asleep. Drew and Jack played miniature golf during this time, and the rest of us sat on this little patio in rocking chairs and enjoyed the views.

 

I know this blanket looks kind of bad but we forgot the top part of our stroller that would have shielded Parker a little better so I put a blanket over the top to keep the wind out. :)

 

Apparently this is where I stop taking pictures for whatever reason!!! :( We continued walking around Big Cedar and ended up at a playground where all of the kids ran around and played for awhile. A little later that afternoon we took the boys to an indoor swimming pool. Even though Parker had just finished up with his swimming lessons, he wanted nothing to do with getting in the water. Bummer!

 

After eating a yummy dinner we all got our hats and coats and got ready for a horse drawn carriage ride around Big Cedar. The horses took us all around the property to look at the Christmas lights. After the carriage ride, we sat around a little camp fire and got to roast marshmallows for smores and drink hot chocolate. The weather ended up being almost perfect, not even too chilly and we had a lot of fun! Definitely one of my most favorite parts of the trip. :)

 

 

 

Thanks to Jen for always taking pictures and letting me borrow these two. :)

Branson - Day 2

The next morning we took some time to explore the area around our cabin. So pretty!

 

 

Parker loves his "Jack, Jack"

 

Can you spot "Explorer Jack"??

 

Our cabin!

 

 

Bev and Darold met up with us and we headed to ride the Ducks. The ducks are a land and water vehicle that drives you around town and then into the lake. It was a little chilly on our ride, but we still had lots of fun!

 

About 20 minutes into our ride, Parker was out!

 

The wind and bumpy ride didn't phase him a bit!





 

After eating lunch, we took Grandma and Grandpa to the Branson Landing so they could check it out, too. We were just in time for another fountain and fire show.

That night we all went to the Dixie Stampede, which is a dinner and show all in one. It was a lot of fun and even the little boys were entertained for the whole hour and a half. Win, win!!

Before going into the show, we got to see the horses that would be performing later. 

Our crew!

 

We weren't supposed to take any pictures but I was able to snap a couple toward the end of the show.

Since we were there the beginning of November, we saw their Christmas show. Dolly Parton even made an "appearance" at the end. :)

 

Cute family!

 

 And this was the beginning of the "Adventures of the Dixie Stampede Flag". Anyone who knows Parker, knows that he is OBSESSED with any and all flags!! Well, he spotted the flags before the show started and had to have one. It is now the end of January and he STILL takes the flag with us everywhere we go. Definitely worth the $3.00. :)

 

 After the show, we headed back to Big Cedar for the night. We went over to Brian and Jen's room (our rooms were next door to each other), to let the boys play and hang out for a bit. Then it was off to bed so we could rest up for another day of fun the next day!