One Last Vacation - Branson 2011

Before Cooper joined our world we had one last get away to take advantage of being a family of 4.  Rick's parents were staying in Branson the first week of June and they invited us to come join them.  Unfortunately, Rick had to travel to WI on Monday and Tuesday of that week, but he came home late Tuesday and Wednesday we shipped off for Branson.  It was the beginning of our HOT summer and Branson was no different.  It was HOT.  But we made the best of it and had a couple days filled with fun and new experiences.  The boys had a blast and we all really enjoyed the time down there.

Here is a run-down of some of the things we did...

We went to the Fish Hatchery.  The boys loved feeding the fish.  Ethan did the "1 piece at a time" method to make his fishy food last a little longer.  Trevor, on the other hand, did the "throw the whole handful of food in at once" method to watch all of the fish wiggle and squirm while trying to get all the pieces.

 
The Butterfly Palace - a very cool butterfly museum that was fun for everyone.  They had an area where the butterflies and birds just wandered free.  You walked around and you could see butterflies everywhere.  Some would land on you.  Some would surprise you because they ended up being right next to you on a leaf and you didn't even know it.  And some would fly and fly and fly and never land... and those were the ones you wanted to land so you could get a closer look.  It was a fun activity for all.

They also had these cool pictures of blown up parts of butterfly wings that looked like the alphabet letters.  The lady there gave me a cool idea to take a picture of the individual letters and then make a picture of the kids' names.  Thanks worker at the Butterfly Palace... it's a very cool idea!

Now, you might be wondering how on Earth we got Cooper's name being that he wasn't born yet and we didn't know the sex of the baby AND we didn't have a boys name picked out until 2 days prior to delivery.  Well, it just so happened that we had a couple boys names in our mind so I had secretly taken pictures of all the letters we might need for either our girl or boy.  Thankfully, I also took pictures for our last name because otherwise I would not have had a "C" because none of the other boys names had a "c" in it!  Whew... Someone was looking out for me!!

In the evenings we took advantage of the cooling temperatures at the pool and mini-golf at the condo.  No matter where you go, if there is a pool, it never gets old!  The kids would have been just fine hanging out at the pool and not doing anything else. 

On our 2nd day there, we decided to take the kids on The Ducks.  The Ducks (for those of you that don't know) are vehicles that can go on land and water and along the way you have a tour guide that tells you about the town you are in.  Our tour guide/driver, Captain Blue, was hilarious and so much fun!  As we were getting ready to go in the water on the Duck, Rick and I realized that it was the first time Trevor was ever on a boat.  Seriously? He's 4 years old and has never been on a boat?  Guess that's what happens when you lived in the mountains and can just go hiking in the summer months.   In addition, to the tour and little "boat ride" all the passengers were given these wonderful noise makers that sound like a duck's quack and we were told to use them.  The kids didn't have to hear that direction twice.  They blew them non-stop along with all the other kids on the Duck.  "Fortunately", they haven't let me throw them out and we still here them from time to time around the house!!

That night we also took the kids to something they will remember for quite some time.  The Dixie Stampede!  Rick and I (and his parents) had been to one before, but the kids have not.  It is such a fun event for them to go to.  There are horses, there are dancers, there are pigs, and buffalo, and just a ton of entertainment all right in front of you as you eat your dinner with your fingers and nothin' else!  They LOVED it and have asked repeatedly to go back.  The only problem is that it was a bit difficult to convince them that the food the workers were placing in front of them, during the show, was their dinner and they had to eat WHILE watching the show.  But both of them were so entranced by all that was going on it was tough to get food into their mouths and down into their stomachs.  A couple times, Trevor would put the food in his mouth and I could see that it was just sitting there... he was forgetting to chew because he was so interested in what was going on with the show.  Thanks George and Cathy for a fun evening at the Dixie Stampede!!
(unfortunately, you aren't allowed to take pictures inside this event so there are no pictures of the event :(  )


After spending a couple days in Branson, on Friday we all came back to our house for the weekend.  I had a doctor's appointment on Saturday, but the rest of the crew took advantage of a "Kids Fishing" day at the Conservation Department.  It was an eventful day.  A little girl fell in the water.  Ethan caught a turtle and had his picture in the local news paper with it.  And, they saw a snake eating a fish.  A fun filled "boys-type" day.

Thanks George & Cathy for letting us join you in Branson and spending some time with us at home over the weekend.  We enjoyed it all!

Our Spring Get-Away: Destin, Florida

This is going to be a massive post - not necessary for you to read all of it, if you don't want to, because it's more for me to remember all we did while on vacation.  The places we visited, the feelings we had and the fun that we all shared.  That way in the coming years, we remember why we went to Florida and why we should go back!!  It will be text and picture loaded because I'm not putting them in a slideshow as I would have done a long time ago.  In a slide show I have to go back and reload all the pictures when I get to doing the blog book, and I don't want to do that.  So, you will see lots of single pictures and some collages of our amazingly fun and relaxing trip to Destin, FL.  It's taken me a long time to get this on here, I know, but let's just say my motivation for doing a long, drawn out post, has been a bit lacking lately.  So, here goes....

Saturday, May 9th
We got on the road early this day (as if we were heading to WI) and were making our way to Birmingham, AL.  The boys did a great job, as usual, in the van and we drove and drove and drove.  They were a bit bummed that we were not going to see the beach on this particular day, but were excited to finally be on our way.

Sunday, May 10th
On Sunday we only had about 5 to 6 hours left of driving.  So got up and had a good breakfast at the hotel before heading out for the last jaunt of our drive to the beach.  About 1 1/2 hours prior to actually getting to the beach the boys started chanting, "We're almost at the beach... we're almost at the beach....we're almost at the beach!"  Had they continued it would have been a very long last hour, but they decided that they got sick of saying it over and over and over again.  Around 1pm we finally arrived at our destination in Destin, FL and thankfully our condo was ready ahead of schedule so we could get in right away. 

Our friends, the Thoresen's, were already there as they arrived on Saturday night; however, we decided that we were going to get ourselves settled, get groceries, etc before getting all the kiddos together.  Otherwise, there was no way we were going to tear them apart this first night.  And honestly, once we were together, I wouldn't have wanted to say good bye that first night either.... I was so excited to see them all (maybe even more so than the kids).   After getting groceries, there was no stopping the swimsuits from coming out and being put on so off to the beach we went for a late afternoon trod in the Gulf of Mexico.  It was absolutely beautiful and I knew that first afternoon that this was the vacation we were all needing!! 

The Thoresen's had been out on the beach all morning/afternoon as well by their condo so they decided to shower up and make their way over to our place since our kids wanted nothing to do with getting back in the van.  Unfortunately, for the Thoresen clan, the sunscreen didn't quite do it's job on this first day and they were all fried to a crisp.  Faces, arms, legs and even their toes were all nice and pink (or should I say RED).  Nonetheless, it was wonderful to see them no matter what!!!  We all ate dinner together; however, during that time we had our first mis-hap of the vacation.  Not even there 12 hours and our child was screaming in pain.  Trevor, the poor thing, went onto his bed to get something (his bear, I think) and when he was coming off of it he fell face first onto the tile floor.  It wasn't that he was being clumsy, but the beds were higher than his at home so when he went to slide off of it, he was expecting to hit the floor sooner.  Not the case and so we found him face down laying on the floor... screaming.  Poor thing was so tired from the trip and the beach that he eventually calmed down and fell asleep in my arms for a few minutes.  However, he continued to complain that his elbow hurt really bad.  We figured we would "nurse" it for the evening and see how it was in the morning before taking him in. 

After everyone ate and was winding down for the night we decided to take a walk on the beach and let the kiddos play for a little bit before the Thoresen's headed back to their place.  The kids had such a blast running around in the dark on the beach.  Trevor got in on the playing too, but never moved that one arm much.  He would run and walk, but that arm was staying straight by his side. 





Monday, May 11th
Monday was just going to be a relaxing day.  Unfortunately, it didn't start like that for Trevor and I.  Trevor was still complaining that his elbow hurt and was not moving it much.  Any time he would try to raise his arm, he would start crying in pain.  So, off to the ER Trevor and I went!  Of course, no ER visit is ever quick, so after being admitted, doing x-rays and then waiting for the doc to come back in it was already lunch time.  Thankfully, the x-rays showed no broken bones!!  We just had to watch it, be a bit more careful and feed him pain reliever for as long as he needed it. 

Ethan and Rick had been playing on the beach for much of the morning while we were gone so we all ate lunch up in the condo and then headed back out to the beach for the rest of the afternoon.  Ahhhhh..... relaxation! 
















Autumn and Cody said they wanted to come back to our place so later in the afternoon, they made their way back to our condo and we all had spaghetti for dinner after playing on the beach a bit more.  As a special treat, we decided to use the margarita maker that was in our condo and Rick made fun strawberry, smoothie treats for the kids (non-alcoholic, of course).   They thought it was so cool to have a fun treat!

           Easton all smiles for us!!                                                   Trevor and Rick talking about the waves

Jon, riding the waves and Autumn enjoying the sand.

Rick riding the waves as well.... you'll notice - 1st picture, sunglass on... 2nd picture... no sunglasses.  He got pummeled by a wave and away went the sunglasses.  Just lucky his ID and all the stuff he decided to keep in his pocket stayed in place! 

Ethan ready to test out Autumn and Cody's skim board .... and Autumn burying Ethan in the sand.  There were so many laughs between these two during the week!

Tuesday, May 12th
Tuesday was a lazy morning for us all.  After getting up and moving we ventured over by the Thoresen's condo for some fun in the zero entry pool that they had there.  The kids had a blast; however, the water was a bit chilly for the adults to play in (yes, we're wimps).  But the kids had fun for a little while and didn't have to worry about the waves plowing them over for the time being.  We stayed there through lunch and then cleaned up before heading to The Track.  It's a fun little place for kids with mini-golf, an arcade, and go-carts!  Oh, and did I mention that they had Ice's there which Rhiannon treated me to.  Thanks Rhi, I haven't had one of those in years!  Everyone, except me and Easton, ventured on the go-carts for some fun competition.  Thankfully I sat that one out because Rhiannon came back and said it was a "recipe for early labor out there" with how bumpy it was. 

(one funny story from these pictures is the one of Trevor and Rhiannon on the top row of the collage above.  Easton being only 7 months still nurses and this was Trevor's first time being near a friend that was nursing.  So, he was VERY curious about all that was going on.  No matter how Rhi tried to cover-up Trevor was right in there wondering what Easton was doing.  Since I would be nursing the little brother/sister in just a few months we decided to let him learn, be curious and ask the questions he was thinking.  What other friend would let a child, that's not her own, be that interested and be willing to answer the crazy questions that came along with it.  Thanks Rhi!!)


Following The Track we decided to do an early dinner before heading back to our respective condos.  We went to a place called Fudpuckers and it was the perfect place for the kids.  It was the Home of the Alligators and writing on tables, chairs, walls, or any other surface you wanted.  In addition, they had an employee that came around to make balloon figures for the kids.  Anything from cars, to flowers, to animals to really anything you wanted.  He was fabulous!  The run down of figures that we ended up with at the table included a dinosaur, a motorcycle, a flamingo and an alligator.  I was amazed at how this guy could make things with balloons... he was one of the best we've seen.

Our boys were absolutely wiped out by the end of dinner so we decided to call it a night, head back to the condo and get in a good nights sleep with a normal bedtime.

Wednesday, May 13th
Wednesday was our "get out of town" day.  We ditched the beach (even though we LOVE the beach) and ventured to the Naval Museum in Pensicola, FL.  The Blue Angels practice at 8:30am so we tried to make it to see them.  Since the Thunderbird show in September , the boys are a bit gun shy about the loud planes.  Thankfully, a lot of people were just sitting in the parking lot watching the end of the practice when we got there.  So we did the same.  The boys had a perfect place - IN the van - where they could see, but not necessarily hear the true loudness and Rick and I stood outside the van and watched for the full effect.  It was a great museum and everyone enjoyed walking around.  We also went to the IMAX theater there and watched a Blue Angels movie. Ethan and Trevor were amazed at the size of the "TV screen". 

On the way home everyone took naps and we were ready to hit the beach when we got back to the condo.  The Thoresen's ventured our way to have more fun on the beach and then we all did dinner of brats and corn on the cob together. 

Ethan and Trevor flying their "finds" at the Naval Gift Store for Rhiannon...

Trevor showing how the jets were flying and turning (left)
Autumn wanted a french braid put in her hair so we took some down time to make that happen....ahhhh to have a girl in the house ;o)  (right)

Cody and Ethan digging into the corn on the cob!  Ummmm.....

Oh, the sillies came out this night!!!   Rhi and I just sat back and watched.... it's so fun to see them interact as well as they do when we don't get to see each other nearly as much as we wish we could!!  You crazy kids!

Thursday, May 14th

BEACH DAY!!!!  All day on the beach is where you could find us!  The weather was not
perfect - some overcast, some sun, but a beautifully calm day in the water compared to the rest of the them.  Ethan and Rick went kayaking in the morning while Trevor and I stayed on shore, played Frisbee, dug in the sand and he colored for a bit as well.  Yes, he wanted to color on the beach ;o)  He was a bit tired and cranky as the week of fun was catching up with him.  However, the Thoresen's came over and once Cody was there, our cranky, tired boy was replaced by a fun loving, giggling, beach crazed boy!  They were so cute together the whole week and this day was icing on the cake.

Jon built the super cool "pool" for them to play in which provided fun for quite some time

Ethan was finally figuring out the skim board after falling too many times to count.  Dad even tried, but be fell too.  I of course, didn't partake... I had enough trouble earlier in the week walking in the waves, I didn't need a skim board to help me out any.  This particular day also loaned itself to finding lots of seashells on the shore. With it being a bit calmer they didn't get washed away like they did on the other days.

 Another item of note for the day on the beach was that Mom got to lay on her stomach for the first time in a few months!  The boys dug a hole for me that my belly fit into perfectly!  I was in heaven...

And of course, Rhiannon had to get one of the "pregnant lady getting up as well..  And then the final imprint in the sand....well, we couldn't resist taking that one because never in a million years would I make "that kind" of imprint (the one(s) above the belly hole) if I wasn't pregnant ;o)

Later in the afternoon the clouds rolled in and so did our overtired, Trevor meltdown.  So we called it a day on the beach and went back into the condo.  We all got cleaned up, got dressed in something other than a swimsuit and went to another little town called Seaside to see what it was all about.  A great little tourist town to shop in and just walk around.  Following our dinner there we decided to head back in order to get packed up.  The Thoresen's stuck around for a bit and enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the beaches in Seaside, but we had to pack up for our return trip the next morning.

Friday, May 15th

The week had come to an end and we were packed up and ready to venture home.  It had been since our honeymoon that Rick and I were on a beach vacation and this one by far met our expectations.  It was relaxing, fun and just what we needed.  It was even more special since we got to spend it with our dear dear friends, the Thoresen's.  We loved the excitement the boys had for the beach and new experiences.  We loved having time for just our family away from the stresses of home, work and the normal daily routine in Missouri.  It is definitely something we will look to do again in the future and we wanted to go back the minute we left!!

So long Destin, but have no fear we will be back!

(end note.... there are so many pictures that I did not get a chance to put in here... but as I run out of things to write about along the next few months, I will be putting random pictures on the blog from our trip.  Neat ones, silly ones and just "what we did" ones.)