Date Night

Taylor's flight landed at 6:35 PM last night.  The drive to the airport was really, really beautiful.  When I arrived at the airport, I took some time to look at nearby restaurants with a view.  The Worman House was really highly ranked, but it went out of business.  The property was beautiful, so we found another restaurant at the same resort.

We drove over this bridge to get to the parking lot, and walked over a little pedestrian suspension bridge.

The Devil's Pool is photographed above, and below is the entrance to the Devil's Pool restaurant.

The view and the sunset were really, really beautiful.  Both of the photos are taken from our table.  The food was great too.  On vacation, we tend to eat a lot of junk.  This restaurant made everything from scratch and used mostly local meats, cheeses and produce.  

Bumper Boats in Branson

About 2 hours into our drive, Anna Belle had thrown up 3 times.  We stopped for breakfast and she was sick twice more.  I was ready to head home, but Anna Belle assured me she was all better and wanted to go on vacation.  Amazingly, she was fine the rest of the day!

We arrived in Branson on Sunday, around dinner time.  On Monday, we went to a place called Track. It has great bumper boats and go-karts.

I saw some kids in swimsuits on the bumper boats, which scared me a little.  I thought I could get out of this without everyone getting terribly wet, but Sam saw to it that we were quite wet.

Six wet cousins after the bumper boats.

The go-kart track has this cool spiral that goes up four stories and then had a few ramps.  You can see the track in the background of the photo below.  On our first round, Anna Belle and I were in the lead.  As soon as we got to the peak of the ramp, Brady and Sam ran into us and we both spun and got stuck.

Who's taller?  Sam or Pops?

Brady's Birthday Party (1 of 3)

As we prepared to have our family over, Anna Belle hugged her Piglet tightly and approached me while I was putting laundry away.  She said, "Mom, I need you to help me wrap this for Brady for his birthday.  Brady loves my Piglet."  Ugh!  She has the biggest heart of any child I know.  

I told her that I already had a present for her to give to Brady, which appeased her.  Anna Belle was REALLY eager to give Brady his present, so she brought it outside before the kids even got their swimsuits on.

Ann brought her new puppy, who we affectionately call Chance, but she calls him Hobbs or                               Westin or Winston or something.

Grandma and Grandpa got Brady a Sea Doo Dolphin.  We first saw this at the Dennis's house on the Fourth of July, and Brady (and every other kid there) LOVED it.

This is Brady's first gun with a scope.  

Seriously, this is the luckiest kid ever.  Aunt Megan got him Skylanders Swap Forces.

Brett and Allison got Brady a camo hat and his first fishing shirt.

 We really don't have very many pictures with the four of us, so I always treasure these a little extra.

VBS with Second Baptist

I took the most pictures of VBS on the first day.  We got an early start, and ended up in traffic on Telge.  That means it's a good time to take pictures, right?

Craft time

I taught Brady's class, but I enjoyed watching Anna Belle during the Big Show (they have the 3 year olds in the front row).

Here are the four "good guys" in the Big Show.

Here's my crew at the end of the day.

This tiny, simple slide was REALLY popular, so we spent quite a bit of time here after VBS on day 2.

Dear iPhone, what's up with this pic?

Anna Belle and her class of 3 year olds LOVED dancing at the Big Show.

Anna Belle, her friend, and the Big Show bad guys.

I am really, really, terribly tired at the end of VBS, but I'm always glad to be a part of it.

The Greatest Show on Earth

I wanted to go to the circus, and backed out of buying tickets because they were too expensive.  Taylor found last minute tickets 50% off, so the kids and I went with Ann this morning.  We went early for the Animal Open House and the pre-show, which doubles the circus fun.  On our last few visits, we left around intermission (if not earlier).  This time, we made it 'til the end and loved every minute.

I gave the kids the choice of getting a toy, cotton candy or their face painted.  Anna Belle wanted her face painted (which came with the wig and a red nose), and Brady wanted cotton candy (which came with the goofy hat).  It turned out to be cheaper than buying the stupid light toys and it made for great pictures, so everyone wins.

Capturing the every day stuff

I'm trying to make a better effort to take pictures and capture moments that are the most frequent in our lives.  I love that when my Anna Baby works on her puzzles, Brady asks, "How can Anna Belle do puzzles?"  I also love that my kids sleep in the same room every night.

The Fourth - better late than never

We had SO much fun on the fourth, but I failed to take good pictures with all our favorite people there.  The kids had a blast swimming.  Brady played with their Sea Doo, and when he was tired, he would lay on the diving board and soak up the sun (he's part iguana).  Anna Belle swam and snacked, then decided to go inside and watch Disney Junior.

It's crab dip, it's America, it's a happy Independence Day.

The fireworks were amazing, and the kids played with sparklers too.