Branson Bound!

***allow some time... this is a long post****
After graduation weekend, we were off to Branson, Missouri! Aunt Alli, Grandma and Grandpa Van, the kids and I made the long drive in two days (best decision ever). It was so nice to stop for the night before dinner and have a relaxing evening. We even got to swim :)

On Tuesday we arrived in Branson, and so did Daddy! We had a nice graduation celebration dinner at Olive Garden (gotta love that place). Then finished the evening relaxing in our room.

Wednesday, we were able to kick back and enjoy the "thunderstorms". The predicted thunderstorms turned into a very bright sunny day. I realized a little too late that I FORGOT to pack shorts! Oh darn... I guess I need to go shopping! All of us, except Daddy and Jacob, went to the outlet mall. It was fun shopping for something other than maternity clothes :)Here's a video of Daddy with Jacob right before we left for the outlet mall.

The afternoon was spent at the 1.5 foot-deep "kiddie" pool. Kaitlyn splashed around just like she does in our little pool, and Jacob enjoyed floating in his little boat. Very relaxing day! We finished off with dinner and a SHOW :)

A little over a year ago, I did some searching for something to do in Branson (before we booked this trip). I found one that I thought Kaitlyn would love, Noah the Musical. I mentioned it to my mom, but we never booked the tickets.

The day before we left, my Grandma came over for our Mother's Day dinner and brought a brochure on Noah the Musical. A friend of hers heard we were going to Branson and HIGHLY recommended this show to us. Grandpa booked tickets that night. And let me tell you... Kaitlyn LOVED it!!! The appeal to me was it was a Bible story she knew, AND they had LIVE animals in the show! Everyone enjoyed the show! It was fantastic! I am so thankful that there are so many things available for Kaitlyn to see the Bible come to life :)

I think we have 50 picture of someone making a weird face, this is a favorite. Love it Alli :)

Daddy and Jacob in front of Goliath

intermission. Jacob fell asleep. Precious :)

Thursday, our last full day in Branson, we went to Silver Dollar City. We have never been there, but have heard good things about it. Once again, we got to enjoy a Branson "thunderstorm" (beautiful sunny day). We really wanted to be sure that we went on kiddie rides for Kaitlyn, to keep her entertained. She LOVED every ride she went on! Ones that went pretty fast, and I thought would scare her... "I wanna go again!" was her response. 3 and already loves the thrill rides!!! Cedar Point... next year?

what a beauty :)

Grandma, Auntie and Kaitlyn

on a swing. Kaitlyn is next to Daddy

Roller coaster time! Another great face shot ;)

the "elephant" ride

there's Grandpa and Grandma!

Hopping frog ride. She did it all by herself!

piggy-back ride with Auntie :)

my sweet little boy

the whole family on the carousel (Daddy was next to Kaitlyn) Jacob really liked it too!

Both kids did SO well the whole day! In my mind, I thought we would be gone after lunch... but we didn't leave until 4pm :) The big kids (Mike, Alli and I) even had the chance to ride some rides :)

The first ride we went on was "The Big Swing". This ride is pretty much like the pirate ship ride at a carnival, but every seat is the front row and your feet dangle. It was AWESOME! Now... I will say... the person next to me sounded like he was going to have a heart attack! Crying out for dear life! I could not stop LAUGHING!!! I had tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard!!! The person next to me... Mike. He said, "That was freaky!"

here's a video of the ride (turn your volume down, it's loud):

Jacob fell asleep, just like this :) busy day for a little guy!

We had so much fun! I think we may need to make a trip to Branson every year :) Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for getting us a great place to stay, the tickets to the show, and all the good food!