Branson Baby!

We took a week vacation to Branson, MO.  We stayed at Mountain Vista Resort and it was wonderful.  We had a two bedroom, two bathroom, fully loaded kitchen, living room and a whirlpool tub condo.  Seeing the girls' reactions when we walked in the front door was worth every penny.  It reminded me of my childhood vacations when my brother and I would run in the front door of the condos and say, "OMG look at this and look at that, we would tell our parents what the condo looked like before they even got in the door.  Then we would unpack our things so that it felt like we really lived there.  Layna was doing the exact same things I did when I was younger and Lily followed Layna.  Lucy was just happy to be with her family.

The resort had 2 outdoor pools, 1 indoor pool and 2 hottubs.  Our first night we unpacked, ate dinner and walked around the resort checking everything out.  The next day we packed snacks and headed for the pool!  The girls loved it.  I took Lucy back to our room for her afternoon nap (which she took beautifully) and Jeromy took Layna and Lily to the ice cream social at the activities center.  He asked the woman at the front desk how does this work and she responded, "You give me the money and I give you the ice cream."  Ahh, isn't she sweet?  I have another word for her.  I told Jeromy you should have said, "Oh, really is that how it works thank you thank you for explaining that to me, da."  But sometimes he is nicer then me (sometimes).  Lucky for her my kids didn't care and were happy to eat their ice cream.  She was the only rude person we ran into that worked there. 

On Monday my parents were coming to stay part of the week with us so we decided that would be a good morning to get out and take the girls to Kidz Kountry to ride some rides and then take them go karting.  It was super hot(heat advisory) so we couldn't stay long.  Layna and Lily rode the train and tea cups while Lucy napped in the ac van with Jeromy.  Then we found out that we could take Layna and Lily in the go karts with us.  Jeromy and Layna rode in one while Lily and Lucy and I watched then I took Lily while Jeromy, Layna and Lucy watched.  The 2 parents to 3 kids ratio was really evident on vacation.  My favorite part was seeing Lily's face when I put the pedal to the medal.  She just smiled and looked straight ahead.  Then when we got out she said, "I drive car" so we went again.  I have not been able to go go karting the last 3 years we have been to Branson b/c I was always pregnant!  So, this was a long time coming.  Then the girls played some games in the arcade and as we were standing in line to cash in our tickets this woman handed us 236 tickets and said, "Here take these my kids come here all the time and they don't need these extra tickets."  Layna and Lily were so happy-yea, more junk! 

Tuesday, Jeromy and I took Layna and Lily to White Water while my parents stayed back at the condo with Lucy (they took her swimming).  Jeromy and my ticket were free b/c we used our coke rewards points which saved us about $75.  This was by far the best day we had in Branson.  White Water is fantastic!  It is clean, safe, the perfect size, you don't have to pay to park, they have great restrooms and the food prices are about the same as fast food.  Jeromy and Layna went down some big slides and I mean BIG! Layna went down the drop slide which you can see from all over Branson it is soo high!  People in line and the lifeguards were amazed that Layna went down this and wanted to go again.  Lily and I watched from the bottom and were both like, "uh no I think we'll pass."  I took Lily over to the kiddy area where they had tube slides, waterfalls and a big playground in water.  Then we met back up for lunch.  All 4 of us got a combo meal and our total was only about $18.  After lunch Layna and I went and did some water slides together and it was a blast!  I felt like a kid again.  This one slide called the "Bermuda Triangle" was my favorite.  You rode on an innertube and the whole slide was enclosed in a tube and pitch black.  You wouldn't be able to see what was coming and then all of a sudden you would get splashed in the face.  Then the very end you had to go through a waterfall and then it dropped you in the pool (literally).  I actually screamed like a girl!  There was a family ride where we all got in a raft and went down a huge waterslide with twists and turns and waterfalls.  We all really enjoyed that.  We were so lucky with the lines.  They were short.  The longest line we waited in was 15 minutes.  We were amazed b/c it was July and it was hot and it seemed like there were a lot of people there.  They did have a lot of things to do that required no lines like the wave pool, the lazy river and the kiddy playgrounds.  My only complaint was that my feet hurt bad.  I did a lot of walking in $2 Old Navy flip flops and I carried Lily a lot up some serious hills!  My back is still jacked up.  We were there from 10-6 and honestly could of stayed longer but we thought Lily was done.  After we changed, bought our souveniors, we headed to our van and Jeromy looks at me and says, "There was an entire kids section with bigger slides, a dumping bucket and play area that we missed."  "Are you kidding me?" I asked.  Well, we just have to come back next year!  ( Layna-"What?"  "We missed some slides?").

Wednesday, my mom and I hit the outlet stores while Jeromy and my dad took the girls to the pool.  I have to say that you could make an entire vacation just out of the outlet stores.  They have the best stores and so many.  My mom and I barely made a dent.  But we did do some serious shopping. So much that the clerk at the Disney Outlet had to help us carry our bags to the car!  My mom and I got all 3 girls ALL their birthday presents at this store.  They had everything my girls are into and cheap!  Things I have never seen in other stores.  I was like a kid in a Disney store!  My other favorite store there is the Skechers Outlet.  Every time we go to Branson I stock up on shoes from there.  I think they are so cute and comfortable which is hard to find.  I wish Jeromy and I could have shopped there together b/c it is kinda of a tradition that when we go on vacation we buy a new outfit together and new shoes.  We also didn't get a nite out (just the 2 of us) but what are ya gonna do?   That day we also took my parents out to luch at Shorty Smalls.  I have been wanting to try their Macho Nachos for years.  So, what did I order?  The shrimp platter.  What is wrong with me?  It was good though. 

On Thursday my parents left.  We mostly spent the rest of our time there at the pool.  It was nice to just do what we wanted.  Lucy had two rough nites in a row.  She did not sleep at all!  I think she was getting her 1 year molars.  So, even though I didn't want to leave on Friday I knew it was best for Lucy and me.  Also, Layna said she missed her room and her toys.  All in all it was a great trip!  It really went better then I expected.  What a blessing to be able to spend quality time with each other (quality time is Layna's primary love language and mine).  Also, what a blessing that we were all safe and nobody got sick!  Thank you God for Jeromy's job which by the way he sold a job while on vacation (only Jeromy)!  Next year, Tennesse- The Glades.