Branson Vacation

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Here's a brief overview of the slideshow for those of you who (how dare you!) don't want to read my lengthier description...

First off was the Butterfly Palace with tons of butterflies, a mock Banyan tree and a mirror maze.
Next was the Dixie Stampede, which was the agreed favorite activity of the vacation, I mean anything Dolly and you can't go wrong.
We did the Branson Railroad and then followed it up with a trip to the kids' casino, also known as an arcade.
Friday we tried to explore Shepherd of the Hills, but it was sort of a bust. We did go up in the observation tower which was pretty neat. For dinner we went to the "new" Downtown for Build a Bear and the water/light show.
We left Saturday afternoon after a nice long swim in the pool!

Since we really haven't had much family time this summer, Charlie took a few days off work so we could go on a fall getaway. I've been sort of dying to go to Branson and check it out since it's so close and such a popular destination for people here in KC...well to say I was disappointed wouldn't be exactly accurate, but I wasn't all that amazed either.

To be fair to Branson, we did go in the off season, but we didn't think it would be a big deal...and it wasn't a big deal, but I think Charlie and I agreed that if we ever go back it must be in the summer! There were so many cool looking water parks and water slides and we were sorry to miss out on them! Plus a lot of the businesses were closed for the season, which we did sort of expect, but maybe not quite so many. It really has the feel of a summer town and we even talked about trying to camp near by and then staying in Branson for a few days after that. I don't want to sound negative about our trip because we did have a good time, but the summer (or Christmas as it seemed) is the time to go.

We passed on the opportunity to go to Silver Dollar City, which is a big amusement park, mostly because of the cost I think. I mean, let's be real, we're not cheap. We enjoy vacation and spend a little more than sometimes we normally would on things because "it's vacation!", but honestly, we just weren't sure that SDC would be worth it. With Leo still needing a nap during the day we didn't want to only go for a short time and we felt the cost was just too much. I think we would definitely reconsider in another year or two when nap isn't as much of an issue.

Our favorite thing was the Dixie Stampede, which let me just have a sidebar here and say that I had no idea that everything was a dinner theatre! Branson certainly does cater to an older demographic since all the shows were dinner shows and they started about 5:30 in the evening! Anyway, I digress, it was fabulous! Leo was absolutely mesmerized throughout the entire thing and if you know Leo this is a feat in and of itself! Sophia loved it too, we all did really, and was just amazed to see all the animals and trick riding. They also had about 6 or 8 buffalo and it was awesome. We also couldn't leave there without two stick ponies to practice our skills at home!

The railroad was okay. It was a bit lengthy but Leo was pretty stoked to be getting on a real live choo-choo! The weather was great and we found a nice hiking trail but were disappointed with the Shepherd of the Hills. Build a Bear was a good time, of course, and both kids were very happy with their animals. Sophia got a bunny and named her Flowera and Leo got a German Shepherd he named Hans.

It was a nice to have family time and we stayed in a Residence Inn which was perfect because we had our own kitchen which allowed for easy breakfasts and lunches and much needed down time for all of us in the afternoon. Charlie's favorite part of the trip was nap time, for Leo and for us! Lucky Sophia got to watch TV while the three of us dozed off...she was in heaven! ;)Overall I'm thankful for the time we got together and I think we all needed a little getaway!

Finally

The Before

The During

Notice the general look of disdain

oh well, nothing a sucker couldn't fix apparently

this one was happy as a clam!

The After

Truth be told, I was happy to get Sophia's cut, but I did sort of tear up when she started cutting Leo's. He is much happier to have it out of his eyes and she was thrilled with a little shape-up and has been admiring both of their stylish looks since Saturday!

Soccer Comes to an End

Sophia with Coach Chris

Sophia had her last day of soccer :( She really loved it and was sad to see it end. Personally I wish the program would have continued another 2 weeks, that 6 weeks flew by. I can't say enough positive things about the Challenger Program and I hope they will have other options in the spring. I'm not sure what I'll sign her up for next but I suppose it'll probably need to be indoors since winter will be on it's way before long. We haven't been to our favorite Music with Mar class all summer and that's still an option for us, but I feel like I need to present Soph with some options like maybe a dance or drama class instead. I think I would like to try and get back to music classes with both kids, or at least Leo, because it is really fun, educational, and full of movement. Just yesterday Sophia was singing one of the color songs to herself and it made me realize how much they were learning and how much we miss it!

Loose Park Play Date

Let's get there, Mom!

one goes up, the other one goes up

one goes down, the other one goes down!

We had a last minute play date with Cari and Andres (Juan was in school) on Friday. We decided to meet at Loose Park since it's between us, which in theory was a great idea. In reality, it seems that it is the preferred choice of school children on field trips to eat their lunch! Our little people were overrun twice by huge groups of kids! Next time we'll have to go earlier in the morning I think!

Fall at the Arboretum

Princess Sophia got a crown on her forehead

Sophia really enjoyed watching the bees flit from flower to flower

Teamwork happening over loading the dump truck

relaxing in the log chair

enjoying the hay ride

hard at work on the snake craft

Hugs for Forrest the Fox

Big Sis taught me how to roll down the hill!

The Overland Park Arboretum has a great fall festival every year and we were excited to make our second appearance this year! Last year was a lot chillier so it was nice to have warm weather! Sadly Charlie had to work all day, so I was solo with the munchkins, but we had a good time! Leo was excited to do some painting but not that much interested in the other crafts, although he tried to keep up with Sophia. She enjoyed the various things and made a necklace, photo frame and they both made a bird feeder. We all enjoyed the hay ride and Leo made sure to steer very clear of the Forrest the Fox who was wandering around.

Deanna Rose

They all became superheroes...inspired by Isaac and his homemade costume!

I mean cute or what!?!

One of Sophia's favorite activities...rolling down a hill!

Leo was chasing the ducks and enjoying the geese

This picture is not only adorable but provided a language breakthrough...I always like to take their picture on this bench, well...because it's adorable! Anyway, Leo walked over to it, turned around and said...

I want to 'cheese'!

Yay!!! He "cheesed" away and I snapped as many photos as I could!!!

tee pee time! All the kids enjoyed these and spent quite a while running between the 3 of them

There are only a few more weeks to enjoy Deanna Rose for the season! It's the perfect time, when it's not too warm, the leaves are changing, and the scenes are set for harvest! Hopefully we'll make it back at least once more before Halloween!

More Celebrations

Leo's birthday was on Sunday and since we have been avoiding hosting coffee hour at church we decided what better day than his birthday. We got a cake, lots of flavored milk, sandwiches, shrimp and other various dips. It was well received and thankfully we got everything set up and cleaned up with the help of Mom and Stacy!

When will I learn with the family picture? I know with enough repetition, I will eventually get a good one!
Sophia, Me, Mom and Stacy



Sue's birthday was on Tuesday and we were lucky enough to get to see her on her special day! We headed out to eat and Sophia was very impressed that her party was at a restaurant. ;)

Anne, Sophia and Sue say 'birthday cake!'

Sophia and Grandma shared a dessert

while Leo and I shared another...I love the look of determination!