Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the most amazing dad I know!  Our kids are so lucky to have you!  We are blessed for you to have the schedule you have and work the hours you work - you were able to stay at home with Brady when he was a baby and now Bria - they grow so fast that these are the times we are going to miss!  You have been able to create so many memories with our babies that most dads don't.  Hopefully I can document as many of those memories as possible so they can see this as they grow up!  Thank you for allowing me to work part-time and spend as much time with our kids as possible!  Not only are you my husband, Brady and Bria's father, our chef, man of the house, and the best friend I've always wanted - you are our ROCK - you are strong and steady and keep us together through the crazy times!  I love you so much - our kids love you so much and I hope you had a great Father's Day!  You deserve it!

Happy Father's Day to our Father's!!  Thank you for being such great dad's and grandpa's too!

Vacation - Day 3

Notice in the 2 pics above that Richie is wearing the cutest shirt EVER!  Brady made it for him at school!  It says "Best Dad Hands Down" with his handprints all over it!  Too cute!  Richie wore it for Father's Day!  Too special - what a cute idea!  So proud!

After church, we decided to hit up the pool and it was AMAZING!  We pretty much had the pool to ourselves for just about the entire time!  It was cool!  Brady and Bria both enjoyed the noodle and they swam until lunch and naptime!  It was a really nice morning but heated up quickly!

While Brady was napping Daddy and Bria played on the covered back porch!  Too cute!  Look at that precious smile!  She sure loves her daddy!

Then we hit up the indoor mini golf!  It was just too hot to have these kiddos outside!  Brady wanted to hold the balls and not let go of them - it was funny.

Then, he was tired again...Took a little rest on Papa's head!  HA!

Sissy girl and her Baba!  Bria napped during some of the golf, but decided she wanted to play too!

1st group picture of the whole vacation!  Too much fun!  The losers had to buy ice cream!  Barb and I lost...We let the men pair up for Father's Day - we only lost by 1 stroke too!!!

Andy's it is!  Bria and her Daddy and Brady thinking that someone was going to take the ice cream away.  He is just too funny!  Don't mess with him and his sweets!!!

We got back to the cabin and decided to wind down for the evening after Richie made a delicious meal for Father's Day!  Brady was so funny - he wanted us ALL on the couch together!  He would grab us all one by one, hand in hand and drag us to the couch and put us in our spot!  Sissy took a lil snooze on my lap, but we are all here!  Group picture - BARELY!  Too funny! 

All in all, it was a nice getaway!  Branson has lots to do for kids!  We will have to go back again - the cabin we stayed in was AWESOME!  The activites were great (will be a little more fun as they get older) and the food was FAB!  The company was great and it was a successful trip!  Sad I didn't get to see my dad for Father's Day, but hopefully I'll get to see him soon!

Family Vacation - Day 2

Branson - Day 2

We started off the day by making a Wal-Mart trip.  On our way back to the cabin, we decide to go to Krispy Kreme and get Brady some donut holes!  He sure LOVES his dough-doughs!  We are in the drive thru and here is the conversation - this is hysterical!

Richie: 1 cup of donut holes, please.

Lady: Sir, we don't have any donut holes yet...

Richie: Hmmmm...Ok, how about 2 glazed donuts & 2 cinnamon roll donuts?

Lady: We don't have any cinnamon roll donuts yet...

What the heck??  It's KRISPY KREME & 7:30 in the morning on a Saturday????  They've been open for 2 hours already???  Does this make sense to anyone else???  Richie is getting fired up at this point.

Richie: OK, I guess I'll take 4 glazed donuts IF YOU HAVE THEM...

Lady: Yes, sir - that will be 4 glazed donuts - see you at the window.

Sure enough, we confirm at the window they had been open since 5:30 and keep in mind that donut holes are made from donuts!!!  The holes are punched out while they are being made...SO, how do they not have any?  We are still puzzled by this...

We get back to the cabin and Brady grabs the whole donut from Richie's hand and DEVOURS it!  At one point Richie tried pulling it from his mouth at the bottom and Brady made this horrible noise & started whining b/c he thought Richie was going to take it from him.  I'm not real sure he chewed...This boy LOVES his dough doughs...I think he gets that from my grandpa Othel.  Pa LOVED donuts for as long as I knew him.  Shipleys were his favorite then Krispy Kreme...After we get breakfast, go back to Wal-Mart for sunscreen, swing back by Tanger to exchange lil sandels for Brady (to get a size 7 - big foot) we FINALLY head to Silver Dollar City!

We get there around 10:30 and all the excitement of heading that way wore poor Brady out.  Early nap for this guy...He snoozed in the stroller for an hour & a half while Tom and Barb wheeled him around!  Look at these handsome men on Father's Day weekend!  Too cute!

So, we took Bria around since she was alert and ready to go!

We watched the cloggers perform and here Bria is (I'm sure she will be a future clogger)...We loved it!  They were so talented and knew so many different styles of clogging!  Too cool!

Once Brady woke up, we met back up and then found Carla, Ryan and McKynlee & they were by the Christmas shop!  Brady yelled "Santa" and had to have a closer look!  This is much better than last years Christmas card!  Too funny!  We then headed for the rides!  I've been waiting all day for Brady to get on some rides that were his size!!

1st stop - The Frogs!!  McKynlee was a pro at these frogs and was going to be a big girl and ride up front with Brady...Except he was SCREAMING bloody murder.  You can't tell from the picture above, but Ryan had already put McKynlee in and she was trying to let Brady in beside her.  NO WAY, not happening by a long shot.  He didn't want any part of the rides.  Sigh.  So sad.  So, big girl McKynlee rode it by herself while I tried to find the rest of our party (who were hiding) b/c they didn't want to be anywhere near us since EVERYONE within a mile radius was staring.  I'm sure they thought a child had lost an arm or something.  Nope, just Brady refusing to ride...Next...

We find a fun ball pit.  It was HUGE - lots of things to do in this thing.  This picture melts my heart!  I love it.  My 2 favorite men!  Precious!

BALL PIT!  This thing is HUGE - You can shoot these balls, vaccuum them up into a net, arrange them in different cylinders, etc...Too much to choose from!!!

Brady stood up while I took the picture - Barb is behind him but you totally can't even see her! HA!

Oh yes - Brady REALLY enjoyed the ball pit!  However, if you look at the pictures above...I'm wondering WHO had more fun??  Brady or Baba??  HAHA!

Outside of the ball pits!  Brady loves to slide!

Fun times!!!!

Time to eat - lil Bria LOVES to eat - she wanted to eat our food.  I think she is going to totally skip baby food.  She grabbed Richie's roll and started chewing on it!  Too funny!  Here are the girls having some fun!

OK - yes, I'm a total hog...I basically posted the same pic of me and Brady...However, I NEVER GET A GOOD PIC OF ME & HIM!  I'm always the one taking the picture, dancing, making noises, etc. And finally - A FUN GOOD PIC OF US!  I love it!  I was skipping down this hill holding him making some weird noise and he was having a BLAST!  I'm like - HURRY take a pic!  Everyone within a 15ft radius whipped out phones, cameras, etc. to get this shot!  LOVE IT!  This moment goes down in history!

Kiddos and Papa and Baba watching the lost river ride and everyone coming down splashing!  I think they secretly wanted on this ride!  HA!

Someone was having so much fun - but nap time just has to happen at some point...

Still snoozing.  Luckily, since Brady wouldn't ride any rides she didn't miss too much!

Once Bria woke up it was time to get belts made with their names on it.  I had a belt with my name on it when I was little so I thought it was only fitting for both kids to have one too!  I was THRILLED to get them these belts and I can't WAIT for them to wear them!  SUPER PUMPED!

Someone is getting tired again...Lots of action leading to sleepy sleepy kids!  Very worn out...

Time to call it a day - they lasted a lot longer than I ever expected.  We got there about 10:30 in the morning and left around 3!  They both seemed to have an overall good day!  It will be more fun in the next couple of years when they are older and can ride more things (willingly hopefully) and can last a little longer...Silver Dollar City was fun and exciting for all of us!  Even Richie who insisted that I ride a roller coaster or two with him before heading out!  So, while Baba and Papa kept the kiddos entertained, we rode Thunderation and Wild Fire - OMG...Glad I hadn't eaten all day...YIKES!  A fun time had by all!

Back to the cabin to get ready to go to dinner!  The kids were pooped out so they were very calm for the grandparents and we went to eat at Cantina Laredo with Carla and Ryan!  A few drinks in and fabulous food and a little shopping afterward we stopped in at a new place where the boys were getting a drink and we ran into Carrie, Shawn and Harper eating!  Chatted with them, had another drink and called it a night!

  It was a great day and night!  Day 2 was a success!