Table Rock Lake 2013

We have returned from our family vacation at Table Rock Lake.  We went with my entire family so we had various ages of little Hayden who is 3 months and my grandma who is 91!!  It was fun for everyone and Table Rock is definitely a place you can take young kiddos to older grandpa's and grandma's.  There is stuff to do for everyone of all ages but most of all it was great to just be together in one location.  Everyday we had a plan of what to do and with three little kiddos it made the trip that much more enjoyable and that much more exhausting but worth it!!

Some of the highlights of the trip...
1.  The view from our condo was amazing.  My family was making fun of me for taking so many pictures of the sunrise and sunset as well as the view of the lake.  We had a screened in porch and I could have sat out there all day everyday if I had the chance.  It was amazing!




2.  Boating.  One of my favorite things to do as a family is go boating.  We go all the time in Okoboji so we knew one day we wanted to get a pontoon and spend the day on the water.  The boys (especially Jase) love the water so they were looking forward to the boat ride.  We spent the day on the lake and had yummy snacks and cold beverages.  We stopped to swim numerous times and my little guys loved their inter tubes.  Little Miss Hayden Mae was not a huge fan of boating this time.  She and I spent a lot of time on the boat just nursing and rocking.  I guess that is the benefit of breastfeeding and food is always available.  Even Grandma Johny had a good time on the boat.  She was very concerned about getting wet and her hair messing up but she was such a trooper the whole time!







3.  Riding the Ducks.  They have a 70 minute tour in Branson called "Ride the Ducks"  It is a bus ride that turns into a boat ride.  It is really neat because they take you around Branson and show you some famous/popular spots but they also take you to the highest point over Table Rock Lake and then splash you in the water for a short boat ride.  Besides it being super hot, it was enjoyable for everyone!  The boys were even able to drive the "boat."



4.  Finally able to spend my sister's birthday with her.  My sister has been here there and everywhere for the past FOREVER!  Her birthday was the 12th which was the second day we were there.  It is about time that she is finally going to be close enough to us so that I can see her and spend more time with my best friend.  I hope she had a good birthday because I know everyone was so glad to be with her.





5.  The Pool.  First thing every day we would hear "can we put our swim trunks on yet."  I would say the boys would have spent every second of every day at the pool.  After a bit of a catastrophe of Tyce jumping in the water without a life jacket on or any type of floating device, we were able to get the crazy kiddos under control so we didn't have any more issues.  We were able to swim every day and it was perfect for everyone to relax on a lounge chair or in the hot tub.  Jase got a little daring by the end of the trip and figured out he was able to touch in the shallow end of the pool.  He thought he was pretty cool when he was able to jump in without an inter tube or his life jacket.  Tyce was finally gutsy and would swim on his floaty but he wanted to make sure someone was around him at all times.



6.  The water/fire show and a pit stop at Old Chicago.  My Dad and my Grandma wanted to meet up with their first and second cousin while we were in Branson so this gave us some time to walk around the shopping area of the main stretch.  We were stumbling along and came across this cool water show that also blew fire.  We sat in the front row not knowing we were going to get soaked!!  I was wondering why everyone was sitting further to the back.  After strolling through we decided to stop at Old Chicago for some drinks and apps.  It was nice to just chill out for a while since we had been on the go, go, go!





7.  Our Anniversary.  We spent our 7 year anniversary with our family on July 15th.  We may not have got a second to ourselves but we sure had fun

.  Happy Anniversary to my hubby!

8.  Togetherness.  Like I said before I can't stress enough how important our families are to us.  Jeff and I want to create so many memories for our children.  We hope that we can spend more time together and take many more trips!  I can't thank my parents enough for taking us in and allowing us to share this time with them.  We had a blast and we are excited for the trips planned in the future!