A Trip to Branson

We went to Branson this past weekend with my parents, brother, sister in law and niece. We didn't really have anything on the agenda, but shopping, the Shanghai circus and an old time family photo. All of those things were accomplished, but we also had a lot of time to just sit around and hang out with everyone too.

Our first morning there, we hit the outlet mall. It was a pretty quick shopping trip because it was so cold, but Drew did really well staying in his stroller and even took a nap for us. That afternoon, we went to the Shanghai Circus, which was really just an acrobatic show. We only got about 30 good minutes out of Drew before we had to start taking turns letting him walk around the lobby. 

After the show, we went to the Mexican restaurant at The Landing for dinner. Love that place!

Drew enjoyed his conversation with the dinosaur...

After dinner he loved walking out to the fountain and even stopped to dance a little bit!

Saturday morning, Drew and Marlowe got some great play time in. They were so sweet together. 

They climbed up on the coffee table to look out the window and Marlowe said "Drew, let's look at the world!"... so cute.

Later that morning, we headed out to get an Old Time family photo taken. We chose the hillbilly theme. Ha! It was fun, but I don't think I'll talk any of them into doing it again. 

My other SIL and two of my nieces happened to be in town shopping, so we met up with them that afternoon for some more cousin time. Halle taught Drew how to make a wish at the fountains and he successfully threw two pennies in the water. I would love to know what he wished for!

Looks like these three were having a serious talk here...

When we got back, Drew kept himself entertained going back and forth from the patio to the living room. He loved the step in the doorway and being able to shut the door and reopen it. At one point, he brought all of his puzzle pieces out to one of the chairs and then turned around and took them back in, one by one, until he was finished with the puzzle. Pretty darn cute! You can't see the puzzle piece here, but that's what he was grabbing in this picture. 

Completing his puzzle after many trips back and forth. (Yes, we're missing a few pieces! Who can keep all of those together?)

We ended the weekend with a trip to get ice cream and watch Marlowe drive her first go-kart. It was too cold to stand outside and watch, so we sat in the car and I didn't get any good pictures.

We had such a fun weekend! Even though we all live so close and see each other weekly, it was nice to go on a small little trip like this together. I will say, these trips are even more fun because of the stories we get out of my parents and the kids. They all make for some great entertainment!