Family Vacation

This year for family vacation we headed to Branson.  Coming off of maternity leave I knew I wouldn't have enough vacation time built up for a full week so we left Thursday and drove home Tuesday. 

All loaded up in the Jeep Thursday night and ready to hit the road!

Our plan was to stop and stay in Springfield and then drive to Branson Friday morning.  After a bit of car trouble (terrifying!) we pulled into a hotel in Springfield around 1am. 

The next morning Elle and Eric hit the pool while Ollie and I got ready.

Our next stop was Lambert's.  I hadn't been here since I was young and was so excited for Elle to see them throwing the rolls.  We got there at 11 right as they were opening and there was already a 30 minute wait.  This place is popular!

The food was yummy and rolls were H-O-T!  Seriously, it hurt catching those bad boys!

Back on the road to Branson!

The house we stayed in was so nice, it was in a nice little resort with several pools which was perfect.  I really wish I would have taken some pictures.  It had a screened in porch that overlooked a little lake and was right down the street from one of the pools. 

Once we were in the house and settled we headed to the pool!

This little baby Bear is just the cutest thing ever!

Diva!

PawPaw let Hens drive back to the house after some swimming.  

The house was right next to the pool. 

We stayed up late the first night to wait for Will and Paige to arrive and then played the Ellen Degeneres "Heads Up!" game on our phone.  It was hilarious!

Lazy mornings!

The many moods of Elle on vacation. ;)

Heading to the outdoor mall for some shopping and dinner.

Waiting for balloon animals. Elle is holding her little owl purse with her souvenir money. :)

A pink Bear hugging a heart for Elle.

A sword for Hens

And a puppy dog for Bear.

We ate dinner at a super yummy Mexican restaurant. 

Elle stayed occupied by taking pictures (hundreds) on my phone.

After dinner we watched the water show.

The next morning we had tickets to the princess and pirate cruise!! Mom, Paige, Mary, the boys, me and Elle all went. Dad went above and beyond for this!  He paid for our tickets and bought the kids costumes to wear.  World's best PawPaw!!!

Love these Voss boys!

Waiting in line to board the boat.

Once on the boat there were more princesses to meet...as well as several pirates for the boys. 

The kids, Mary and I had the best table on the boat.  Literally.  Somehow we ended up with the VIP table!

You can see Paige standing at our table holding Bear. Mom and Paige sat just to the right of us.

Poor Beary started running a fever when we were there. :(

Elle was in pink lemonade heaven!

Waiting for the show to begin.

While we waited you could design a princess tiara or pirate hat.  

They played fun Disney music, had some performances, a really funny pirate comedian and even snow falling during "Let It Go".  The whole thing was so much fun!!

After the show inside everyone went to the top deck of the boat for a dance party.

As we were leaving Elle's patience was wearing veeeeery thin but we managed to stand in line for an umbrella (just like one I got in Branson years ago).  She was smitten as soon as she laid eyes on them. 

Fun times at the house throughout the week. 

Oliver wasn't a fan of sleeping in the pack n play so he slept in bed most of the time...and he loved it!!!

One night Eric and I left Ollie with mom and dad and took Elle for a late night swim just the 3 of us.  Elle loved it and still talks about it.  We pretended we were dolphins and turtles and just had so much fun with our favorite girl.  That night was probably my favorite moment from this vacation. 

One day Henry had a "Disco Show" in the Voss room with a light up toy he got at the Pirates and Princess Cruise.  He claimed it was the best show in town!

My little Doodle fell asleep in the pool one day.

More pool time!

On our last night we went out for pizza and then for some classic Branson fun.

These two had so much on the teacups!

My little doodle.

Next up the choo choo train!

My babies. :)

Elle's first bumper boat experience!

These two crack me up!

I think PawPaw is getting splashed!

Mary and I took Elle and Henry on go carts and then Eric and Nick took them on a separate track that looked more like a roller coaster.  Such a fun night to end vacation on!

We headed home the next morning, we had a nice uneventful ride home. :)

And Elle was so happy to be home that she hugged the Truman on our garage door when we pulled in.