Charlotte fell in love...in Branson

I am a bit delayed in telling of our Branson trip.  But we went to Branson in March with some good friends of ours.  Quite assuredly some of our favorite people in the entire world.  They just so happen to have a little man who is a few months older than Charlotte.  AND they are due to have a little lady in June, just a couple months before Cale is due to arrive!  It also just so happens that we got married a month and 11 days apart from each other during the same summer...and Kelley and I wore the same wedding dress.  But our friendship runs deeper than these similarities.  They are just amazing people who also love the Lord.  And we love living life with them.  It just stinks that currently their life is being lived out in Nebraska and ours in Kansas City.  Hopefully one day God will plant us all back in the same city again...because we miss these gems!

Anyway.  Branson.

Ben and I scored a deal on our hotel.  $70 total for two nights, including a free breakfast in the restaurant and free admission to their "Splashatorium."  Catch?  Yes.  We had to attend a two hour presentation on purchasing a vacation plan on our last day there.  We figured the two hour presentation was worth the $100 plus in savings...so we took it.  My goodness, but that presentation.  It turned out to be a two on one meeting.  Where a guy threw numbers at us and tried to scare us into purchasing a vacation package that would last us ten years.  Ben was all nervous about it because he didn't want them giving us a hard time.  I did most of the talking.  I told the guy the numbers did not shock me because I know vacation cost money.  That annoyed him and the guy then started making suggestions like we don't care about spending family time with our kids, etc.  He tried to make the suggestions sound like jokes, but it was pretty obvious to us he wasn't just kidding around.  Anyway...we made it through the 2 PLUS hour "presentation" and left on our merry way.  The guy looked at us like we were crazy when we said "No, no no, absolutely no" and walked out.  But hey...we walked out with a super low hotel bill.  So, really, guy?  As long as we are savvy and continue to utilize deals and opportunities such as these, we should be A-okay for our family vacations for many years to come.  Plus life isn't just about vacations anyway, dude.

But I'm sure you are more interested to hear how the rest of our trip went.  What did we do, etc.  And how exactly did Charlotte fall in love?  And with whom?

Our family....

Our family with one of our favorite families!

 After splashing around in the splashatorium (well, not so much Charlotte.  She was so nervous about the pool she peed herself.  And it leaked straight out of her diaper and onto me.  I mean, her Daddy was dangling her over the water like a rag doll, so who can blame her?  In Daddy's defense, he was trying to show off her strong abs.  But really, Daddy?  Maybe not over the scary water next time!), we took the kids for a night out on the town for our first night in Branson.   And they lived it up.

They test drove a cool vehicle...

 

 Watched  a pretty spectacular fire and water music show....which totally caught their attention by the way.  And ours.  It was pretty cool...

 

 But Charlotte chose to enjoy the show from her Daddy's arms.  I guess she felt the need to make amends with him after the pool dangling peeing incident...

 

But once that music ended, Charlotte was back on the ground.  And so was Little Man.  He cracked a few jokes, did a few tricks, you know.  The kinda thing guys do to catch a girl's attention.

 

Charlotte thought it was amusing, but decided she needed some time to mull things over before jumping into a relationship.  (Good job, girly!  No need to rush these things.)

 

Charlotte took the next day to live it up in Silver Dollar City.  Which, might I add, has a LOT of hills.  And I mean a LOT of hills.  Many.  Many, hills.  At least Charlotte didn't weigh down the stroller as we walked through the park (haha, I say that sarcastically...).

She enjoyed the kiddie playground, testing out every riding toy thingy she could find.  She thought she owned those things, too.  She became quite the diva when someone else would try to enjoy her new fun finds...

 

 Good thing Mommy was there to keep her in check.

 

And we cannot forget the slide.  She is a pro slider, Charlotte.

 

 The kiddos took a brief nap on the drive back to the hotel.  And Charlotte even continued sleeping during the car to bed transfer!  It was amazing.  We actually had to wake her up for our second night on the town...

Charlotte met Jack on the bridge overlooking the water to let him know her thoughts and plans for the night. 

 

First things first.  Daddy time.  She had to get as close to the water as possible...without being in it of course.  Apparently fountains are less scary than pools.

She was not a fan of being on the ground.  She wanted up on the ledge.

She also wanted Mommy's camera.

At least she got her way with one of us...

But not for long.  Nope.  Charlotte had other plans...like hanging out with the big girls.

Or...

...maybe she was searching for someone else?

 

Thank the Lord for cell phones.  Especially iphones (though we do not have one and I don't really want one of my own...).  Charlotte was able to locate her man.

She's so lady like, isn't she?

 He was fascinated by her pretty headware.

And cheeks.

 

Charlotte just got a kick out of it all.

Oh man!  He went in for the kiss!  Even Charlotte seemed a little surprised :)

What better way to conclude a weekend date than a ride off into the sunset on a school bus?

 

Seems just about right for these two.  So?  What do you think?  What will these two think of these photos in ten years?  Twenty?  Twenty-five?  Time will tell...