Family photo shoot

Well Shaw isn't in them,  but when I got home from picking up the girls from aunt Lizzie after work, Shaw pulled out his camera and made us go outside to take pictures.  Here are some of them.

Table rock day 7 - Departure

After being up until 3 counting contractions,  waking up with the girls at 7 was slightly challenging!  :)  Luckily I was productive during the wee hours of the morning cleaning and packing so there wasn't too much to do!  We had breakfast,  then packed up.  After doing all we could do with the girls around,  I took them to visit the other condo and left shaw to finish everything and pack up the car. Such a blessing to have such an amazing husband! 

We took Emma in the van with us and headed to springfield to hit up the Smallin Civil War Cave with Papa. Such an experience! It was about a million degrees outside,  but in the cave was fascinating and cool!  It was a great history story,  and the girls really did well. They said their favorite part was the fossil of the starfish that was in the ceiling.    It was about 3/4 of a mile into the cave.  Sophia LOVED it when our guide,  who was also the owner,  turned off the lights in the cave!  Even 3/4 of a mile in you could see a faint light from the HUGE opening.  It was quite the adventure!

We then piled everyone into the van and meet up with judy and Tessa in Springfield,  as they were visiting a quilt shop while we went spelunking.  We rearranged cars and set off to our next stop - Lunch!

Across the highway from the beloved Osceola Cheese shop is a gas station/diner/Amish Co op of sorts that piqued Shaw's interest on the way to table rock.  So naturally we had to stop there for lunch on the way home. Fabulous burgers, fries and milkshakes! Also,  thanks to the Amish, we were able to pick up some delicious cream cheese cinnamon rolls for breakfast tomorrow!  An hour and a half later - home!  What a wonderful vacation!

Table rock Lake day 6!

The girls and I let Shaw sleep in as we had breakfast and visited with the other condo people!  After we were all up and fed we hit up the mini golf course (which Monica loved- a hole in one every time! She would hit it once,  then pick up the ball and throw it in the hole) then the last trip to the pool. Monica and I left at 12:45 to go back for nap time while the rest of the vacationers remained.   Monica got a solid 3+ hour nap!  It was great!  Shaw and Sophia finished at the pool, picked up a couple of things at the grocery store, and we all met at the other condo for dinner by Dan and Judy.  Coconut Fried catfish & shrimp, sweet potato fries,  blueberries,  grapes and tomatoes/Mozz salad.  Delicious.

We then took a late adventure to Persimmon Hill Farm for Blueberry milkshakes and ices.  It was slightly disappointing,  but a quant farm where you could pick your own berries if you want to.  20 minutes drive home for bath time and bed time.

I was up way too late counting and timing contractions,  hoping against hope that this baby will last one more day until we get home! :)

Table Rock Lake day 5!

No boat today :(. It is strange here,  but all of the boats were somehow taken, and you can't reserve a boat by the hour unless there are extras,  so you have to wait until the last minute. Boats are super cheap here,  so most people rent them for 24 hours. 

But we had a lazy morning and did another round of archery!  Then we packed things up and went back to Moonshine Beach and had another Beach day. Packed up lots of toys and lunches and pushed through nap time for the second day in a row.

After a nice long time enjoying the beautiful weather and water,  we cleaned up and went to the Shepherd of the hills fish hatchery.  It was fun to feed to the fish and look at the big ones!

We then ran home so shaw could start dinner,  as it was our assigned day. Delicious steaks,  squash sautée and crispy salami,  sweet and russet potatoes.  Yum! 

I had the treat of a mint chocolate chip shake and shaw made a funny drink with white whiskey,  lime and an orange freezer pop. Hilarious. 

We stayed up too late reading,  but such a fun,  low key day!

Table rock Lake day 4

Today was so fun!   The four of us woke up at 7:20. Shaw made eggs,  bacon and toast for everyone,  and then we were off to the races.

Actually,  we were running a bit behind schedule,  but Uncle Pete took Emma and Sophia up to the activity center and rented our bows and arrows,  and we all met for archery at 9:40ish.  So fun but Oh so hot!  Even the girls had a blast.

We cooled off in the Leach/P condo and planned the day.  After some fun time in the condo (I.e. Someone deciding to cook a steak with jalapeños on super hot and sending everyone into the bedrooms because of the spicy smoke :) ) our little family decided to try a little diner in the nearby town of Lampe for lunch. We said goodbye to Pete who had to head back home for work and set off.

It. Was. Delicious!  Bacon cheeseburger, fries and chocolate shake.  Does the world get any better?  I believe it was called The Corner Diner.

From there the group all went to Branson.  While the others went to quilt stores and the Amish country store,  we finally made the decision to go to the Butterfly Palace.  The girls loved it!  It had a rainforest with iguanas and turtles, a mirror maze that was very hard, but super fun (we did it 3 times! ) and a jungle path with bungee cords that looked like trees that you had to get through. Then,  of course there was the butterfly atrium.  Butterflies everywhere!  The girls were enchanted.  It was hot though,  so we only stayed in there for as long as we could take the humidity!

We met up with the group at the Amish country store to weather out the rainstorm,  then we drove the 30 minutes back, raining on and off. I was so grateful for our DVD player and the jake and the neverland pirates DVD!

We pushed through naptime, so the girls were a little crazy for the rest of the evening,  but I got a 20 minute nap in while shaw took Monica to the grocery store.  Then to the other condo for a delicious dinner of spaghetti squash and Turkey meatballs!  Home for bath time and bed. Tomorrow is boat day!  Yay!