Let me start with the fact that we are incredibly blessed. When we first moved to Oklahoma we had some friends that live an hour and a half away and some work friends of Ryan's. But aside from them we did not know anyone else here. God quickly changed that. One such family was the Risley's. Jake met his buddy Grant at school and they soon became close friends. In time our families got to know each other and they are now dear friends of ours, some of our Oklahoma family. They are the ones who told us about Big Cedar in Branson MO and once we had an opportunity to all go on a trip together there we all jumped on it. We planned almost a year in advance to go on this Spring Break trip and boy was it worth it. So many wonderful memories and a truly great trip. Jake tells anyone that will listen that is was really his Birthday trip, which was a wonderful bonus!!! I mean, how many kids get to go on vacation with their best friend. :)
Getting up there on the first day we were met with this beautiful view! Can't beat it
As it was warmer this trip (at least in the beginning) we got to take advantage of one of the outdoor pools. Beautiful!!!
This was basically the look Jake had on his face the whole time...a dream vacation for him. :)
The boys getting comfortable in our room.
The Lodge across the way from us...so magical to have this view
Happy Birthday Jake. Amazingly he did not wake up super early as we were expecting...maybe staying up till 10pm the night before swimming helped with that. :)
Opening gifts :)
A book, coloring book and puzzle...does it get any better than that!
Not sure who was more excited about this gift. Jake got his own scooter!!! AJ got one for Christmas and Jake really liked it and had asked for one for his birthday. Now they can ride together.
Happy 6th Birthday Jake!
A happy Mommy with her boys
Jake Grant and Baymax
As Jake's birthday also hits on Saint Patrick's Day (or Hexagon Day as Jake calls it...not really sure) we always get them their shirts. They are out Irish Ninjas :)
Jake testing out his scooter. They kids had so much fun with scooters on this trip, I think they rode them every day. They had a blast and it helped us keep them busy while we got meals and other things ready. :)
Jake really wanted to go and visit the horses at the Stables. First they visited this cute little pony
The kids all had fun feeding him hay
Then they checked out this much bigger horse
But these were their favorite, tied along some trees on the side
Horsing around :)
Then it was a short hike along this trail. The kids loved it and could have hiked all day!!!
We saw a ton of turtles, they were very cute.
Hanging out on the Lake
Brown Family Vacation Spring 2015
Then it was mini golf which was then followed by the pool....did I mention that Jake had a ton of things he wanted to do on his birthday :)
The boys hanging out on the patio
If you would have told me 3 or 4 years ago that Jake would ask for Taco Salad as his birthday dinner I would have laughed at you. But he did...of course it had to be Miss Natalie's as she makes it better than I do. lol
Even while on vacation we had to get the boy a birthday cake!
Happy Birthday Jakey Bear!!! And this concludes his birthday...these pictures were the same way. We got it all in and we had one happy Birthday boy. I am still deeply thankful to the Risley's for coming along with us on every adventure. It made Jake a very happy boy and this will always be a Birthday that he will always remember!!!
The next day was a rainy one and so we did some indoor things. We went into Branson and all went to Steak and Shake for lunch (Something Jake had asked that we do on his birthday trip) which also included yummy shakes and cardboard race cars...it was a hit. And then a trip to Bass Pro Shop, the kids mostly liked climbing on the boats. :)
Then it was back to the indoor pool for a swim. And hey while you are already wet why not go in the hot tub in the rain. :D
Our happy kids, so blessed that they all get along so well.
Our dear friends Natalie and Darren
A very special lunch at the restaurant at Top of the Rock! The view was amazing and it was just fun to do!
The boys loved it as they served the kids the largest kids meal of nachos any of us had ever seen in our lives :)
While they did not come close to finishing them they had a really good time trying :)
Our last morning as we were clearing out. Why not work at finishing up the ice cream...it can't come home with us. :)
The kids of the Lodge
Brown Risley Spring Break Vacation 2015...Thanks for the memories :)
The last stop was a great playground that the kids wanted to play at before we left. They all love this basket swing
And the forts...this was a restaurant with an order window
The boys rock shop. :D
Thank you again to our dear friends for sharing such a great vacation with us!!! We are so thankful for your friendship!!! And I will never forget our Walmart parking lot picnic on the way home...that pie!!!! ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment