Branson 2021

In August 2021, we took a family trip to Branson, MO! 

Scott had been wanting to head back to Table Rock Lake for some boating ever since he went in college with some friends. The opportunity arose and we traveled south with Scott's sister's family and his parents early in August. 

Scott's parents booked us a large condo at  Club Wyndham Branson at the Meadows using their timeshare points. It was a very nice unit with an entry right to the parking lot and plenty of space. It was a little jaunt to the main pools but we didn't mind. The condo had three bedrooms, which was plenty of room for all of us. Alex and Michael shared a room, while Anna & Brynn shared the pull out couch in the living area.

I utilized Tripadvisor to read about our resort and found out that one night a week they offer a special showcase of performers from the area shows along with a dinner. It was a really fun little show, and gave us a little taste of the entertainment Branson had to offer. We didn't end up seeing any shows, but I would recommend this if you are staying at the same resort. 

Our favorite was swimming, of course! 

We towed the boat down and rented a slip at State Park Marina, which was our home base for boating. They were great to work with, and it took a lot of stress out of getting the boat in and out of the water for our excursions. They even had a place to store the trailer! We didn't tarp the boat and stored everything in our truck. We felt very safe about the locked slip area. 

We alternated our boating days with other fun activities. We really enjoyed Table Rock Lake. The water was clear and there were plenty of calm coves to swim and water ski. These were some of my favorite memories, especially since the weather was exceptionally nice on our trip. Table Rock Lake is HUGE and there are lots of places to explore, but it can get choppy (and expensive) when cruising all over. 

A few other highlights of our boat time were taking Scott's aunts and uncles out on an easy boat cruise while they were in town seeing some shows; taking Scott's cousin Megan out with us who was a big help since she is experienced with having a lake cabin; and seeing Scott's cousin Amy and her son Dominic who came up for the day from Bentonville. Scott was a great boat captain! 

We met the State Park Marina Mascot! He has his own instagram! 

One of the first excursions we did was Silver Dollar City! I had wanted to visit ever since I had a student who had a condo in Branson and always talked about how awesome it was. It is a great amusement park, with plenty for all ages to do. Michael, Alex, Scott and his cousin Megan hit the coasters while the girls and I did the smaller rides. We enjoyed some shows all together, and the others enjoyed the beauty of the park, the music and the shopping. It was a really lovely day! 

The park didn't feel too busy, and that was nice considering we were still in the midst of COVID. The highlight for me was spending some girl time with Anna and Brynn. They thought it was pretty special, too! 

I don't have too many tips for this park but I would recommend downloading the park app ahead of time to familiarize yourself with the layout. Once we reached the end of the day, we had our bearings but at the start of the day it was a little tricky to figure out where we were. It is also a pretty hilly park so be prepared for some hiking! 

Another thing on my excursion must do list was the Lost Canyon Nature Golf Cart Tour at Top of the Rock (Big Cedar Lodge)  which I learned about on Tripadvisor. This activity is an absolute gem. It is a great way to explore a beautiful area, without too much walking since you are in golf carts! 

Biking at Dogwood Canyon 

Branson Landing

Wonderworks 

Mini Golfing Dinsosaur Canyon

Show at Resort 

Christmas 2021

I'm back for my third post in 2021 with a little Christmas recap! I did a little reading of old posts and I realized how much I used to blog and how it is such a nice reminder of the little things we did as a family. It is hard as I share so much more on instagram these days, but only in stories and those are so fleeting. 

Thinking over the month, it was a really great month. I went into it with quite a bit of anxiety, but quickly realized that Christmas is just one day. There is nothing that says you have to celebrate it every day for a month or have your decor up the month before Thanksgiving. Nothing is wrong with celebrating it the way it is meant to be: the Christ Mass. I tried to keep this in mind as I went through the season, remembering my favorite part is my whole family gathered together for the special Christmas Eve service. Everything else is just details. :) 

Another thing I did was do my decor a bit at a time. I even saved some things to be brought out only the day before Christmas Eve. It made it feel more special and less cluttered around the house. It was nice to place some special things out after the house was clean and organized at the beginning of break. 

I really like this special ornaments tree that is getting more full by the year! It is special to look at and the kids had a fun time pulling our special ornaments out and placing them in their spots. 

I made one critical error in preparing for Christmas and that is I waited too long to get my wreaths and outdoor planters. Menards was sold out of their nice things and so I had to go to Earl May where I paid double what I usually do. I'll remember that for next year. 

We spent Thanksgiving day at my brother's house with his family and my sister. It was so nice to spend time with them and especially nice to only have to prepare a few side dishes. The girls play so nice together! I hope they end up treasuring their special cousin time together. The rest of the weekend was spent going to the ISU game with Michael (he had a blast even though he claimed he "hated football"- even he was singing along at halftime and cheering on Breece Hall), and an afternoon downtown with the girls for Disney on Ice. We had an early dinner at Spaghetti Works and had fun walking in the sky walk. Our seats were the cheapest I could buy and they were actually very good! The girls are so excited to start skating lessons in January. We also saw the new Ghostbusters movie on Thanksgiving evening- a fun tradition! 

Grandma Margie came for a weekend to see Michael in action at the new RecPlex in West Des Moines. She bought Michael his new skates and gear for his birthday and Christmas so she wanted to see a good return on her investment. :) He is really enjoying hockey this year and I'm glad it is something Scott and him do together. 

Michael helped me out by being an usher at my December CIWE concert. he did such a good job and the elderly people loved him! I also traveled with West Music in Iowa City to pick out my NEW flute- a Miyazawa. It is lovely and so much to play on. I am very lucky and have already practiced more in a few weeks than I have in the past few months. 

 

Scott and I snuck out for a date night and it felt so festive in December, especially going downtown. Drinks and music at the Surety lounge, and then dinner out at Fresko. It was nice to have a nice, adults only! 

We went to the 5pm service at Hope Grimes and then headed to Denise's afterward for Christmas Eve festivities. It was a lot of fun and I am so thankful for Denise for hosting. It was the perfect evening. 

I did get festive with my charcuterie wreath and Christmas fruit. I'll have to add those my yearly traditions, especially since Scott told me he didn't like my meatballs. :( 

The kids saw Santa at Coral Ridge mall this year, as they went when I was picking out my new flute. They had fun! The mall was very busy the Saturday before Christmas. 

We ended our Cyclone football season with a loss in the Cheez It Bowl. It was a fun excuse to have friends over to chat, eat, and drink during the game. We were disappointed that Brock Purdy's career as a Cyclone ended so poorly but it was one heck of a ride. The past four years have been awesome, especially riding the covid wave. I know visiting Dallas for the Big 12 championship will always be a memory, especially once Texas and Oklahoma are out of the conference. Luckily we are Cyclones- loyal, forever true.