Branson Vacation

We traveled to Branson with my Dad and Mary in their motorhome. They have a class A bus type motorhome which is very nice to travel in. We arrived on Thursday, set up camp and went to get our rental car. That night we drove around town to see what all there was to do the next day. We ate dinner at Outback (Not the chain) which was very good. The next morning Dad and Steve went fishing while Mary, Lauren and I had a leisurely morning eating breakfast, playing and getting ready for the afternoon of girl adventures.

Lauren watching Little Einsteins not wanting to be disturbed.

We went to the Butterfly Palace where they have thousands of butterflies in a big open room with trees and plants. It was so neat to walk through and have them land on you. Lauren LOVED it. She wanted to touch them all.

Lauren loving the butterfly chair.

After the butterflies we went to the outlet mall and shopped for a while. Then we went to Rocky's Italian Restaurant for dinner. It was very good, except they could use a little help with making sweet tea. Saturday the guys fished again and afterwards we went to historic downtown Branson. The new mall, Branson Landing, is right on the Lake Taneycomo (which is really a river) and is very nice. Lauren loved walking around and running from flower to flower smelling them. We went back to the motorhome for a steak dinner. It was wonderful. We had a great time and can I just say that this is the only way to camp!!

Lauren with her Papaw and Mimi.

Gatlinburg Vacation

Lauren petting horses for the first time

Well we just got back from the first of our 3 trips. Gatlinburg was wonderful. We had a great cabin that was just off the main drag right as you come into Gatlinburg. I must say that Aunt Bugs is a great place to rent cabins. Our first day was Thursday and Steve and I went to the Smoky Mountain National Park and hiked part of a trail until we got to the river. We climbed out on the rocks to take pictures and really enjoyed just having some time to ourselves. (Lauren stayed at the cabin with Nana and Poppaw).

Once we got back to the cabin Lauren had just woken up from her nap so we could go shopping. After a long afternoon of shopping we ate dinner at The Peddler (a wonderful steak house on the river in the heart of Gatlinburg). Friday was more shopping and Steve went fly fishing all morning. Friday evening we drove through Cades Cove and saw several animals including 2 black bears, several bucks & does, and wild turkey. Saturday we spent most of the day at the big Bass Pro store and then on to The Christmas Place. I could spend hours in The Christmas Place just looking around. Sunday we drove home, but stopped in Nashville to eat at the Rainforest Cafe. Lauren loved it!! I don't think I have ever seen her smile and laugh so much. Our table just happened to be right beside a big monkey that moved and made noise every 15 minutes. Every 30 minutes a thunderstorm would move through the restaurant. I thought she might not like that, but I was wrong. She thought that was the greatest thing with the lights flashing and the thunder sounding. We will definitely have to stop there again. Once we got home I needed another few days just to recover, but it was back to work on Monday. We had a great time and can't wait for our next trip next week.

Vacation/Visitors

We are really looking forward to going on several vacations in the next few months. We leave for Gatlinburg at the end of August with my mom and stepdad. I can't wait to hit the outlet malls and hopefully have some cooler temperatures. Our next adventure will be in my dad and stepmom's motorhome to Branson. I can't wait to camp (a 37 ft. class A is camping to me). We are going to take in some shows and do some shopping and just relax. The next trip that we have will be to Atlanta in October for my sister, Tatti's, wedding. Lauren gets to be a flower girl. I just hope she will walk down the aisle and not eat the flowers or stop to pick up the ones that she has dropped already. I am so ready to start these vacations, but I think I may need to come back to work to rest. I'll try to post pictures and news from our trips after we return.

We also have one of my other sisters, Tonee, coming into town at the end of August right after we get back from Gatlinburg. Tonee and her husband, Kyle, have 3 boys, Grant, Pierce, and Sawyer. Sawyer is the newest addition born in May of this year. Tonee, Kyle, and Sawyer are coming to visit for a few days and I can't wait to meet my new nephew. They will get to meet Lauren too for the first time (they live in Michigan). I will try to post pictures of their visit.