Since July 1st...the kids and I have spent 3 nights in our own beds. So when we arrived home last night at 10:30...there was a feeling of relief. Don't get me wrong, we had a great 3 weeks of vacationing, but it sure is nice to be home and on a normal schedule again. For those of you that don't know...we were in PA for a week, starting on July 1st. Then we were in Houston (while I did church camp) for a week, and then we headed to Branson for a fun vacation. A lot went on and we don't even have all the pictures because Matt decided to do film for the Branson trip...so there might be more pictures to come. So here is an overview of what we did the last 2 weeks in Houston and Branson.

Time in Houston with Nannee and Pops

Learned to sing "Jesus Loves Me". He even sang it in a microphone right before church started!

John got to sleep in his "big boy bed" and he loved it! He did very well...however, he did get up each night and ended up in Nannee and Pops bed.

Cooking in the sand castle...his favorite thing to make was cupcakes.

John and Sophia's first drive in movie, Toy Story 3. They both ended up falling asleep.

The Branson Trip

Castle Rock Water Park

This was an indoor/outdoor water park that we took the kids to. It was a blast and John LOVED it! There was slides, a lazy river, fountains and all kinds of pools to swim in. The indoor part was hard to take pictures because the camera would fog up.

Going down the slide!

Enjoying the view from the shade! Little Miss Sophia does not do well in the heat. She breaks out terribly. We had to be very careful to make sure she didn't get too hot.

The Branson Landing!

New steakhouse at the Landing...DELICIOUS!

She loved shopping with Mommy and Nannee. She also loved the light and fountain show.

The Light and Fountain Show

The Condo Hot Tub

Our condo was at The Cabins on Green Mountain. They were log cabins that were incredibly neat. There was a screened in back porch with a hot tub. John LOVED it. He got in every morning and swam around. It wasn't exactly a relaxing time to be in the hot tub.

The Showboat Branson Belle

I was very hesitant to take John to a show but we got discounted tickets to the Showboat, so I thought we would give it a try. It was a hit! He loved it and sat the whole time amazed at the music and the boat. He even clapped after each song!

Sophia slept through the whole thing, except to eat!

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

We decided to go to Eureka Springs one day. I had been when I was really little and I wanted to go back (I never got to stay at the tree house...an older post I did). My mom offered to let Matt and I go and they would keep the kids. I don't know what I was thinking....I turned it down and said we should all go, it would be fun. NOT SO MUCH! Eureka Springs isn't really a kid place...especially kids with a stroller. Plus it was flaming hot and we went on a day that most things were closed. To add to this craziness...we went a scenic route (advice from someone) to get there and it took us about an hour to get there. We thought it would only take 30 min. Before leaving Eureka Springs, we asked the best way back. This "new" way took us even longer and I got car sick. Not the best day...

However, Eureka Springs would be a great place to go to stay in a bed and breakfast and shop with your loved one...not kids!

This is what John thought of Eureka Springs...

We did get to see this awesome chapel in the middle of the woods.

This is the largest statue of Jesus Christ in the Northern Hemisphere. Matt and I have also seen the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio. So it was neat to get to see this one.

Silver Dollar City...

Waiting for the train...I think this is about the only time she was awake the whole day. She was so hot and miserable. I felt bad for her. We did try to keep her in air conditioned buildings as much as we could.

Looking for the train!

John rode his first amusement park ride. He loved it. I think we went on this ride 4 times.

She stayed like this most of the day.

He loved flying in the air!

This was the last day of our vacation. We headed home after Silver Dollar City. It was a wonderful time. My sweeties were so tired this morning. We didn't even make it to church. They both fell asleep at 9:30 on Matt and I's bed and slept until almost 11:30. They were all tuckered out!