Labor Day Weekend 2010

Our little family has been lots of places this summer BUT it's all been for one reason or another, such as dental meetings, Botox/Juvederm courses, doctor visits, weddings, etc. So, we wanted to go somewhere over Labor Day weekend for a true getaway. We (I) contemplated going somewhere in Florida, San Antonio, Baltimore (for some reason I've really wanted to visit Baltimore), etc. Then I decided that I really wanted to only go somewhere where it was a non-stop flight (for Kohen's sake....or should I say, for my own sanity). Then that turned into, well, maybe we should just turn it into a road trip and skip the plane ride all together. So we were left with 3 road trip options... Kansas City (which was out because I just got back from there), Dallas (which was also out because we've already been there this summer) and Branson. SO....we went to Branson!

My nephew Asa's first birthday party was Friday night so we left after the party and didn't arrive in Branson until around 2 am.

We woke up the next morning ready to get out and about.

Look at this sweet face.... Raise your hand if you have the cutest, sweetest, smartest little boy in the world! (you can't see me but I'm raising my hand)

Our fist day/night we went shopping then went to eat at the Dixie Stampede! Jason and I were VERY nervous to see how Kohen would behave during the show/dinner. We ended up buying a seat for him instead of us having to hold him the whole time. This turned out to be the best decision we've ever made :)

The show started and OH MY GOSH...you should have seen Kohen's face! He was AMAZED! He, hands down, was the most excited kid in the place! Every time a horse would run out he would just THROW his arms around Jason or my neck and then hold our face in his hands and wait for us to make eye contact with him then he would smile his biggest smile and give us the biggest, most slobbery kiss on the mouth! Back and forth, back and forth from me to Jason, hugs and kisses, hugs and kisses and lots of clapping and saying "WOW" and "YAY" in between! He was in heaven and so was I.

After a few horses and show tunes later...THIS is what they sat in front of my 22 month old...
HAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!!!! We got the biggest kick out of this whole chicken sitting in front of Kohen. Jason tried to move it off his plate, but he wanted that chicken to stay put. So, it did. I think he MIGHT have taken one, maybe two, bites off his plate. Oh, by the way, did I mention that our fingers were our "silverware"??? Gross me out, BUT it WAS really good food :)

The next day we did something I've always wanted to do. Ride in a HELICOPTER!!! It was awesome! Kohen was so excited and very anxious to get out to the chopper, but when I handed him to a person on the flight crew so that I could climb in first, he changed his mind about being excited :) Once we were in and buckled and had our baby in our laps, away we went!

This is Kohen and I walking up to the helicopter...

Sitting with Daddy...

and then wanted to sit with mommy....

It was a bit windy on my side because the pilot had his door off...yeah, not really sure if that's safe or not...humm... Kohen didn't like all the wind on my side and kept wanting to go back and sit with his daddy...

We had a "first" by the end of this trip... Kohen is done with highchairs. He sat like a big boy in his own chair throughout the trip. This picture was in our hotel room. Kohen liked to wait and eat his PB&J instead of eating what we ordered him at all the restaurants...

I got a little crafty with the paper table cloth at this eating place :) Kohen had his trains, of course, so I drew him a quick railroad :)

(yes, he's sitting in a highchair here, this was the first place we ate).

Tired little shopper...

This was at Ripley's Believe It Or Not....

I don't know if you can see which button is lit up below....
....but it says "SEXPOT".... Lol

Sitting in his own chair while eating a quick snack at our hotel "Sweet Shoppe"...

Kohen also mastered the whole "drinking out of a cup while using a straw" thing this weekend... He never wants to hold the cup or bring the straw to him... he always goes to the straw....

We bought Kohen his first pair of Crocs while in Branson. While I was checking out, he lined all of these shoes up and started making "Choo Choo" noises. Oh, dear.

And a Branson trip is not complete without.... TRAFFIC! Our drive home sucked, for lack of a better word...

We had a fun filled family trip!

But now it's back to the real world!