VACATION IN BRANSON

We spent the last week in Branson with Grandma Joy and Grandpa Doug. We had a great time at their "baytation house" as Morgan called it. However, we realized that vacationing with a toddler is NOT as easy as it was with a baby or infant. Morgan has been to Branson three times in her 23 months of life....once when she was six weeks, last year right after her first birthday, and now. The last two times she was little enough that she was able to just go with the flow and adjust pretty well. She wasn't very mobile, so entertaining her wasn't too hard, and she was pretty content to be in her stroller when we went places. This year, taking her out of her routine and expecting her to sleep in a new place when she is having fears and sleep issues anyway made for a rough week. Plus, it was a bit harder to keep her occupied and content when she is so mobile. She did great in the car, though, which was a blessing. Within two hours of arriving in Branson, the fire alarm went off (and kept going off for a LONG time....it was hurting all of our ears!) due to a little boy on the floor above us who pulled the fire alarm. Though she handled it pretty well at the time, she kept talking about it all week (pointing to the alarm on the ceiling saying, "really loud"), and it sparked a fear that lingered throughout the week. In addition, we could hear every footstep, every toilet flushing, every door opening, every chair scooting in the unit above us, so Morgan was on edge every time we tried to put her down to sleep. (Noises have become one of the fears she's developed lately.) She has not been sleeping well or going to sleep well at all lately, so this just added to the issues, and we had lots of trouble getting her to sleep while we were there. It was quite frustrating. So, due to her lack of sleep, she tended to be tad bit crabby to say the least at times....though Grandma and Grandpa swore she was such a good little girl all week. :) BUT, despite the chaos, we DID have a great time. Here are some highlights:

Butterfly Palace

One day Jared and I got to spend the whole day shopping by ourselves while Mom and Dad took care of Morgan. They took her to a place called the Butterfly Palace where she got to see lots of birds and butterflies. They said she loved it.

Table Rock Trail Hike

One of the traditions we have when we go to Branson is to walk the (paved) trail along Table Rock Lake right outside of Branson. It was pretty hot while we were there, so we went one morning as soon as we ate breakfast. Morgan did great in her stroller the whole time. We got to see a parasailing boat and also she got to see a boat being loaded into the water at the marina. She enjoyed that. We also stopped at the Branson Belle which is a big showboat and she was amazed by how big it was.

Pool

Of course, one of Morgan's favorite things was going to the pool. We were a bit disappointed that they didn't have a kiddie pool at all, but she still loved going swimming. We were able to get her to go in her little floaty boat at first, but after she realized she could jump off the side, she didn't really want to be in the boat much. And, actually, she sometimes had more fun just walking along the side of the pool on the concrete, looking at all the rocks in the concrete.

Park

Another favorite activity was playing at the park. Luckily, the park was pretty shaded most of the time, because it was just SO hot.

Lots of Playing!

Morgan got spoiled having Grandma and Grandpa and Daddy around all the time to play with.

I got this aquadoodle at a garage sale a few weeks ago and saved it to take on the trip. She played with it a LOT, and loved it! She really thought it was funny when we'd get back from the pool, and she could sit on it with her wet suit and pack pictures with her bottom! :)

She still loves watching "pictures" (home videos) on the "puter" with Grandpa Doug. This is her special thing to do with Grandpa whenever they are together.

Restaurants

Morgan did pretty well going out to eat so much. In fact, she got to the point where she got all excited when we told her we were going to a restaurant. She can now clearly pronounce "restaurant" too. We went to one place that had a man playing a harp and guitar and singing. He came over and seranaded Morgan with a song he made up right there about her curly hair, blue eyes, pink bow, and red crayon. It was cute.

Misc.

• In Branson, there are a LOT of helicopters always flying around because they do tours. Morgan could hear / see a helicopter before any of us, and she always got so excited to see them in the sky.
• Morgan really began to speak a lot more clearly this week and in very clear sentences. It just amazes me. Her new phrase is "Silly Morgan" or "Silly Gampa!" It just cracks us up. She can say her name very clearly now, too, instead of saying "Monin."
• Every morning she'd run out into the main room looking for Grandpa Doug. If he wasn't out there yet, she'd holler, "Gampa Doug! Time to eat!"