Our Last Branson Day & Our Elf Returns

The Sunday after Thanksgiving was our last Branson day. You can read about Day 1 of our Branson trip here and day 2 here. 

We typically only stay in Branson for 3 days. We arrive Friday around 1, and then we get up Sunday morning, pack up, clean the condo/house and then we do any last minute shopping and we all head home. 

This year, we decided to wait and save our Santa visit for Sunday morning. My mom and sis-in-law had to head out to The Landings anyway, and visiting Santa at The Bass Pro Shop is the best because they give you a free picture. We dressed all of the girls in their matching outfits, and we arrived around 10. Unfortunately, Santa doesn't arrive until noon. I guess he likes to sleep in a bit. 

Since we had to wait, we went down to Kirklands for my mom and sis-in-law to buy new lamps. We figured we would go eat afterwards, but by the time they were finished, we only had about an hour to kill so we stayed at The Landings. 

I didn't realize we'd be there all morning, so I put Addy in the Ergo and left the stroller in the car. Gretchen took this picture of us.

Unfortunately, Adalyn had another huge blow out and I was left washing and drying the poop off her pants in the bathroom. All because we wanted the girls to be "matching" for their Santa pics. I think she pooped three times before we saw Santa, and the poop ended up on her or me. It was lovely.

We let the girls walk around while we wasted time. I guess we could've shopped some more, but we really didn't have anything else that we needed to buy. And obviously, these little houligan's would've been pretty wild in a store.

Three little messes.

That's my niece with the big girls. Addy was on my back.

I'm pretty sure these sister-cousins are going to get in lots of trouble down the road!

When it was finally time to go see Santa, the line was crazy long! I guess we should've gone down there sooner, but I had no idea that it would be as crowded as it was.

We threw all the girls in a basket in order to keep them confined. Best idea ever.  And, yes, I even changed another poopy diaper on our wait. Maybe I should've titled this post, "The Day Adalyn Did Nothing But Poop." 

After 20 minutes, we finally saw Santa and did our round of Santa pictures. My three girls, one of all the girls, and then one of just my niece, A. 

After Santa, we decided to eat lunch and then the girls and I would head back to Oklahoma, while my mom, sister in law, grandma, and niece headed back to Arkansas. 

This pretty much sums up how Gretchen and I felt about our Branson trip being over. 

When we got home, our elf had arrived and brought the girls a Gingerbread House to make! He even spelled out "Build Me A Home" with lifesaver gummies, because for some reason, he couldn't find the Christmas candy at the store. 

The girls and I had such a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, and our Branson trip always puts us in the mood for Christmas!

A Branson Day of Shopping and Crafts!

The day after Thanksgiving, my honey pie's and I, along with all the ladies in my family headed off to Branson for our annual girls weekend! Go HERE to read about Day 1. 

We woke up on Saturday and cooked breakfast, got dressed, and headed straight to the outlet malls for a day full of shopping.

Our first stop was Carter's, because they have the best pajamas, and then we went to the make up store, and to the Disney store. I always take the girls into the Disney store, so they can find a few things that they might want Santa to bring. Then, I hand them over to my mom and I shop and sneak the packages into my car while my mom entertains them with ride on toys.

Except, we don't actually put money in the rides. I know. The girls just have fun climbing on, in and out, and pretending. Plus, when you have 4 kiddos who need a ride at over $1.00 a turn, no bueno. 

Sometimes we tell the girls that the rides are broken. Honestly, they just want to get out of the stroller and run and play for a bit!

I always make sure to have a sippy cup and snacks on hand, and of course, we do not go anywhere without Adalyn's baby doll! When we were in the Disney store, I realized she had dropped her baby, because it's a fun little game she now plays, and I had to retrace our steps in order to find it! Thankfully, I found it in Carter's sitting at the registers and I have never felt more relieved. That ballet baby is my 4th child.

After lunch, my cousin took her daughter and all of the big girls back to the house. By that point, they were just done with shopping and we knew they would rather play and watch t.v. Plus, they took naps on the drive back, so that was a bonus!

Addy Pearl stayed behind with us and she was the best shopping buddy ever! She fell asleep in the stroller, and was a bit fussy when she woke up, but after a snack she was good to go.

Notice by this point she's in a new outfit, because she had a blow out in the other one. Seriously, poop everywhere. Thankfully, I had just bought this little outfit from Carter's and I pulled it out of the shopping bags to put on her. That's why her bow didn't match.

She got in some great-grandma snuggles before we got in the car to head back to the house.

And this is what a day of shopping will do. My car was jam packed and at this point I was so relieved that we let the big girls go back to the house early, because I would have had to strap them to the roof. 

After dinner, we did some arts and crafts.

 My mom's bestie is a former preschool teacher, so for the last two years, she's brought stuff for the kids to make at night. 

 They made a Santa and Rudolph ornament. 

 Addy played with her Gee while the big kids crafted.

 I let Megan make hers all by herself, and I was so proud that my OCD tendencies didn't take over. That reindeer was a hot mess. 

 And Megan's new "thing" is to make silly faces when she's getting her picture taken. She's going to look back and regret it when she's older. 

 Gretchen did great making her ornaments. 

 Once the little kids were finished, the adults had their arts and crafts time. My mom brought coffee mugs and sharpies and we all decorated our Branson mugs. 

When we were finished, Gretchen chose the best mug, and the winner was responsible for taking all of the mugs home and she'll have to bring them all back next year!

We had some bedtime cuddles, stayed up late and chatted, and then went to bed, so we would be ready for Day 3!

Gobble, Gobble

The girls and I spent Thanksgiving at my mom's house this year. It's been our tradition ever since we've lived in Tulsa. Sadly, we leave DJ behind since football season is still in full-swing over the Thanksgiving holiday. 

The girls watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in the morning while my mom and great-grandma cooked.

Adalyn wanted to be right in the middle of it all and help! 

My brother carved the turkey.

And Megan checked out the deserts! 

I attempted to get a picture of my three little turkeys and this is the best that I got! Adalyn was starving so I had to be quick and just go with her flow!

My aunt brought books for all of the girls. They did some reading before lunch!

Adalyn was the very first to get to eat! This girl was hungry!

She's learning to smile and say "cheese" when I pull out a camera- it's the cutest ever!

My grandma snuck some desert into Addy! 

I'm pretty sure i'll always cherish this picture of the two of them!

Then Adalyn hung out with her Gee for a bit.

She's a happy girl as long as she has her blanket and baby!

My girls love their big cousin Hannah! I barely have pictures of the big girls since they were off playing with their older cousins. 

My sister was able to join us for Thanksgiving! I can't even remember the last time we were together and managed to get a picture!

I'm pretty sure this will be another special picture. Sadly, we are in the process of finding out some health issues that my grandma has been having over the past several months. I don't like thinking of the outcome, and I plan on treasuring every moment and phone call that we have with her!

Later that afternoon, everyone went home and we had round 2 of Thanksgiving dinner. There was no point in dirtying more dishes, so we just let the girls eat right out of the pie plate!

We had a great Thanksgiving and I hope y'all did too!

One more thing~ Facebook has began to make even more changes and limited more posts for business pages. They are pushing more and more to make business page owners pay to promote their items. Unfortunately, for small businesses such as my own, it is going to have a devastating affect! I strive to keep my prices low and affordable by not selling on Easy or paying to advertise and sell my items. In order to counteract, Facebook's limitations, I have made a group for you to join! The group will be my go-to when offering sales, promotions, product testers, and more! If you'd like to join, you can click HERE and request to be added!

Thanksgiving Holidays Part 1

The girls and I headed to my parent's house as soon as we got out of school last Tuesday afternoon! I was so ready to get out of town and enjoy some time off and away over the Thanksgiving break! Gretchen and I left school a little early, went home, and I finished packing and we packed the car.

DJ and I bought a new car when we found out that Adalyn was on her way! We knew we needed something bigger to accommodate our growing girls, but when we travel, it's still not big enough! Poor Gretchen always gets shoved in the back where she has to crawl over bags and squeeze in by our suitcases! Thankfully, she's a trooper!

This was my front seat! It was packed to the brim!

After packing the car, I went and picked up the littles from daycare. I set Gretchen and Megan up with an ipad and we were off.

 

We drove about an hour and a half before we stopped for dinner.

We stopped at McDonald's because what's a road trip without dinner at Mickey D's!

The little girls are wearing their pj's since it was pajama day at daycare! I typically don't let them travel in their pj's- unless we leave super early or if we are traveling at night. They girls typically wear leggings and a shirt with shoes that are easy to take on and off!

Gretchen thought she was a super big girl because I let her get fruit punch rather than milk or a juice box!

We arrived at my mom's around 9:30 and I told DJ that the girls had never been better on a road trip! We typically have at least 45 minutes of one of the littles screaming and crying (and it's almost always Megan). But, they did amazing! Adalyn slept for most of the trip, and she's happy as long as she has her baby and thumb. Megan played on the ipad, played with her toys, and watched a movie. Gretchen read books, played apps, watched a movie, and brought a few toys along! Seriously, they have NEVER been better!

 

Once we got to my moms and in our clean pj's, the girls decided to give their Gee a makeover!

 

The next day I totally failed at taking any sort of pictures until that evening. The big girls went to their cousin's house and played while my mom and I took Adalyn out for lunch and to run a few errands!

 

Adalyn slept once we got back home and I worked on the girls' Christmas shirts while they were still playing at their cousins house.

My mom made spaghetti for dinner and I sent this to DJ telling him that I wish he was there to give the girls a bath! Instead, my mom cleaned the girls up and I cleaned up the kitchen. It was a total fair trade- I loathe bath time.

Once the girls (and the kitchen) were cleaned, we crawled up in my mom's bed to watch Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving. Adalyn played opossum and pretended she was sleeping.

Around 10:30 Wednesday night, Megan woke up screaming and crying and saying that her belly hurt. I was really worried, and ready to take her to the emergency room. I have never seen her act like that. Thankfully, my mom checked out her belly (my mom is a nurse) and assured me everything was fine and stayed up with us for a while to make sure Megan had calmed back down. I think maybe she was just constipated! She finally fell back asleep and settled down around 11, and then we both went to bed so we could be well rested for Turkey day!!!!