Vacation and a Wedding

We just got home from an awesome vacation to Missouri. We went to my cousin's wedding at Big Cedar Lodge near Branson, MO and made it into a nice vacation. In December when my dad was booking a cabin for us I remember being overwhelmed at the thought of having a baby let alone traveling with one but it was really easy. I got used to stopping and feeding Grace in the car in various parking lots and Grace was wonderful. My sister kept saying I think she's only cried for 2 minutes this whole time and I think she was right. She is such an easy going baby that it made traveling with her very low stress. We are very thankful for Grace's temperment. She slept great away from home too.

Lots of luggage for a little trip.

Wednesday - We left around 5 pm and drove to St. Louis for the night. We ate dinner at Wendy's and stayed at the Marriott neat the airport ($50 on Priceline).

Grace's first time swimming.

Thursday - We got up early and got on the road so we could arrive at Big Cedar in the early afternoon. We stopped at McDonald's for breakfast and Subway for lunch. We got to Big Cedar around 2, got our cabin (we stayed with my parents, sister and her husband in a 2 bedroom, 1 loft cabin), and settled in. We had steaks on the grill for supper and then went for an after supper swim. It was Grace's first time swimming and she loved it.

Group shot after our trail ride (my mom stayed at the cabin with Grace).

Friday - We kept busy on Friday spending time outdoors. We started with a horseback ride, mini-golf, lazy river, boating and tubing, and hanging out on the lazy river at the resort. Matt, Grace and I skipped the boating but everyone else had fun. Then we went to Branson for Joel and Sarah's rehearsal dinner.

Getting ready to hit the lake on our wave runners.

Sarah and Joel

Saturday - My cousing Rebecca came over and had breakfast with us, we went canoeing, hit up the lazy river again, and then had a blast on wave runners. My dad rented 2 for us so 4 people could be out on the lake while the other 2 watched Grace. When we were done with that the boys went off to play shuffleboard and horseshoes while the girls napped and got ready for the wedding. Then we walked up the hill to Joel and Sarah's wedding. It was beautiful! We sat overlooking the lake, walked inside for the reception, and walked back outside for dancing under the stars (Matt and I didn't get to dance because we had to take Grace back to the cabin for bed).

This is where we hung out to nurse and change Grace before we hit the road Sunday. Not a bad view.

Sunday - We started the day with brunch with Joel and Sarah and other wedding guests. Then we headed out to St. Louis. We stopped in St. Louis to see our friends Abe, Mandy and their 2 month old and Mike and Dana and their 2 year old. It was nice to visit with everyone. Then we headed over to the Hilton by the airport ($40 on Priceline) to crash for the night in our really nice room.

Shoe shopping at the outlet mall.

Monday - We didn't have to check out of the hotel until noon so we spent the morning lazing around and had a really good breakfast buffet at the hotel. Then we hit the road back home. We took a couple of hours to shop at the outlet mall nearby and made it home around 4.

All in all we had a wonderful vacation. We loved hanging out with family and had a great time getting away. Thanks Joel and Sarah for getting married so we could have a fun trip.