Our little "Getaway" before baby is born

We found a "Groupon Deal" for a resort on Table Rock Lake in Branson, MO a few months back and purchased it with a plan to go in September (last weekend).  The resort is called Still Waters Resort-it has some great amenities, such as several pools, a nice water slide, it's right on the lake with free fishing, free paddle boat and kayak rentals, and boats and jet skis available to rent.  It is in such a beautiful location in the mountains.  We were hoping for weather that was warm enough to be able to enjoy all of the outdoor water activities, but cooler than the 115 degree weather we have been having in the Austin-area.  I know that is a lot to ask for though in the mountains in September.

We had some excellent company on our trip as well--my parents and my brother, Jason, sister-in-law, Emily and their kids Brody and Kaylee.   So, we stopped through OK and joined them for the short trip up to Branson.  We had all seen the weather forecast, which called for cooler temperatures and rain all weekend, but we were still excited to have some fun.  On Friday, the weather was actually perfect for a day at Silver Dollar City.  Drew, Luke and I welcomed the cooler temperatures (it was in the 60's), and said several times that day that the air actually felt refreshing and made us extremely excited for fall.  We enjoyed some excellent scenery at the park, some delicious food, and Luke even enjoyed some fun rides.   Our trip coincided with the beginning of Silver Dollar City's "Harvest Festival", so there were a lot of great props for photo opportunities.

Grandma and Grandpa with the kids at the park entrance.

 

Luke was really excited about getting to ride a "real train".  He wanted to bring his favorite puppy along for the trip.

Mommy and Luke enjoying the ride.

Luke liked riding the frogs.

So did Kaylee, Brody and Emily.

Luke especially enjoyed riding these bugs.   He pressed the button, which made the bug fly high, the entire time.

I guess we were arrested for having too much fun.  (cheesy caption)

At the petting zoo area--Luke thought Brody's faces were pretty funny!

I thought this area was pretty.  But, as you can see we weren't quite ready for the picture to be taken--oh well.  :-)

Kaylee found a cute pumpkin. 

Luke found one too--it looks like he is ready to launch it--oh boys!

On Saturday, it rained all.....day.....long.....  So, we made the most of it! We did some shopping in a nearby outlet mall that had a covered walkway.  Then, we decided to take advantage of the amenities at our resort and do some fishing.  The fishing was actually for the kids (anyone over 16 needed to have a license).   But, I will admit, I was extremely excited about this part of the trip.   I love all outdoor activities, especially fishing.  Even when it is 50 degrees and raining.  :-)

 

A group pic.  Grandma was inside watching Luke--we were pretty sure he would try to jump into the water if he joined us.

Brody displaying our bait,

Brody and Jason trying to catch some fish.

Emily and Kaylee...we fished under a covered boat dock, so the weather didn't affect this activity too badly.

I think it might have gotten too boring after a while for the kids since we didn't catch anything.  I was excited to stand in though!

We didn't catch any fish, so we gave our best fish faces for the camera.

Fish couple

Catfish

Drew's fish impression.

I guess Jason got hungry.  We had to do something with the bait--the fish apparently didn't want it.  

On Saturday night, we went to a cool shopping area (Branson Landing) for some shopping and good food.  Kaylee poses in front of the fountain.

On Sunday, the weather was BEAUTIFUL!   So, we checked out of our rooms and then went down to the dock and used the free paddle boats and kayaks to explore the lake.  It was a lot of fun.  But, Luke decided to jump into the water off of the shore.  It was actually somewhat of an accident, but very scary regardless.  Luke has absolutely no fear of water and we figured this might happen at some point during the trip.  :-)  I changed his wet clothes and then we headed back to Oklahoma.
  
On Sunday night, we had some fun family fellowship with our immediate and extended Oklahoma family.   We had so much fun seeing everyone.   It is going to be a while before we get to see them again since we won't get to travel this year for Thanksgiving or Christmas.   :-(    My sister, Holly, bought a cute Cars cake for Luke to celebrate his 2nd birthday while we were there also.   That was a great idea--thanks!

Luke was so cute while everyone sang to him.   He even blew out the candles all by himself!

As we expected, Luke loved the cake!

We were having so much visiting with family, that we didn't take enough pictures.  But, I had to include this one of Linnea, Luke's cousin.  So cute!