Branson!

Our first night at

Table Rock

was a stormy one.

Lightning struck right 

across the street

and the boys 

slept through

it all!

So, they were 

happy and excited

to get the day started!

Off to 

Branson!

Bass Pro....

Window shoppin'...

Lookin' cool!

Ridin' the ducks!

After about

30 min.

on land,

I was afraid 

the boys were getting bored.

But 

Trent turned to me and said

"This is so great Mom!"

Drivin' the duck!

Savin' for somethin' bigger!

Rides!

Finally big enough

to do go-carts

on his own!

Glad Daddy

likes those rides!

Game time!

Who likes them better?!

Snuck in a quick nap...

Fun dinner with friends!

This boy

is gettin' good

at crackin' crab

and eatin'

shrimp.

(He recently told us the next time we go out

he is ordering Steak and Shrimp.

We told him to keep 

saving his money!)

Branson Landing.

I asked them to pose....

The fog

was a little creepy...

Day 1=fantastic!

love, the rockinryans

Big Brutus!

I have to admit,

I was pretty nervous

about a 7.5 hour drive

with the boys.

(Their longest ever).

But I told myself 

to just relax 

and go with the flow.

We had no time line after all,

so just have fun

on the way to Table Rock Lake.

After a few hours

we stopped for a long lunch.

Then, a few hours later

we drove past a huge sign that read~

"Big Brutus Ahead"!

Jake continued driving~

I joked

"Look kids, its Big Brutus!

What is Big Brutus?"

Jake said

"The Biggest Excavator ever made.

It is HUGE".

"Really?" I said as he kept driving......

"Are we going to go see it or not?" 

How could we pass that up,

the boys would be in Heaven!

"You want to go?" (Jake trying not to smile).

"Uh, yeah!"

Brakes, quick turn around 

and then.....

a cute little Museum

and 

BIG BRUTUS!

I have to admit,

I was even glad we stopped.

He is quite the site.

Almost unreal!

And yes, the boys loved him!

But, 

only those two

were brave enough

to climb up inside.

Before we had kids,

we would be on road trips 

and pass signs

for sites along the road.

We would always say,

"Someday we should stop there."

And never would.

Having kids

has really

taught me to 

slllooowww down,

enjoy our time,

relax

and see all 

there is

off

the path!

love, the rockinryans

oh, 

PS~I the downfall....

the boys trying to plan how they could

buy Big Brutus 

for themselves!

4-wheelin'

YESSS!!!

He finally saved

enough money

through chores and Birthdays

to buy

his very own

4-wheeler!

I asked him to

"Pose like in X-games".

He even gives

his brother rides!

Thank you 

so much

to everyone 

who helped him

with his big purchase!

love, the rockinryans

Swim Lessons

Trent had swim lessons

this summer.

At home 

I don't know if I don't

give him enough credit,

or if he 

doesn't trust ME enough,

but

we didn't push for 

swimming sans-swim vest

before lessons.

I left for 

30 minutes and returned to this....

Miss Emily

was amazing!

I am so impressed

but what he learned

in just a few days!

I always think

is is funny how

kids listen to others

better than their parents!

love,

the rockinryans

Inventions...

Why did we

never have

"Smiley Face" pancakes

growing up?

They are the BEST!!

Who knew?

The boys love

"Sushi" too!

(Banana rolled in PB then Rice Krispies)

It is yummy!

Boys can 

invent

play so easily!

I love to watch

(and play too!)

Just had to throw this in there...

he is such a great, calm, loving dog.

And proved to be a great watch dog recently.

The boys and I were eating lunch.

All the sudden Hudson 

started barking and going crazy outside.

(He very rarely barks.)

This was a MEAN bark/growl.

And he kept charging the fence.

I looked across the street 

and saw a person

running wires on the roof across 

the alley.

He looked like he was supposed

to be there,

but Hudson

knew this was

out of the ordinary.

He has slowly

grown to be 

"our" dog.

This proved to me

that he is now feeling 

protective

over us!

Feelin safe!

love, the rockinryans