Wyss Vacation 2017

We survived all of our vacations. :)  

Wyss Vacation was the 23rd- 30th back in the Ozarks.   We were able to go for the whole time.  Gideon did great. He didn't do so great at night, but I don't ever get a ton of sleep on vacation. 

On the way down, we stopped at a restaurant in Springfield that I went to a few times while at a training.  They are famous for their horse shoes.   Horse shoes are anything but healthy.  But, boy are they good. :)

Texas toast, hamburger, french fries, and cheese!

:)

We got to the resort, unpacked, and then headed out to supper with a few of the others who had already arrived. 

Gideon tried a lemon.

The resort, Holiday Shores, was nice, but very steep. There were tons of stairs.  We were on the lowest level and had to climb a long way to get anywhere.   I hoped that I would get stronger by the end of the week, but it was still just as exhausting. 

As usual, we had good suppers every night and breakfasts, though toned down, were good as well.    I checked off my whole vacation bucket list, so it was good. :) Gideon and I got to the pool every day. Nathan played games with the guys.  I went tubing a few times and wake boarding (I can still get up!).  We played games or watched movies in the evening.  

Gideon loved being around other kids. He tried so hard to keep up with them and make friends. 

Pictures from the week:

the pool and splash area.

Gideon loved taking my fingers and walking around, in and out of the sprinklers and pool.

games before supper

playing with grandpa

Vacation is exhausting.  He fell asleep at the pool.

Kray brought the boat and did an awesome job of driving. 

Kayla and Carli on the tube, I believe.

view of our resort from the water. 

So. many. stairs.

hehe. On their phones. 

No worries, this was followed by the greatest game of Imagine If ever.

Looking down at our cabin, on the left, from the stairs

Tubing!

I think that's me and Kayla :)

"The beach is that way."

singing after supper

Gideon and Cadence

playing with Adelaide

He loved William

William, Gideon, and Justice.

Quarteting

Such a hunk.

another day at the pool

Lemonade Shakeup!

We brought ingredients for lemonade shakeups. I had fun serving them on hot afternoons.  

Gideon trying to fit in with the cool kids ;)

Yay!!! I didn't know if this was still possible. :)

I did get exhausted very quickly, but I got up, and it was fun.

my dad caught a fish :) I made him pose for this picture.

We rented a floating mat one day. It was great fun.

The swimming dock

There was another, rather rough, group down at the dock a few days.  They were drinking alcoholic beverages.  One afternoon, I made lemonade shakeups and took a bunch down for the cousins and aunts. When I started handing them out to kids, I noticed that the other group was looking at me with very disapproving glaces. I only then realized that they probably assumed the drinks were alcoholic... hehe :) oh well. 

Our cabin

the conference room where we had suppers

One evening, I left Gideon with Nathan and joined some of the cousins playing laser tag.

Go red team! we won :) I was the worst on our team though...

I'm sure there is a better picture out there....

The whole group.

Anyway, good times. I have a pretty awesome family. And despite having a nine month old, I had a great vacation. :)

In Christ
~Michelle

Martin Vacation, 9 mo. old, and a small town day

Gideon has become increasingly mobile. He's getting very good at crawling but prefers cruising.  Now that he can get around, he can get in to everything.  He's starting to get rug burns on the tops of his feet and bruises on his forehead.  Poor little boy. 

my house will never be clean again :)

good thing we have the gate

getting in to my cupboards

A week or so ago, Ellie was down visiting, so a few of us got to go swimming at her parents.  It brought back memories of the good old days. :)

 Last Thursday, Nathan and I headed off to the Martin vacation. It was at Bass Point resort in the Ozarks, the Wyss's went there in 2014.  We left around 10:30, Gideon's nap time, and got there around 5.  Gideon slept the first 3 hours and was pretty good the rest of the way.  

our beautiful view

Gideon was excited to be there

sitting with Uncle Sam

one of the pools

playing in the cabin

some of the aunts and Uncle Dale holding Gideon

Gideon loved vacation.  There was always someone to hold him and something new to look at.  He also loves swimming. 

pool time!

playing with the fountain in the kiddie pool

Saturday, they rented a pontoon boat, so I got to spend the day out on the water.   Gideon got to ride in the morning and then Nathan was awesome enough to spend the afternoon in the cabin with him. 

all suited up

Gideon seemed to enjoy the ride

the view of our cabin from the water

some of the aunts rode too

I got to go tubing! 

I think I much prefer the tubes that you lay down on. Sitting up, you bounce a whole lot more and it's a lot more jarring to your neck. 

Everyone admiring Joe's catch. 

It was 22...23...24...no 25 lbs! depending on who you asked hehe

Saturday night,  the Edna Martin family was in charge of supper. I made desert. 

Chocolate tres leches cake. It was fantastic. 

games with the cousins

They had church Sunday morning and then Nathan and I packed up to leave. 

napping on the way home

Gideon was a trooper and we made it home in pretty good time. 

We had a good time and I'm glad we could go.  Nathan's family is a lot more spread out and there are a lot of single aunts.  We don't get to see each other very often, so it was nice to spend some time together. 

We got home to a garden that, in just four days, had lost control. 

seriously! that is a gigantic cucumber.

sigh. I love my flowers.

Gideon turned 9 months old!  He's such a little stinker and never sits still. 

:)

hehehe

His new favorite pastime is cleaning out my underwear drawer. 

he then attempted to climb out of the pool and landed on his head. sigh.

with mobility comes a cranky clingy baby.... hehe

The other evening I was cleaning up from supper and turned around and saw this:

he can climb! 

And, then he discovered that bookcases are so much fun!

He also loves to escape during diaper changes.  Which results in a naked baby crawling down the hall or trying to climb the dresser. :)

This Tuesday,  I got to visit Amber, an old coworker of mine. She lives in Forrest and she and her sister run The Spotted Owl boutique. I met her at her house, which is a gorgeously redone old Victorian mansion (sigh).  We had lunch at The Cow Catcher. It's run by the Slagel family. It's super cute and the burgers are great.  The restaurant also houses The Coffee Steamer a coffee shop also run by the Slagel family. I of course grabbed a coffee for the road. :)

Then we headed to The Spotted Owl.  It's super cute. They've done an awesome job.   There's home decor, furniture (some made by Amber and her husband), and then tons of really cute clothes.

It's cool that for such small towns they have some really awesome places. I had fun.  It was great to see Amber and her little boy again. 

The rest of the week, we stayed out of the heat and tried to get ready for the next vacation. 

In Christ

~Michelle