Waiting patiently on the cooler - with her new vacation toy - before we finished packing up the car to leave home
With the race on Sunday, we spent most of our day Saturday getting ready for the race - picking up the race packet, attending a race briefing, driving the course, and checking the bike into transition.
Corynn and I entertained ourselves by exploring the hotel and riding the elevators while Kevin was busy with pre-race stuff
We were all up early on Sunday to get to the lake before Kevin's wave was in the water, and although we couldn't pick him out the crowd of people, we were excited and hopeful for a good race. Unfortunately, several minutes after he left on the bike, he returned to the lake with a flat tire! Bike mechanics were on site, fixed his flat and he was back on the road - 25 minutes later! We knew his intentions of placing were slim, but headed to the finish line to see him run the 13.1 mile course.
Kevin's wave with red caps were off, and the unfortunate bike repair mid-race
Grandma and Corynn telling silly secrets while we waited for Kevin to surface from the swim
There was a lot of time to waste while we waited for Kevin to return from the bike portion, so grandpa, grandma, and I all took our turns trying to entertain Corynn. Thank goodness grandpa and grandma were along to help!
Checking out the dock with grandma
Finally giving in and taking a nap during the race
Cheering on daddy with a big sign
Despite the bike flat and 90 degree heat, Kevin had a pretty good race, but was understandably exhausted when he finished.
Corynn consoling daddy after the race, then enjoying some more playtime on a nearby rock while daddy rested
We didn't make a lot of plans ahead of time for this vacation as we weren't sure what condition Kevin would be in after completing what turned out to be a 5+ hour race, so Monday was our day of rest! We pretty much stayed at our condo all day, only venturing out to go down to the lake and to take a dip in the pool - a daily activity.
Pool time fun!
Our burrito baby after her swim
Enjoying Table Rock Lake just outside our condo
Our condo was amazing and far better than we expected. It was fully furnished and even included a basket of toys, puzzles, and books for kids, and a baby doll which Corynn took everywhere with us.
Our kitchen and dining area from the living room
The master bathroom and Corynn checking out the shower upon arrival
Corynn checking out the sunset and view of the lake from our patio (where we ate supper and spent an evening playing games till too late)
Reading bedtime stories (this tractor book was at the condo and was requested frequently)
On Tuesday we returned to the site of the finish line - the Branson Landing - and did some sight-seeing and window shopping. We happened to be there at noon when the Fire and Water show along the river took place, so we stopped and enjoyed the show for a few minutes.
Plugging her ears because something was "too loud"
Being cute while we waited for the fire and water show to begin
The "show" was actually only as long as The Star Spangled Banner, which was the song that accompanied the fire and fountains
In the afternoon, Kevin and I went to "Noah - the Musical" at the Sight and Sound Theater while Corynn stayed with grandpa and grandma at the condo. We had heard many great reviews from family and friends about this show, and it didn't disappoint us! The live animals on stage and the music was amazing!
This is a poster of the musical since we weren't allowed to take photos of the actual thing. But this is an actual scene from the show - with hundreds of live and mechanical animals inside the ark
We spent our last full day of vacation at Silver Dollar City. You have to go there when you're in Branson, right? We weren't sure how much Corynn would enjoy there, or how long she would last, but we thought we'd give it a shot. There were a handful of rides she was able to go on with us, as well as the train ride around the park. She wasn't ecstatic about any of the rides and especially didn't like the water rides we took her on, but when we found the Geyser Gulch play area, she was in heaven! We could have spent an entire day in that area of the park, but unfortunately that was the last place we went before Corynn was ready for a nap.
We weren't in the park more than 5 minutes when Corynn spotted this horse she thought she had to ride
This was the first actual ride we rode on
Then Corynn and daddy tried out this one:
We also went on the Flooded Mine boat ride, Tom & Huck's water ride, and the ever-popular train ride.
Enjoying the playground near Geyser Gulch
Inside the Geyser Gulch ball pit (and starting to look a little sleepy)
Launching the balls with daddy
A little wet after leaving the ball pit and walking through some surprise sprinklers in the sidewalk
This is what I saw while waiting for Corynn at the bottom of a long tunnel slide. We couldn't believe she wanted to do this by herself, and she LOVED it!
We had a great time in Branson, but the best part was that the vacation was so laid back and relaxing! We will definitely consider staying at the same condo again if we ever make another trip back to that area, so let me know if you're ever heading there and need a recommendation!
Here are a few more photos and videos from our vacation in Branson - September 17-23:
Because we spent so much time with grandpa and grandma while on vacation, it was apparent one of them one thoroughly missed (or she missed the grandma we hadn't seen for a week). She stole Kevin's phone one afternoon and "called grandma" numerous times
Playing with anything and everything she could find in the condo
Being silly and so cute
While we were on vacation, papa Nickel celebrated his birthday, but this evening Corynn heard people singing "Happy Birthday" on TV and just started singing and singing!
Posing outside our condo before we headed back to KS
We stopped for lunch in Parsons, KS on our way home and decided to let Corynn get some wiggles out at one of the parks in town, so of course that meant more swings and slides
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