Swimming, Shows, and Sushi

Last week, Johnny and I got back from a week and a half vacation to Arkansas and Branson with my family.  We had so much fun and we're so grateful we had the opportunity to spend time with the Drakes because it doesn't happen often enough.

Our first day there we spent at Emily's house because it was my parents' 31st anniversary and they went out to celebrate.  This day was super fun because Tanner was in love with my belly!  He kept telling me funny things like "you have to take your baby out of your belly before you sit down on him," and "put your baby there (on the side of the road) and I'll give you two more babies for your belly."  He's such a weird kid!  He also kept pretending to operate on my belly and saying he was "taking out the pieces" for me.  One time he stared at my belly button and said he wanted to open it.  I told him he couldn't open it and that we had to wait for the baby to come when he was ready.  After thinking very seriously for about a minute, he screams "scissors!" and runs into the kitchen to retrieve them.  He was pretty convinced that he could use some scissors to get my baby out - scary!  We had to have a pretty serious conversation at that point.  Tanner meant well; he was just excited to meet his new cousin:)

We also played in Emily's pool that night.  So much fun with Tanner and Bailey!

Emily, Mom, and Laura threw me a baby shower while we were out there.  They did a great job and everything looked so cute!  It was fun to see some of the women I've known since I was a little girl and to feel their love and support as Johnny and I start our family.  The theme of the shower was mustache bash and Emily did a great job on the decorations!

I sure do love my mom and sisters.  We missed Julieta but she was in Mexico visiting her family so I guess that's forgivable.

One night in Mountain Home, my parents took Johnny and I to visit my grandma and grandpa's grave.  I hadn't been there since Grams' funeral so it was definitely time.  I miss my grandparents a lot and I wish they could be here to meet my baby boy.  They would have loved him and he would have been one lucky little guy to have his great-grandparents around.

I also got to see one of my very best friends during this trip.  Terra was busy with work but we were able to meet up with her during her lunch break.  She's such a sweetheart and I'm so glad she made time to see us!

We had one last hurrah before we left Mountain Home for Branson.  My mom treated me to a pedicure!  It was nice to relax and have some girl time with my mom. It's nice to be pampered every once in a while.

Branson week was awesome this year.  I wish David could have been there (he's still in Korea) and Chris and Joseph could have been there more (they still had to work some), but those of us who were there had a blast!  

Johnny and I saw several shows this time around, which we don't usually do.  We saw Amazing Pets with the rest of the gang.  The kids (and my mom) loved watching the animals do insane tricks.  My favorite was watching a dog ride a bike across the stage because it just looked so unnatural and hilarious.

Bailey was excited to see the "goggies"

We also saw "Six" and "It", both of which are performed by LDS families in my home stake.  Mom and Dad went with us to Six and Laura went with us to It.  Laura actually got us the tickets for It because her friend from the stake is one of the performers in it.  Six was cool because it's a show of six brothers who do lots of songs but never use any instruments or music.  The way they use their voices totally makes it sound like there is music but it's all them!  It's pretty cool.  The show, It, is done by the Hughes family and they had over 50 family members on stage as part of the show.  Apparently they are the largest performing family in the world.  They did a great job and I loved seeing how the whole family is involved.

We also saw "Man of Steel" in the IMAX theater.  It was Johnny's first time seeing something in the IMAX so we were very excited about it.  We thought the movie was good and it's always fun to see it on the extra big screen. 

Mom and Johnny are both obsessed with theater popcorn so they had to sit next to each other to share.  Of course we needed more treats so we went to Andy's for some delicious frozen custard afterward.

We spent some time in downtown Branson at Dick's 5 and 10, a cute ice cream parlor, and the Branson Landing.  We came away from the 5 and 10 store with a few treasures including a super cute board book for the baby.

One of the best parts of Branson week is relaxing by the pool and getting a nice tan.  This year we also rented a boat and took it out on Table Rock Lake, so that was really fun.

Checking out the fish at the marina.

Obviously we're just having a boat dance party.  Tanner's got some moves.

In my family we currently have four kids ages 3 and under.  By the end of this year, it'll be five kids 4 and under, so we definitely have our work cut out for us.  I love love love my nieces and nephews but things get crazy with all those little kids running around.  I think I'll add to the chaos in about five weeks just to keep things interesting.  Johnny and I loved getting to spend time with our Arkansas niece and nephews.  They grow up way too fast! 

These two had a very special bond.  It seriously melted my heart to watch Johnny interact with the kids!

The kids always wanted to hide in this secret little spot with Uncle Johnny.

Bailey has a little angel face!

Clark stuck this pose without any coercion.  He's a character.

It was fun to celebrate Father's Day in the condo this year.  My dad is the best dad in the world and I'm so lucky to have him in my life.  He does so much for his family and he is such a support for me even now that I'm kind of a grown-up.  Johnny also got to be honored this year as a father and I cannot wait to see how great he is in that role.  I have so much confidence in him and I'm insanely grateful that I married him and now he is the father of my son.

I made Johnny a banana cream pie and Dad a coconut cream pie for their gifts this year.

Before Johnny and I flew out on Friday, we all went out for a delicious sushi lunch in Branson.  It was the perfect way to end our vacation.

Joseph and Julieta's sushi was on fire.

I was so proud of Johnny for finishing his sushi roll.  He's usually not a fan but he devoured this one:)

My cute parents are to thank for this awesome family time.

Of course the trip went by way too fast, but that's what happens when you're having fun.  I can't wait to see my mom, Emily, and Laura in August when they all come out to meet my baby boy!  Family is the best ever.

We Love Yellowstone

Last weekend, Johnny, Amy, Chaz, and I went to Yellowstone National Park.  We left Logan around 6:30 Friday morning and started our adventure.  We stopped in Jackson Hole and ate at the Bunnery, our favorite restaurant from our honeymoon.  Of course we checked out town square and the antler arch, too.

We drove through the Teton National Forest right before we got into Yellowstone.  It was so gorgeous!

Our first stop inside of Yellowstone was Old Faithful.  We watched it erupt a couple of times and it was quite magnificent.

We saw lots of craters, springs, basins, and geysers.

And lots of wildlife with their babies! We even got stuck in traffic a couple of times because bison were just blocking the road.  They were close enough to reach out and touch but that is strictly prohibited at Yellowstone.

We also really enjoyed this waterfall.

One of our favorite places to explore was Mammoth Hot Springs.  This is where we spent the night in a very historic (old) hotel.  Our room had two beds and a sink and we shared the bathroom and shower with the whole hall of people!  It was weird but I actually thought it was a really fun place to stay.  When we woke up in the morning and opened the window we saw an elk right outside our hotel, too, so you can't beat that.

We drove around a lot of the park and ended up going in three of the five park entrances, so we covered a lot of ground.  Obviously we had to get a classic sign picture before we left.

We started our drive back home Saturday afternoon so it was a very quick trip.  Luckily we got to stop at Bear Lake and eat some delicious raspberry shakes at La Beau's before we called it quits.  It was an awesome trip and we're so glad Amy and Chaz decided to come with us to make it even more fun.  I'm really grateful we were able to go when we did because our summer schedule is filling up fast and I didn't want to go so far away and out in the middle of nowhere much further along in my pregnancy, so this worked out best.  Speaking of, here's a belly shot because I haven't posted one in quite a while and I'm getting quite a bit bigger:)

31 weeks at Yellowstone - 9 to go!

A week from tomorrow Johnny, Laura, and I are flying to Arkansas and I can't wait!! I'm so excited to see my family and my hometown.  This is the summer of dreams for us and we get to end the summer with a brand new baby boy all our own.  Life couldn't be better!