the arndt family: Branson

A few weeks ago, Jon and I decided to go on a random overnight trip to Branson. Mostly because there was a swim floater that I wanted to get for Maddie that only Target had in stores. But Jon also needed to get new clothes, and I never will turn down a shopping trip for myself either. Originally, we were thinking of going to St. Louis for two nights because the Padres were going to be in town playing the Cardinals. But since Jon hasn't worked as much as we thought he was going to and hasn't earned as much either, we decided not to do that. Plus, we didn't want to spend a lot of money on a trip just to go to a baseball game that we weren't even sure how Maddie would do at.

Jon went to work Monday, and I booked a room at a place that had decent reviews and wasn't too expensive. When he got home, we got everything packed up in the car and took off! Maddie slept most of the way there. We went to dinner a restaurant that was one of the top rated places in Branson, Danna's BBQ and Burger. I was excited to eat a good burger because, well, this place is DEFINITELY lacking in good food choices. We loved it! We will for sure go back. Then we headed to our hotel. We knew we couldn't do a whole lot that evening since Maddie goes to bed usually around 6:30 PM. I was worried about putting her to sleep in the pack-n-play because I wasn't sure how it'd go. Plus, we weren't going to bed that early, and there wasn't a separate room to stick her in so that it would be dark and quiet for her. So we decided to head to Target that evening to get her to fall asleep in her car seat (which she does SO WELL these days!). We also wanted to get one swim in at the pool before we had to checkout the next morning, which meant we would have to go right after breakfast. So we went to Target, and I was in love. I was so happy to be there! Jon thinks it's weird that I have this obsession with Target. But, I don't know how to explain it, it is just one of my happy places.

Maddie did really well. She slept in her carseat until some time in the early morning hours, when I got up, fed her, and laid her back down in the pack-n-play. When she got up again, we all got up and went down for breakfast. Every old person there kept calling her a boy, which didn't make sense since she was wearing PINK jammies with PINK hearts. Seriously, people?! One person even said to me, "What's the little guy's name?" I responded, "Madeline." And then the lady said back, "Oh, a boy's name?!" - like she still thought Maddie was a boy with a girl's name. Weirdos. Afterwards, we went swimming for about 30 minutes. Maddie LOVED the water! There was a random beach ball left there, and Jon would pull it under the water and let go. Maddie giggled SO MUCH when it would pop back up out of the water.

After we put Maddie down for a short nap, showered, packed back up, and checked out, it was time to go shopping. I got lots of stuff, but, unfortunately, Jon didn't get much. Maddie had an accident in GAP. Haha. It was funny, but poor Dad. I'm glad it didn't happen to me since I was holding her not long before. :) We were buying the cheap Walmart diapers, and it was already pretty wet... Then she "dirtied" it... and, well, Jon felt something running down his leg and onto the floor. So I took Maddie into a changing room to change her, and, OF COURSE, Jon had packed the wipes in the other bag. Haha. It was definitely a fun new parent experience. We ate lunch at Fuddrucker's... YUMMY! And then headed home.

Our room

Maddie is so happy!

What do you put in those top drawers and how do you even reach them???

Our bed had a really cool step stool.

The lovely view we had...

Creepy pictures were hung everywhere.

Sitting.

Falling.

The TV & the "Good Book."

The beginning of her roly poly-ness...

She only really gets like this when she is on a bed. Kind of ironic, huh?

Morning swimming!

Even though Maddie moves around a lot, especially on beds, Jon still puts her on them and walks away. I get upset with him, and this is what happens... a pillow fort.