OR Herb Cousins' Christmas Visit

We just had a wonderful week with our Herb cousins from Oregon. They flew out again this year to spend some time with us enjoying all the holiday fun. Oregon is still pretty shut down so they were happy to come back and party with us again. 

They flew in on Tuesday and we surprised the kids with their arrival. When our kids got home from school the cousins were waiting. It was pretty cute. We hung out Tuesday and just played at home.

Wednesday morning we got up and packed the cars and drove to Branson. 
We spent the whole day playing at Silver Dollar City. We opened the park and closed it down. 
I couldn't believe how long the kids lasted. They are getting so big and they were total troopers. 

Once we got into the park, we split up again. The dads took the bigger kids to ride all the huge roller coasters, while Stephanie and I took the younger three to ride the smaller rides. 

On the way the kids found the candy cane forest and had to get pictures with them. 

Our first stop was the huge swings. The kids always love these and I think I'm getting to old for them. I was dizzy during the ride. 

Then the kids rode the frogs and the caterpillars. 

 

 

Then Aunt Stephanie took Paige and Tuck on the little roller coaster. Benson was not interested in that ride. 

We hit up the teacups next and spun as fast as we could. The kids loved it. 

Then we rode the pirate ships. These are probably my least favorite ride and Benson's most favorite ride. They go so fast around in a circle, I get so nauseous. 

 

After that we rode the big pirate ship and the boys and I loved it. We rode it again after and sat in the very back. We felt like we were flying. 

 

We made our way over to the carousel eventually and we all rode together. 

Then we rode the "flooded mine" and competed to see who could get the most points. 
My gun didn't work at all and I promptly lost. 

Next we rode "Fire in the hole".

This was Benson's least favorite ride. Tucker and Paige rode together and they were so brave!

We had to take some pictures along the way with the funny props. 

Then we met up with the rest of the kids and the dads. We were all happily reunited and rode some more rides together. 

Everyone wanted to ride "flooded mine" again, so we did that and then grabbed some dinner from our favorite BBQ place. 

 

Then we watched the Christmas parade and hopped on the train afterward. 

These light tunnels were so fun and so beautiful. 

How gorgeous is this view? I love the way the lights are reflecting on the water. 

We spent the last part of our night at "Fireman's Landing" and the kids had a blast. 

On the way out of the park we took one more group picture. 

We left with the rest of the stragglers as the park closed and drove to our hotel room at "Grand Country Inn".

The next morning we ate breakfast at the delicious buffet at the hotel and then we went to play at the attached water park. This is the water park that I life guarded at while I between semesters of college. The kids thought it was pretty funny that I use to work at this water park. 
We had a great time though. 

 

Benson wasn't big enough for the big slides so we played in the kiddie area for a while. 

 

Then a bunch of us headed to the lazy river. Benson loved this. 

 

The big kids loved the huge water slides. They had so much fun going down them over and over. 

 

But I think the favorite attraction was the huge bucket of water that dumped every 10 minutes or so. 

 

We played and played until it was time to get ready and go to "Dolly Parton's Stampede".

Naturally we had to get a cousin's picture outside. 

 

And we got a group shot inside. 

This show is always so fun. The Christmas show is our favorite and I love that it includes a live nativity. It's such a fun way to eat dinner. 

We drove back home Thursday night and got in around 9 pm. We finally got the kids to sleep and got to relax. 

Friday was much more relaxed and it was really fun. 
We went to Cabela's and got to see Santa. 

This was such a cute interaction. Santa was so funny and had the adults and kids laughing. 

He wanted to do different poses with each kid. It was pretty adorable. 

Tanner's pose is probably my favorite though! We got a cute smile one too though. 

 

 

After our Santa visit we went to Build-A-Bear. I had ordered the unstuffed bears online and then we took them into the store for the fun building portion of the experience. The kids loved it. 

I thought Tanner might think he was too big for this outing, but he wasn't. He enjoyed making his bear. 

 

But I think Benson was the cutest about it. He loved using the pedal to stuff his bear.

 

He also loved picking out and stuffing the heart inside and he asked if he could put a few coins inside his bear. The workers were so cute about it. It was adorable to watch. 

 

Tucker also enjoyed making his. He was particular about it getting just the right amount of stuffing. 

 

  

The whole build-a-bear experience is so fun. They have you rub the bear's heart on different parts of your body, like you head to make the bear smart or your heart to make it loving. 

The kids loved washing, drying and fluffing their bears after stuffing them. 

The kids got to make "birth certificates" for each of their bears after they finished and then we left. 

 

 

These two asked for a picture together. 

These cutie cousins had so much fun making their bears and they all love them!

After build-a-bear we snuggled on the couch to watch a movie and that night we ate pizza for dinner. It was a cozy night in and it was just what we needed. 

Saturday morning Stephanie and I had a girls day. We ran errands, did some shopping, got our traditional crumbl cookies and ate sushi for lunch. We had lots of fun. 

Saturday night we went to the Wal-Mart museum and 5&10. Then we got hot cocoa at the spark cafe and walked around the square enjoying the lights. 

 

 

 

After seeing the lights, we stuck around and watched the Christmas parade. Then we went to get some BBQ at "Smokin' Joes". It was so delicious and all the kids ate so well. 

Sunday morning we went to church for the kids' primary program. It was adorable as usual and the kids got to wear their cute Christmas Sunday best. It was Benson's first primary program and he did not enjoy it. But he sat on the stand the whole time. He might have been giving me the stink eye the whole time but he stayed. Tucker and Bailey did great. 

After church we relaxed and hung out in our matching comfy pajamas. 

The kids all looked so cute!

And we got a big group shot. 

Later we got to go down to Springdale to ride the Christmas train. 
We had a great time. 

Santa was waiting for us on the platform and the kids got to visit with him and it was another adorable interaction. Bailey wanted to show him her new bear and he cuddled it too. 

 

I love this shot of the kids before boarding the train. 

They gave us all hot cocoa and cookies before we boarded. 

 

The kids had so much fun talking and playing together.

I sure love this man of mine. He puts up with all the cute fun and traveling and memories because he loves us. We are so lucky to have him. 

I love all the cute cousins in their matching pjs. 

The Christmas train is one of our favorite traditions. I'm so glad covid restrictions are easing up so we can continue to have our holiday fun. 

 

We had a great time and after our ride we drove home for dinner and a quiet night at home. 

Monday morning Stephanie and I drove to Oklahoma to make her "Pioneer Woman" dreams come true. 
I know who the "Pioneer Woman" is and I've made a few of her recipes but Stephanie is a huge fan. So we drove the 3.5 hours to Pawhuska, OK. Our first stop was the mercantile. 

It was adorable inside and full of super cute treasures. 

We shopped, we ate yummy treats at the bakery and then we shopped some more. 

  

 

I even got the kids some sweets at "Charlie's sweet shop"

After our shopping we drove to the actual ranch where they film her show. Her family has owned this ranch for years. The house was amazing and we got to peak in every nook and cranny. Stephanie even tried on some of the Pioneer Woman's clothing. lol. 

We explored to our heart's content and then drove home. 

That night we all ate dinner together and hung out. The kids enjoyed the last night together. 
The next morning the cousins got ready to fly home and our kids got ready for school. 
We were so sad to see the Oregon cousins go home. We had the best week with them. We did all the fun Christmas stuff. We are so grateful that they make the effort to visit. It was so fun having them in Arkansas with us.