Oregon Cousins Christmas Visit

Last week our Herb cousins from Oregon came to visit. Life is still shut down in Oregon. Most of the Christmas things aren't happening there and its really sad. I casually told Aunt Stephanie that they should come visit us here because everything is business as usual and to our surprise, they decided to come. 
We had a wonderful week together and the kids played amazingly well together. We had so much fun together and the week was packed with Christmas activities. 
They flew in on Tuesday night, December 8th. They got in late and our kids were already asleep. 
But the next morning, the reunion was so sweet. The kids were so happy to see each other. It was pretty dang cute. 

Wednesday morning we packed up, loaded the cars and drove to Branson for some fun. We drove straight to Silver Dollar City and had the best time. The bigger kids immediately split up with the Dads and went to ride all the big rollercoasters. So Chris and Phillip took Chase, Tanner, Bailey and Conner to ride all the big rides and then Stephanie and I took Tucker, Paige and Benson to ride some of the smaller ones. The kids had so much fun. Benson is big enough for most of the rides now with an adult so it was awesome. 

We literally shut the park down. We played the entire time and had so much fun. 

These cousins had the best day ever together. 

Tucker and Paige had so much fun riding rides together. Benson was big enough for most of the them too, but it was fun to watch their little relationship grow. 

 

The worst part about visiting a theme park during a pandemic is not being able to see their sweet smiles due to their masks. I really felt safe at the park. They are constantly cleaning and sanitizing. The crowds were really low and it was great. But I miss seeing their smiling faces on the rides. 

Steph and I wore these cute matching shirts and the boys had matching shirts too. 
You can only guess how well that went over. But they were both good sports about it. 

 

I sure love this guy. 

 

We met up with the big cousins after a while, ate some snacks and then decided to ride some rides together. 
I LOVE this picture of these sweet girls. They were slightly outnumbered by their boy cousins and they had to stick together. 

The kids were loving all the Christmas decorations. 

We all rode "Flooded Mine" together and everyone loved it. 

Next we all went over to "Fireman's Landing" and played.

 

We also rode the train together and then ate dinner before watching the Christmas parade. 

The Christmas parade is always fun. The kids loved it. 

After shutting down the park, we drove over to our hotel in Branson and got settled in for the night. We had such a full day and the kids passed out in no time. I had to take a couple pictures the next morning of the kids in the snuggly Christmas pajamas. 

I sure love these sweet kiddos. 

The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel and then took the kids to the hotel pool for about an hour. They loved it. Then we went back to our rooms to change, grab some lunch and head back to Silver Dollar City. We also had to grab some donuts from "Hurts" on the way.

 Then we went back to our rooms to change, grab some lunch and head back to Silver Dollar City. We also had to grab some donuts from "Hurts" on the way.

We played for a few hours at the park

 Then we drove over to the "Dixie Stampede" for their Christmas dinner show. We love the Dixie Stampede. Its a dinner show set in the south and its so fun. Even with all the COVID restrictions in place, the show was amazing. 

Of course we had to see all the horses before the show. 

The kids loved the food and cheering for our side, the "South Pole". 
Bailey even got to participate in the show. She got to chase a chicken across the arena and she loved it. It was pretty cute and she loved that she got a medal and a new book.

 

The live nativity was amazing. We all loved it. 

After the Dixie Stampede was over, we drove back to our house. We got in late and put the kids to bed. Then us adults stayed up talking way too late. We had so much fun talking every night. Sometimes we played games and other times we just talked, but it was unusual for us to be in bed before 12:30- 1 am. 

Friday afternoon we went to Cabela's to visit Santa. This year Santa visits look a little different but it was still so fun. Santa was great with the kids and it was the cutest interaction. 

After visiting with Santa and each kid getting to tell him what they wanted for Christmas, we went back home and the kids put on their pjs and watched a movie with some popcorn. 

Friday night we got a sitter and the adults went on a double date to "The Wooden Spoon."
Dinner was amazing and we had a great time chatting over our delicious food. 

After dinner we went home, got the kids into bed and watched a movie. 
Steph and I enjoyed listening to our husbands laugh their way through "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation".  It was pretty fun to watch. 

Saturday was a chill day. We hung out at home, the kids played together. Stephanie and I went to get Crumbl cookies.

 Then we came home, got kids ready and drove to Springdale to catch the "Christmas Pajama Train". This was such a fun excursion. The kids had a blast together. Due to COVID, they didn't serve hot chocolate or cookies, so we just brought our own. We sang Christmas carols, visited with "the Grinch" and the kids made their Christmas lists. 

 

These little crazies had so much fun together. 

I love Conner's smile as he looks up at the Grinch. 

It was so fun. At the train station we took  a picture with Santa and then drove over to "Flying Fish" so the Oregon Herbs could get some southern catfish. That was one of their few requests for their trip. 

Sunday was really special. We woke up to snow and it snowed and snowed all day. 
We did have virtual church and we got to watch the kids Primary Christmas program and then when church was over we got dressed and went outside to play. 
We must have played for hours. We build snowman (5 of them) and went sledding down the driveway. 
Some of the kids came inside and took hot cocoa breaks but Tucker and Conner stayed outside with me for hours. 

Tucker was so proud of the snow house that he made for his snow globe. It was pretty funny. 

These cute cousins had a blast playing together in the snow. 

Tanner was very proud of his "Darth Vader" snowman. 

It was such a fun day. The snow was gorgeous and the snowflakes were massive. 
Aunt Stephanie made cookies and we watched Christmas movies. 
That night we had a delicious roast dinner and chilled at home. 

Tanner and Chase had a zoom "Priesthood preview" meeting and they were so cute. 

I can't believe these cute boys are turning twelve next year. I can't wait to take Tanner to the temple!

Sister Harris, the primary president, brought over these adorable temple cookies. Tanner loved it. 

Monday was another chill day. Due to the snow, the kids didn't want to leave home. They just wanted to play outside. So we watched movies all day and hung out.  We snuggled in our comfy Christmas pajamas and had a great relaxing day. 

We were going to go down to Fayetteville for the "Stewart Family Lights" but we were all too tired to do anything else. We enjoyed a delicious dinner together and just hung out for our last night. 

They left at 5 am on Tuesday morning and although we were so sad to see them leave, we had so much fun together. It was a great week and I think we made memories that will last for a very long time.