Home Sweet Home

Maybe I am alone on this one but whenever I go home, I am headed to my mom and dad's house. It may not be the house I grew up in, but home is where my family is. It is enjoying the home cooked meals that I only get once in a great while. It is watching Kaden light up when Papa Tom peeks around the corner and comes running towards him. It is Grandma Sara sitting in Grandma Hartley's old chair rocking my little monkey. It is where my sister and her kids, my brother and his wife, all crowd around the table and tell stories. It is where my roots are. I may have lived in KC for 6 plus years and I most certainly have my own version of "home" here but this is Kaden's home. When he is older he will come "home" to us just like I go home to my mommy and daddy. And home is where we headed this past weekend and we were in for a little more fun than usual. On Friday, the girls plus Kaden were headed to Branson to do a little shopping but before we left, Papa Tom was on a mission. To find Kaden something to ride around on and when he came back through the door, he was holding a new four wheeler with sounds and all. Little did Kaden know, if he didn't like the four wheeler, Papa Tom would have been crushed and that probably would have been the last time he went on a toy hunt. But luckily for everyone, he loved his new toy and all the sounds it made.

We headed down to Branson where we not only met up with Aunt Jennifer and Cousin Leah but Grandma Earl and lots of Aunts were there as well. We were staying right by The Branson Landing so we enjoyed dinner at Farmhouse Restaurant and we weren't the only ones wanting to eat there, we had a nice 30 minute wait. But while we waited we got to enjoy some local talent and Kaden even got the chance to sit and play the guitar. When he wasn't playing he was dancing....

Saturday morning we were up bright and early and off to the outlet malls by 9. We spent the majority of the day shopping, only stopping to get a little bit to eat and check out the great deals everyone else had found. As we were getting ready to leave we found a clown making balloon animals and Kaden was locked in on every move he made. We waited our turn and in the end we ended up with a blue elephant.  And that blue elephant entertained Monkey for another couple hours! After it got dark, we all loaded up and enjoyed the Twelve Days of Christmas in lights. We thought Kaden would be a little tired by the time we got back to the hotel room but boy were we wrong and luckily Leah was there to wear him out!

 It was back to Papa Tom's on Sunday and when we arrived Brett and Blake were there waiting for us. Kaden loved playing with his cousins, especially Brett since he was able to take him outside to play! Grandma Sara baked a sheet cake to celebrate Brett's 13th Birthday and in honor of his 13th birthday, we helped him out on a little homework. We managed to write a poem about the Nile River Valley, oh how I miss the 7th grade! We settled in for a disappointing Chiefs loss and then ended the night with my all time favorite, Little Orphan Annie. Kaden danced during the songs and sat in awe during the dialog, and although he enjoyed the movie, he wasn't able to keep those big blue eyes opened. Before we knew it, he was asleep in Grandma Sara's arms.