As we were driving back from Branson we received the news that our good friends, Jacob and Maddy, had their baby girl. We didn't waste any time and went to see their precious baby girl on Monday.
They named her Allison and it's hard to believe that Oliver was ever that small, but they had the exact same birth weight. Ollie wasn't quite sure what to think about her at first, but he sure warmed up quickly.
Towards the end of our trip we visited the Shepard of the Hills Fish Hatchery.
Ollie loved seeing all the fish...
...and feeding them too.
The fun with grandparents continued with popcorn...
...and trips to the playground.
The boys played a little soccer together.
We had a very nice time, but we were ready to get back to our regular ol' routine, real life, and packing for the move that was awaiting us at home. The morning that we left, it rained and rained so packing the car was a bit interesting.
It finally stopped raining about the time we got to Osceola Cheese.
Oliver was not a fan of Mr. Mouse, haha.
He was just as great of a traveler on the way home as he was on the way there.
While we enjoyed spending time with everyone in our big group, we also took a little time for ourselves. Riley and I went to a show together, just the two of us. We went to see Presleys' Country Jubilee. It was a good show and we had a great time. We, of course, took no photos because Riley isn't into taking selfies or asking others to take pictures... so here is a picture that I stole from google images:
We also took a morning for a fun little trip with just Oliver and us.
We visited The Butterfly Palace & Rainforest Adventure.
Our first stop was the Emerald Forest Mirror Maze (sorry, no photos). We got lost and couldn't find our way through. Riley used Ollie's umbrella stroller as a battering ram to determine if what we perceived as an opening was indeed an opening and not a mirror. We finally made our way out (the entrance!!!) and gave up hope of being able to find the real exit.
Next up was the Banyan Tree Adventure which was a tangled web of rope "vines" that hung from the ceiling to the floor to simulate the roots of banyan trees. This was much easier than the mirror maze although Ollie wasn't too sure of it at first.
There was also a pond-like image projected onto the floor which was interactive. Oliver loved this and "splashed his way around" for quite a while.
Next up was the main event, the Butterfly Aviary. When we entered, we all received small tubes full of nectar with the flower on the top to attract the butterflies.
We had to do a bit of coaching with Oliver, as he would want to swat and swing at the butterflies when they came near him. He really liked watching them...he just wasn't sure about their proximity to him.
(There many have been a butterfly or two harmed in our visit...oops.)
The final stop we made was at the Living Rainforest Science Center.
He was pretty intrigued with the animals (I can't wait to take him to the zoo this summer!).
Grandpa and Ollie got lots of good after nap-time snuggles in. Jim graciously volunteered to hang out with him most afternoons so he could nap and we could get away. We appreciated the time away and I know Jim appreciated the snuggles.
We made several trips down to the Landing... on this particular day we stopped to feed the fish.
We also watched the fire and water show at the Landing...Ollie was mesmerized during the show.
We also took a trip out to the College of the Ozarks where we toured several buildings. Riley and Oliver's favorite was the building full of old tractors.
Oliver found his favorite, an Oliver tractor. (Side note, I did not know that Oliver was a tractor until after we had named him..I feel a little duped by the whole situation, but I still love his name.)
Both grandma and grandpa spoiled our little guy with several trips to the park. I'm not sure how his little legs managed to go up those stairs as many times as they did!
Of course, Oliver invited his cousin, Carter, to join him in the big tub. They had a blast together.
For the most part, Ollie was pretty well behaved on our trip. There were a few times when he just needed some alone time away from all that was going on...
...perhaps he didn't need to screen time, but it surely improved his mood and made for a more enjoyable trip for everyone.
