The McLoughlins Go on the Road Day Five! #VacationInBranson

Friday was our last day in Branson before heading home.

Breakfast out this morning at a Belgian waffle restaurant that rocked!

Packing up and Sam has a new toy

Sam at Castle Rock Waterpark!

Some swimming before leaving town

Tow-mater!

Lightning McQueen!

A week of getting up "early" makes my littles sleepy!

Benefit #9,463 of homeschooling: leaving town before miles and miles of traffic heads into Branson

Time to stop at our favorite park in Clinton, MO

Mom, what kind of bush is this?

Daddy gets in on the action, flower behind ear like a boss

The McLoughlins Go on the Road Day Four! #VacationInBranson (Part Two)

More Thursday fun in Branson!

Eva with kitty cat

Samuel with kitty cat

Callie with kitty cat

Joel with kitty cat

Michael with kitty cat

Gorgeous kitty cat

We love zoos but hate them at the same time ... hate the animals caged up

After the zoo we had some waterpark fun

Later, some mini golf fun at Dinosaur Canyon

Ball in water!

I cut my mini golf teeth at Jellystone Park in Branson and am not too shabby

Cherry Berry fro yo!

Callie's concoction

My little sweethearts!

Happy 13th Birthday to my Oldest Kid, Joel!!!

My baby is THIRTEEN TODAY?!?!?!?! Such a great kid, that Joel. Changed my life forever around 10:25 this morning in 2001, 5 days after I turned 30. The dude made me a mom and Mr. Kerrie a dad ... we  you, Joely!

The McLoughlins Go on the Road Day Four! #VacationInBranson (Part One)

SO MANY PICTURES and SO MUCH FUN! This day was packed so it will take 2 posts to show all the photos!

This was taken in the Castle Rock Waterpark restaurant, where you could find us most mornings with the kids eating their breakfast buffet!

We then headed to the Promised Land Zoo ... expensive but worth it. You could spend a day at this small zoo just walking around and messing around and checking out all the cool stuff. You can pet and feed many of the animals.

Turn your head for these next ones! SAMUEL

EVA

CALLIE

MICHAEL

JOEL. When they are in their 30s we will awkwardly recreate these photos.

Feeding camels

Promised Land Zoo in Branson rocks!

Baby alligators!

Feeding birdies peanut butter and seeds! We spent a lot of time in there!

I could do this all day!

The birds love Sammy

Bird hoarder Joel

Petting a ... um .. can't remember

Petting another thing

And another

And another

Hairy thing with shell

Massive frog

 Check out Part Two for more animal fun and pool fun and mini golf fun and fro yo fun!

Book Review: If You Were Me and Lived In ... Australia (An Introduction to Learning About Other Cultures)

Oh my gosh. This book is super cute! We are obsessed with Australia around here anyway so when I got the chance to read this to my kids for bedtime and homeschooling purposes I was so excited! Here's some info about this book my kids really loved:

Former social studies teacher Carole P. Roman has penned a new addition in her exiting explorations of foreign cultures and customs with “If You Were Me and Lived in … Australia". In her years as a teacher, parent and grandparent, Roman noticed that there were few, if any, books about other cultures for young children. Roman has remedied the deficit and now introduces the new Australia installment in a series that educates kids, parents and teachers, alike. 

Roman recognizes that children love to discover the differences and similarities of other people and places in far-off lands. In this series, she describes details that kids can relate to. Tailored to children from 3-to-8-years old, her writing is simple but does not talk down to youngsters. 

Among the topics that are introduced in this journey to Australia are the unusual indigenous animals, the extraordinary Great Barrier Reef, the currency, the beloved game of cricket and the national holiday, Australia Day, as well as the special nicknames people have for one another and the curious taste sensation, Vegemite. 

“This series is just enough facts to begin a discussion without overwhelming the child and can be expanded or contracted to fit the age group,” Roman explains. 

"Carole P. Roman has created a marvelous premise for her series of educational children's books: young readers are given the opportunity to realistically envision a foreign country without leaving their homes, libraries, or classrooms....Roman's formula allows for so much lovely variety in each book of this series that it hardly seems like a formula at all...If You Were Me and Lived in ...Kenya is a short, vibrant picture book, brightly illustrated in cartoon style. The text is scant, appropriate, and does not deviate from the central theme." ForeWord Reviews Clarion Review

Here is the purchase link.