The Ringenberg Family: Vacation!

We just returned from vacation--not just the "crash with relatives and let them feed and entertain us" vacation. A real, live, plan a trip, stay at a hotel, eat out vacation! The first time we took a vacation with kids (or, should I say, "kid" as it was only Jack at that point), we realized that our definition of "vacation" would no longer include sleeping late, eating at nice restaurants, and lounging peacefully by the pool while reading books or people-watching. Once we got that into our heads, vacation has been much less of a let-down and much more fun.

But I digress...

We visited The Wilderness Club at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, MO, which is about 10 minutes from Branson, MO. We didn't quite know what to expect as we'd never been there but had read a lot of great reviews of the place. We drove down on Sunday from my parents' lake house and only had to stop once to feed Caroline--whoo-hoo! When we got to the resort, we were immediately impressed by the room and the attention to detail. Big Cedar Lodge is owned by Bass Pro Shop so it has a very outdoorsy feel (complete with mounted deer heads and fish). Our room had a living room and two separate bedrooms and bathrooms. The boys shared a king-size bed in one room, and Ryan and I shared a room with Caroline. There was plenty of space!

Each day we would go to the pool. Most days we just went to the one right next to our building. That one had two pools connected by a waterfall and a kiddie pool. The boys loved going between the pools and floating with their life jackets and floaty toys. Caroline (and I) often only spent about an hour at the pool since she had a to take a morning nap, but the boys spent about 4 hours there each day and loved every second!

In the evenings we ate at one of the restaurants there (Devil's Pool) and walked around the grounds. We savored a gorgeous sunset, ate dessert next to an Airstream trailer that functioned as an ice cream truck, and made s'mores by a campfire. It was a lovely, relaxing vacation, and we would definitely love to go back!

Here are just a few pictures from our trip. I'll post more later.