Lake of the Ozarks

Instead of going to Lake Powell this year

(because our house boat was out of commission again)

 we headed east to Missouri to stay for a week in a house on Lake of the Ozarks. 

I was not looking forward to the 13 hour drive, and to be honest it was brutal.  By the time we got to Hays, Kansas Eli had had enough and was screaming and even Ashtyn was a little antsy and we still had another 3 hours until Topeka where we would stop for the night.  I don't know how we did it, but we made it and we were definitely ready to have some fun on the Lake! 

I had no idea what to expect, and you really can't explain it until you see it for yourself, but I will try...

The Lake was gorgeous, but so the EXACT opposite of what Lake Powell is.  Tons of tress, tons of houses, and HUGE bugs - I have never seen such enormous bugs!  Very humid and hot, but absouletly gorgeous.  We stayed in a friends house right on the lake with a huge dock - very nice!

 After spending 2 long days traveling we were so ready for some fun on the Lake come Monday morning...well much to our surprise it was pouring rain when we woke up, and a huge lighting storm had taken out the cable and Internet - SO we were a little bummed, sitting around was the last thing we wanted to do...

El Capitan is where we spent our afternoon enjoying good food, lots of beer and margs and getting to at least look at the lake!  It was fun and we made the most of what we could do for that afternoon...

 On our way back home the sun showed her pretty little face, so we wasted no time, loaded up in the boat for a cruise and started exploring our new playground...

 I could not believe how many homes there were and not tiny little cabins either - MANSIONS!  It was quite a site. 

We had a great night sleep and woke up to the sun shining - YES, now we could have some fun!  The coolest thing about the lake is that there are restaurants, bars and these little resorts all over the place you can drive to with your boat and dock - basically a city on water.  So Tuesday we headed to our now most favorite place ever...COCONUTS!

 Here is where we spent most of our week...

 Coconuts is basically an island resort on a lake.  They have a sandy beach, play area for kids, a swimming pool with a bar and the best drinks ever!  Eli could not wait to get his hands in the sand...

 He also loved swimming in the Lake with Uncle Kevers...

 practicing his back floats - he is a natural...

 Ashtyn loved jumping on the trampoline - never into the water though...

 We hung out by the pool which was surprisingly colder then the lake water, so it was perfect for cooling off and of course enjoying cocktails...

 After a very fun, relaxing day at Coconuts we headed back home to refresh and relax before dinner.  On our way home we stopped by the Carnival house and helped ourselves to some drinks from their refrigerator and Ashtyn played on the swing.  She loved the Carnival house so much more than ours...I think because it had a huge yard to play in.  Thanks Carnivals for the drink! 

Eli enjoyed several naps in the boat throughout the week, and this was his favorite spot...

We went to Osage Beach Tuesday night to play putt-putt and have some ice cream.  I actually got three holes in one, but still managed to lose!  Ashtyn had lots of fun...

 On Wednesday we thought we would try another resort on the lake, Frankie and Louie's...

 It was no Coconuts!  They had a sandy beach which was nice, but the water was dirty and smelly and the drinks were awful, so we hung out for awhile but then headed back to Coconuts...

 Ashtyn managed to catch a tadpole, which she just fell in love with, so we had to cart it around in a plastic cup the rest of the week...

 Another boat nap...

 On our drive, the whole way, to the Lake Ashtyn kept asking Matt if she could ride the jet skis, so we made sure to make that happen and she loved every minute of it...

Matt said when they were going fast she would scream

"This is the best day EVERRRRRR!"

 On Thursday we took a long boat ride into the National Park Area.  It was really cool to see more of the Lake and the beautiful houses that are on the shore line.  I wouldn't mind having a vacation home there...The water was pretty rough though, so after bouncing around for a couple hours we headed back to Coconuts, to spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing...

 There were so many butterflies at this lake - it was pretty neat!  Eli loved to chase them on the pool deck.  It was quite humorous to watch...

 Technically, kids are not supposed to be in the pool at Coconuts - adults only, but on this day there was hardly anybody there, so we let Ashtyn swim around - she LOVED it!

 MONKEY boy...

 Eli started to take steps by himself this week.  We are up to about 5 before he falls....getting so close!

 Every night we would go to dinner on the Lake in our boat - it was so fun!  For our last night we went to Shady Gators which was tons of fun.  They have live music and great food and drinks!  If I didn't have kids with me, I could have partied all night long!

 It was really cool to be on the lake at night!  All the houses are lit up - just like driving down a street!

We really enjoyed our time at Lake of the Ozarks.  It was so relaxing and I feel like I got to spend some much needed quality time with my kids - who by the way were wonderful!  We had no whining, no fits - nothing!  I still LOVE Lake Powell and prefer to spend my week there, but I will always be up for a trip to the Lake of the Ozarks - but I will fly next time!

Thanks Mom and Dad for a great week - we enjoyed it so much!