We are just returning from an amazing trip with the Fennema family (my mom’s side).  Twenty-two of us, I believe, stayed on two houseboats on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.  What a blast!  There’s plenty to write about, so I’ll just try to hit the highlights and hope that the pictures tell the story better than my words ever could.

The drive was long and exhausting and took us about 14 hours.  We stretched at all the gas stations and made sure we could eat at a Whole Foods along the way (we’ve got a silly new goal of checking them out wherever we travel).

 We spent the night at a house my aunt and uncle and parents had rented for part of the week.  We were SO glad to see them!

 And then the real adventure began!  We got on the houseboat on Friday afternoon and spent the next few days enjoying time with family.  We watched a video I had put together with pictures and videos to pay tribute to my grandparents who have been married for 65 years!  We ate dinners together.  We had a beautiful worship service.  Everything we did was centered around 4 of my favorite things: faith, family, food and fun!

    We rented a speedboat, too, which provided a lot of entertainment:

 And spent lots of time swimming in the warm water:

 A teary Ethan summed it up well, “I wanted to stay on the houseboat for 10 days!”