The Other Four Seasons

I've stayed at the Four Seasons in Philadelphia, I've coordinated weddings at the Four Seasons in St. Louis, I dream of working at the Four Seasons in New York. I heart the Four Seasons.

This summer's Edward Jones regional meeting was held in the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri and we stayed at The Lodge of The Four Seasons. I get so excited when I hear the name "Four Seasons" until I realized that this is not THAT Four Seasons. I was still excited to spend the weekend with our Edward Jones family, so off we went.

Our first stop before checking into the hotel was a restaurant right on the water. There was a panoramic view of the lake and the most delicious food! Daryl parked right on a cliff and I had a little (actually BIG) panic attack. I started to hyperventilate because all I could see is water beneath us. I demanded that Daryl move the car immediately and Aidan said, "Mom, you have to relax! It's okay."

We checked into the hotel later and reconnected with old friends and met some new families. Daryl and I attended our respective meetings and the kids went to their "meeting" as Aidan called it (aka daycare).


The kids love seeing each other each year and its great to see them play so well together.

We made friends with the Womacks, who were attending their first meeting. Reese immediately made friends with Samiyah, their youngest. She went up to Samiyah and said, "I'm Ariel and you are Tiana." It was the cutest thing ever! Aidan has been going by the name "Batman" for a few months now, Reese now has her own secret identity and a sidekick!

The first night is the family dinner, its so casual and fun! The kids took fun to the next level by doing sprints in the hallway of the ballroom after dinner. All the parents were standing back smiling and dreaming of how well all the kids would sleep that night. It backfired on us... Aidan and Reese were so excited to be staying in a hotel and must have gotten and second and third wind... they would not go to sleep!

They finally went to sleep and the next morning, I woke them up early for a walk along the marina. When we got to the water, Reese yelled out..."Nemo, where are you?"

This is the "beach" on the property. I'm pretty sure they just use it for weddings. It was nice to put my feet in the sand, but I wouldn't really classify this as a beach as it is the size of my living room.

I'm a little obsessed with taking pictures of Reese's toes in the sand. I took a similar picture of her foot when we were in Florida last summer.

Nicole and I took the kids to the outlet mall after my marina walk and after breakfast.

Reese was all about the wristlets at the Coach outlet. I was so proud.

Our girls. I hope they grow up to be good friends.

How cute is this?

This one is for my nephew Guy! We saw these at one of the kitchen supply stores and I had to take a picture.

This night's dinner is the formal dinner where everyone is recognized for their achievements. No kids allowed and each table has a host and there is theme. This year's theme was the Olympics and each table was a country. We were asked to be a host. I was so excited. I was at Hobby Lobby 20 minutes after Daryl told me we were chosen to host! Daryl and I teamed up on this project and merged our talents to bring it all together. We ran into a few challenges working together, we'll call them creative differences. Daryl carved the base out of Styrofoam, I made French flags, and gold medals for all our table guests and our Eiffel Tower had lights on it.

A close up of the back of our table complete with champagne, Chanel and Louis Vuitton bags, fromage (cheese), croissants, and French postage stamps.

The Switzerland Table

Jamaica, hosted by our good friends The Yoders.

At the end of the night I was disappointed to hear that there wasn't a contest for best table decor. WHAT?

I made these tutus for Reese and I to wear and my outfit was complete with the beret. I went a little overboard (not me, right?), but I honestly thought there was a contest and I play to win!