Branson

So, I'm going to start backwards and tell you what we did most recently...VACATION!!!!  We had been looking forward to it for a very long time and was definitely something we needed.  We decided to head back to Branson, MO since we had such a great time a couple years ago.  It's about an 8 hour drive, but it was very scenic.  I will give a summary of our vacation week and have more details soon on my other blog, Cars and Ribbons.

From where we live in Texas, we drove through Oklahoma, Arkansas, and then Missouri.  Lots of lakes, lots of greenery, and lots of curves once we got into the Ozarks (I did start to feel a little nauseated).

Preston had to take a little nap in the car.  Good idea!

We arrived at our resort late afternoon.  This resort is so pretty and has great amenities such as a Splash-a-torium, breakfast buffet and so much more.  Plus, you got to choose a different show to go see each night of your stay.

We saw 4 great shows:  Dixie Stampede, Buckets N Boards, 3 Redneck Tenors (twice), and Showboat Branson Belle.  The first night we went to see 3 Redneck Tenors (my favorite show ever!), the power went out just before intermission.  They did some great ad libbing in the dark for a little bit, but then told everyone that we could come back to see the show, or any other show in that theater, again for free!  So, we eagerly went back the next night to see it again.  LOVED IT!!!

We ate some great food, some during the shows and some on our own.

We did some shopping at Branson Landing and Tanger Outlet center.

We did the tourist thing and took a tour of Branson on Ride the Ducks.  Preston and Craig got to drive the boat in the water for a little bit.

We saw lots of great views of the Table Rock Lake and Lake Taneycomo...

...the kids played at our resort's Splash-A-Torium...

...and we had fun making more memories together.

We spent 5 days away and the weather was partly cloudy with rainstorms in the evening on most days.  The morning after the power outage during the show, the fire alarm went off at our hotel.  It was 8 am.  We weren't dressed for the day.  Or dressed at all.  And we had to go outside!  No worries, we got clothes on and marched outside with the other hotel guests in their pajamas.  Or towels.  It was very interesting.

But as we came back home, and passed through each state (I missed Oklahoma's sign)...

...there's nothing better than home!

Here's a video of our very funny Ride The Ducks guide.  He started playing a song while we were driving in the mountains and everyone was instructed to blow the "Quacker Whistle" they were given.  Hilarious!