Vacation in Branson, Missouri

Here we are at the lowest point of Marvel cave - 500 feet!

Entrance to Kara and Will's favorite ride - The Flooded Mine

Entrance to "Grandpa's Mansion". This would be favorite attraction #2 for the kids. Mommy cannot go into the mansion as it makes her motion sick.

The kids were scared at first to get their picture made here. You can see Joel in the back ground holding Will. There is a dummy prisoner in the bed snoring.

Our train got robbed!!

Frogger - Kara felt like such a big girl.

The poor man had to take like 5 picture to get Will to cooperate. Mental note - take family photos early in the day.

The theme at Silver Dollar City was "Kid's Fest". They had these adorable clowns throughout the park as well as carnival tents w/ kid's crafts.
Kara was able to participate in the opening ceremonies. She wanted to make sure that I was taking pictures!! The man on the left was a veteran that carried the flag into the park and helped raise the flag. The entire park stood and said the pledge to allegiance.

We took a little trip to Branson last weekend. We left on Sat. and returned on Tuesday night. It was kind of a goodbye to summer trip. When Kara and I went to Spoiled Rotten Kids camp I upgraded our Silver Dollar City tickets to season passes. Will is free so all that we had to pay for is Joel. We rented a very inexpensive room on Table Rock Lake. It was not the condo that my parents usually rent but it was great for just us. The kids loved it. There was a playground right behind our room and the pool was right next to us w/ an old fashioned slide.

It was HOT, HOT, HOT. The food at Silver Dollar City doesn't taste the same when its 100 degrees outside. We arrived on Sat. and went to White Water. We stayed until they closed at 8 and then ate at B.T. Bones. Nice steaks with great atmosphere. Sunday we went to SDC ALL day. Not that crowded. My kids love "The Flooded Mine". It's a simple ride where you are in a prison mine that has flooded and you have guns that you shoot targets with. We rode it over and over and over. Monday we went back to SDC to see the opening ceremony. They honor veterans, it was touching. We went home early so that we would be rested up for Shepard of the Hills. It is an outdoor play about the book that made the Ozarks famous. Again, the kids just loved it. There was gunfire, animals, fighting, fire, etc. Lots to keep their attention. The best part of course was the frog jumping contest held before the show. I will post about it separately. Tuesday we checked out of our room and went to SDC - again. This time we took the Marvel cave tour. Now, I used to be so adventurous but as I am getting older and now that I am a mom I am such a weenie!! I was so scared of this tour that my legs shook like crazy!! We were 500 feet below the earth's surface. There were 600 stairs!! Joel and the kids liked it but I was just glad that it had ended. It was 60 degrees down there which was a welcome relief. The park was crowded so we only rode one ride - you guessed it - "The Flooded Mine".

I was so happy to have my husband and kids to myself for a few days. I treasure these moments because I don't get them that often. Plus, I cannot tell you how happy it made me to take my kids back to where I enjoyed my summers. They loved doing the same things as their mommy did when she was their age. I love being a mom!!