Branson

Shelley took her family to Branson for Christmas last year but they got so much snow, a lot of what they wanted to do was shut down. She wanted to go back and asked if we wanted to join them! She also invited Grandma and Grandpa which turned out so fun! Casey and Travis had to work so we left with the kids and grandparents on Tuesday, June 20 in the morning. There are basically two flights on Allegiant that goes to Springfield each week so we caught the first one! 

We split into two vans... a girl van and a boy van, ha! It was perfect. It was about an hour drive to Branson in beautiful country! The mega churches made my jaw drop!

We stopped at Lambert's Cafe for an early dinner. This place is made for crowds! They are known for down home country cooking and throwing rolls at you from across the dining room! The kids loved and many rolls were sacrificed to the floor.

Our "cabin" was about 20 minutes from downtown Branson. We started the trip off with the Haygood Show! We didn't realize it at the time but the Haygoods are the snazziest show for sure. They had all the bells and whistles. Making entrances hanging upside down, gliding over the audience, pyrotechnics, lights, costumes, awesome sound system... the works. It was very entertaining! The only negative thing I'll say is it lacked heart. The performers.. especially the girl... just seemed like they were going through the motions. We got the first of many Andy's concretes after the show.

The house was great! It was off the beaten path but not isolated by any means. It was in a complex that offered a pool, hot tub, sport courts and was right next to the lake! It was new and nice inside. Shelley did good. She planned everything from flights to rental cars to the house and all the shows. A ton of work. I felt super spoiled to get to just show up! We were visiting the first night when Grandpa motioned for me to come see something. I peered around the corner to find Tanner perched above the stairs. The picture does not do that drop justice. My heart stopped.

Branson is a tourist's dream come true! It's like a family oriented Las Vegas. Every mini golf, go kart racing, kids museum and theater etc lined the streets. We didn't really know what to pick or where to start. A place called the World's Largest Toy Museum caught our eye. Imagine a warehouse style garage sale filled with every toy imaginable from all the decades. A bit dusty and sort of gives you the creeps but also nostalgic. Makes you want to clean your house. The doll section was next level. 

My dream!! Every Nancy Drew book.

Grandpa said he had a firefighter's hat just like this.

We grabbed Steak n Shake for lunch then went to Wonderworks... the upside down kids playplace.

It was kind of like a kids science museum. A lot of the activities involved force and motion, balance, world trivia... stuff like that. It had like 4 levels and was enough to keep you busy all day. 

This room let you feel the force of hurricane level winds!

I wish we had more time at Wonderworks but we had to hurry to make our show at the Sight and Sound theater. 

WOAH. 

This place was incredible. For sure the most elaborate and extensive sets and theater I've ever seen. The stage wrapped around the auditorium almost completely. Multiple sets would come out of the floor and rotate around. I had never heard the music before... I think it was an original score... so there wasn't that familiarity to it, but overall it was incredibly well done.  

After the show we went back by Wonderworks to eat at a restaurant called Gettin' Basted. Best food I think we had all week. I died over the poblano cream corn brulee!

Ended the night with the Hughes kids show! And of course.. Andys. The Hughes are LDS and the show was very down to earth. Talented kids. Not tons of pizzazz. 

Lots of lazy time watching Fuller House. Shelley went all out and planned a yummy, homemade breakfast! Pancakes for all!

We spent most of the day at the lake down the road. I think the kayaks came with the house rental so the kids had fun taking those around. But the real entertainment was this big, inflatable mat that they all wrestled on non-stop! Kids were getting thrown left and right. There was also a big trampoline that was fun but hard to get onto because of a broken ladder. Lindi was afraid of water snakes and all the convincing in the world wouldn't get her to go in. Finally, Grandpa agreed to walk in with her and all was well after that!

Right before dinner the kids switched to the pool. 

We had quite a wait for the Hard Luck Diner. Their waiters sing to you while you eat! While we were waiting outside, I recognized a girl from Tanner's Kindergarten class!! So funny! What are the odds?!

After dinner we went to see the Duttons! They were my favorite. Just really authentic, happy performers! They got in a line, each holding a fiddle and leaned over to play the one next to them!

Late Thursday night, reinforcements came! Aka, the husbands!! 

We spent Friday at Silver Dollar City. It's a really cute, woodsy-themed, amusement park. It was just also really hot and humid. Shelley, Grandma and I took Tanner and Della to do the little kid rides while the men took the older kids on all the high speed rollercoasters. Grandma was a saint and did the twirly swings and spinning tea cup rides haha! I was dizzy just watching! About midday, we found a place that was air conditioned and was filled with balls and those tube shooter things that the kids went nuts for. I laid down on a bench and plumb FELL ASLEEP. Like legit passed out. Apparently Tanner made friends with another kid and that kid's grandpa and when I woke up and found him he was shooting this grandpa with the guns and laughing and running around! I didn't know what to think haha. Bless kind strangers. I needed that nap.

We discovered this cinnamon bread at Dollywood several years ago and were thrilled to find out it was here too!! Must be a midwestern thing. After we ate our heart clogging calories, we went back to watch them make it. Just look at all that yellow margarine and how they roll it in a vat of sugar. I kind of wanted to hurl.

Cheers! Grandma bought everyone a cold drink.

Look how funny! We realized Grandpa and the uncles were all wearing their business hats haha! Concrete, teeth and Oil!

I only went on three fast rides. The first one was a 2 minute car accident. So rickety and jerky. I hated every second of that roller coaster. I was assured  the second one was fun. It was not. I was scared to death and felt like I was being hurled around violently. The Time Traveler however, was pretty fun.

On Saturday we weren't sure what to do but he kids loved the lake so much that got voted in again! We had the BEST pizza delivered for lunch and Shelley went dumpster diving for a chair that ended up having a hole through the seat, haha.

The kids liked putting the goggles on and exploring under the water. My favorite moment was when Collin popped out of the water FREAKED out, exclaiming there was some blubbery looking worm thing that he saw and was it a parasite?! He was completely grossed out and couldn't get out of the water fast enough. Next thing I know, Weston pops up from the same spot HOLDING that blubbery thing and showing us that it was just fishing bait!! Hahahaha!! That tells you everything you need to know about those boys. Weston had never been afraid of bugs. Collin saw it and ran but Weston straight picks it up out of curiosity.

We tried dinner at the Pickin' Porch inside Branson's Craft Mall and it was really yummy! Looking around at all the shopping was fun too. I bought a beautiful, wooden wreath for Easter!

Weston yanking out his tooth before the evening show just makes sense. We saw the Hughes again but this time it was the whole family performing. They even sang I'm a Child of God! The takeaway from Branson is that they are BIG on faith, family and patriotism. Every show we saw had at least one patriotic number. It felt like the most family oriented, God fearing place you could live. 

I don't know how our stomachs will adjust when we don't have Andy's every night.

On Sunday we went to church then drove to a Parlour Donuts! Mmmmmm! This are the best donuts! Then, after a lot of driving around trying to find it, we parked and walked through Branson Landing. It's a scenic boardwalk with tons of shops and a 7.5 million dollar water fountain show. Tanner had been begging for new shoes. The kind of Nikes that Della had been wearing all week. Well guess what Famous Footwear had in stock?! He was so happy.

On our way back to the house we had to pop into the Trump store. What a riot. 

We packed all our stuff up and cleaned out the kitchen then drove the hour back to the airport. The flight was delayed an hour but thankfully not canceled. We had such a great time in Branson! Who knew?! Memories to last a lifetime! Traveling with cousins and grandparents is the way to go!