Branson on the 4th

For the 4th my family took a vacation to Branson with my Mom and Dad, my brother and his girlfriend, the four of us, and our friend Taylor. We left on Wednesday and didn't come home till late on Saturday. It was great to be away. We stayed at this resort place in a condo with 2 kitchens, two bathrooms, two master bedrooms, two huge living rooms with pullouts and a big balcony. It was very nice. Here are some pics...we didn't take too many great ones, but it'll give an idea.

We played at the park while my parents were horn-swoggled into buying a time share. I am certainly not complaining as I get to partake in the benefits without the financial burden! :) We also played in the indoor and outdoor pools on the property. Creighton is absolutely fearless with the pool/water. She is just a natural. Or a fish. One of the two.

We went to Silver Dollar City ON JULY 4th. Not too smart if you don't want it to be crowded. But I guess all things considered it wasn't too bad. The last two hours it was opened weren't bad at all. I think everyone was racing back into town to eat/see a show/watch fireworks. We started off immediately with some rides. Jackson and Nonna riding one of the many many rides we rode that day. I love riding rides though. It was fun. I ran into someone I graduated HS with there with her 3 little girls. That was weird but fun.
This picture of Taylor and Creighton made me laugh. They are making the same silly face. Jeff and Taylor played with Creighton because she was too little to ride the rides. Although we did find two later in the day she could ride. She was not a happy camper that Bubba could ride and she couldn't. We get a little spoiled with Kiddie Park rides :)

We got to meet Curious George which was very fun for both kids. Creighton just calls him "munnnnkeeee" but she loves him all the same. Except she was very afraid of him until the end when she leaned over and kissed him unprovoked/solicited by anyone. Funny girl she is! Jackson was not afraid of him at all--was giving high-fives and kisses and hugs and all sorts the whole time.

Jeff and Jackson REALLY REALLY enjoyed this very fun place house full of flying (very soft) balls and guns (that shoot the balls) and climbing things and all sorts of fun activities to keep them occupied. Creighton decided she was hungry though so I nursed her while the boys were playing. One of the most exciting things (for Jackson and Creighton) was getting to Bob and Larry "Live"

Sweet girl in line...

We got to "meet" Bob and Larry after the show...

Jackson and I hula hooping! I still can do it...it's been a LONG time...wasn't certain. He got bored with that VERY fast. Shocked Jeff got a pic...and he got 2
If only I had a real one of these some days...JK

We rode the Ducks on one of the busiest days of the year! Those little quackers that they give you are so annoying but my kids ate them up. At least for the first 20 minutes of the dead stopped traffic. After that, everyone was HATING them...even the kids.

We sat in good 'ole Branson traffic forEVER in order to get to the actual "ride". It was awful. The driver said he thought that it was a record. I think because Branson's 2nd busiest time of the year is 4th of July and we tried to do it that day, it was inevitable...but still. It was just crazy HOW long it took. So, we tried to occupy the kids with lots of things including the camera and so we have 22 pictures of my dad with this same pose taken by Jackson :)

They let all the little kids drive the Duck once we are in the water (over an hour into the trip). Jackson was the first one up there. There were several kids on board but he wasn't afraid and led the pack. I think he was the youngest besides Creighton, too. Way to go Jax!

The girl canNOT stay awake in the car. As soon as we got through traffic she was OUT. She slept the ENTIRE time except when we headed back to the strip to get off the Ducks. So she only saw traffic and start stop the whole time. Oh well...

So we let her "drive" the Duck at the end of the trip...she wouldn't have known the difference one way or the other, but she felt special anyway.

My dad and Rae Rae. She loves taking boys' hats and putting them on her head!

After we left Branson we headed to the BOOMing metropolis of Lampe, Mo., where K-2, K-7 and K-West are. We saw lots of friends and had great conversations and then hit the road for home. It was a great trip. I was only sad because we didn't get a BIG family picture...not ONE.