Branson or Bust - Day 3

Our third day consisted of Silver Dollar City.  I forgot just how hilly that park really can be, so at points it was a real workout to push the kiddos in the stroller up those hills.

Us at the entrance.

Then my daughter and I went to jail.

We then escaped jail and found my son who was waiting for us on the get away carousel.

We then rode as fast as we could to meet up with my husband to catch a train to get us far away out of town.

We thought we were in real trouble though when the train was stopped by some robbers.  Thank goodness the train conductor had a gun.  He kept us from getting robbed!

We then ran to a maize of slides, ladders and net bridges to make sure we weren't being followed.

And finally we met up with this old jailbird who helped us escape the City of Silver Dollar!

It was a day full of adventure!

Branson or Bust - Day 2

So day two we rode the ducks.  And I tell you I wanted to ride these things because of the show Undercover Boss.  It turned out to be the most fun thing of the day.

Quack that Quacker!

Lance driving the duck and Lacey supervising

Our duck driver was Captain Gramps!  He was an amazing guide.  He was funny and educational all at the same time. 

He took us to one of the dam's on Table Rock Lake.  It was pretty amazing to see just how big it was.  The other thing that was hard to get over was how high the water was on one side and how low it was on the other.

Gramps also showed us the hatchery.  I was skeptical when my husband said he wanted to go, but after we got there I was having just as much fun as the kids.  You could pay $0.25 to feed the fish.  Now this wasn't like at the zoo where you pay $0.25 and get maybe ten pieces of food.  It was a good size hand full.  The fish were jumping all over the place to get some food.

Each of these caged pits were full of fish.

The fish were all sizes but they were the same size in each pit and there were several hundred fish in each pit.

After the hatchery then it was time to do some shopping.  We went into a leather shop with a guard by the name of Branson Bob.  I thought my daughter would freak out by the sight of him but all she did was say hi.  It made me laugh so hard I almost cried!

And last but not least on the shopping tour, we stopped at Dixie Outfitters because General Lee and Rosco's Sheriff's car was parked outside.  We then made our way inside where I purchased a pink 01 General Lee baseball cap.

We ended the day with pizza.  It was a fun filled day but a very tiring one too!  It is so much fun being on vacation!

Branson or Bust - Day 1

We started the day at home doing some last minute packing.  We left the house at 8 am and stopped by the farm to get a family picture taken.  I think we were all very excited to get the vacation started.

Then it was time to hit the road.  When we got to Pittsburg, KS it was lunch time so we stopped at Lincoln Park to have a picnic.  After lunch it was time for playing on the play ground.

After playing we were  back in the car for a couple more hours.  We saw some farmers working hard picking corn.

We then did some shopping at an outlet mall.  After that we went to Indian Point and drove around Table Rock Lake.  It was really pretty out around the lake.

Then we drove back into town and went to the hotel to get some much needed rest.  We can't wait to see what day two holds for us.

Andale's Summer Fest 2011

Every year Andale has a summer festival...hence the name Summer Fest!  They have a parade to begin the whole day of fun and activities.

While they are parading down main street they are throwing candy to the kids.  This was the first year that Lacey understood what that was all about and Lance was having a great time too picking up the candy.

As you can tell the older fellas got into the action as well!

It was just lots of fun to hang out with the kids and watch their little faces as fire trucks, tractors, and hot rods passed by.

After the parade was over then it was time to go to the park for more entertainment.

There was the petting zoo, vendors with silly string and funny hats and my favorite the food vendors.

All in all it was a great way to spend some much needed family time.

Family

Family means more to me than anything in this world.  I would do anything for my family and that even includes jumping in front of a bus.  One of the reasons for quitting my job was because I missed my family so much.  I was giving up precisous time with my kids and husband.  My days were full of work and driving and now I am glad that I can spend more time with them.

One of these great benefits is being able to babysit my niece/god daughter.  She is so sweet and very easy to take care of.

The kids can't get enough of their cousin.  And from what I can tell she doesn't mind them too much either.

I am so blessed that my inlaws trust me enough to watch her, and know that I will love her as much as I love my own kids.  I know that I was lucky to have my Great Aunt watch the kids when I was at work.  I never had to worry if the day care was taking care of my kids and giving them all the love and attention that I would give to them.  I automatically knew that my Aunt was loving them just as much if not more than me.  It is wonderful to have family be there for you when you need them.

The nicest part of taking care of my god daughter is that adding her to this family has been kind of fun.  You forget all the baby noises, sweet smiles and cute faces.  It brings back wonderful memories of when mine were little.  I can't belive how old they are already.  Time really does fly by.

From This

To This

And From This

To This

I am truely blessed!