Branson trip

We took a vacation with my parents over Memorial Day weekend to Branson, Missouri, and had an awesome time! The girls and I left last Wednesday afternoon with my parents and then spent the night in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. We drove the last leg of the trip Thurs. morning and arrived in Branson around 1:00. After naps, we headed down to a really nice shopping and restaurant area just below our hotel called Branson Landing. After some shopping, we had dinner at Macaroni Grill on the patio overlooking the lake. Then we ran over to the fountains to catch one of the shows where the fountains "dance" to the music. They have a big fountain show with lights and everything later at night, but my kids have to go to bed too early for that-- maybe next time :) After a little walk up and down the pier and playing at the playground by Joe's Crab Shack, we headed in for the night.

Avery and "Mimi" checking out her new princess jewelry box from the Disney store
"Poppi" and Kendall
shopping at Branson Landing
Kendall drove the ice cream truck and Avery took orders

taking a break from jumping on the bed to play with the new princess jewelry

After Kendall's AM nap Friday, we drove over to Silver Dollar City (amusement park) and spent a few hours riding the kiddie rides, watching the craftsman in the shops, and listening to some musical performances. We also ate off tin plates and cups in a "cave" as Avery called it. It was a restaurant that was set up to look like a mine. That night we went to a local pizza place for dinner and I took Avery swimming. Scott flew in to Springfield that night, and then made the one hour drive over to Branson and got in about 11:00. Saturday morning Scott took Avery back to Silver Dollar City to ride some more rides while Kendall took a nap and my parents went to the Amish store. Scott even convinced Avery to ride the big swinging boat, although she didn't like it too much! She preferred the teacups, elephants, swings and little roller coaster. The rest of us joined them later for some more rides, lunch, and music. After naps that afternoon, Scott and I took Avery to see the Noah Musical. They had some live animals and many convincing animatronic ones, plus a 40 ft. high ark, so it was a pretty impressive show. After meeting my parents and Kendall for dinner, they took the girls back to the hotel and Scott and I went to the Pierce Arrow show, which was a variety show with singing and comedy. It was a good show and we had a really great time on our little Branson date.

family pic at Silver Dollar City

Avery and Scott rode the pirate ships 4 or 5 times I think

the teacups were one of her favorites

We left midmorning on Sunday and headed for Tulsa to spend the night. We went straight to the Oklahoma Aquarium when we got there, which the girls really liked. I think their favorite part was running around in the shark tunnel, especially after being in the car all day. After dinner at Red Robin and a good night's sleep (the girls actually slept until 8:00!), we headed back home to Ft. Worth. Whew! We had a great time, but it was action packed and we are definitely glad to have our own beds back to help us catch up on some sleep!

The Oklahoma Aquarium in Tulsa

sister love!