Branson, last but not least

Paul’s conference was held at Big Cedar Lodge, which is in beautiful Ozark country.

View of Table Rock Lake from the conference center.

We saw a lot of these limestone cliffs while driving through the state of Missouri. Beautiful!

~

We spent the better part of a day at Silver Dollar City, which is an amusement park along with a quaint 1880s Ozark Mountain Village complete with lots of demonstrating craftsmen.

Ready to go for a ride!

Ryan really liked these swings!

~

Paul’s favorite part of the trip was Outlaw Run. He said it was the best roller coaster he’s ever been on, and he’s been on a few. He took a seat way in the back…

and off he went!

The kids weren’t sure what to think! ; )

 

Paul definitely got his fill of roller coasters that day… here he goes on Wildfire! 

 

Evan & Kara decided they wanted to try a roller coaster, too…


Here they are on Powder Keg!

(It might be a little while before they try another big one ; )

 

 
Just pretending! : )

 

Haha! : )

 

 
Here they are on a kiddie coaster

 

The elephant ride

 

The tea cups.
(Paul had been on quite a few spinning rides at this point. ; )

 

The carousel

 

Family photo

 

Just the two of us

 

Just for fun : )

Branson, part 2

While Paul was at his conference, we had lots of fun swimming at the hotel.

1…2…3… Jump!

Ryan thought the sauna was his own little house. : )

~

We also played some mini golf…

The kids weren’t too sure about this erupting volcano,
especially when one of the holes took us right into it!

Ryan had a good time golfing : )

~

Since none of us had ever been to Arkansas, we drove there one afternoon…

and since there wasn’t anything to do in that particular area,
we turned around and came right back into Missouri. ; )

~

Luke’s favorite part of the trip was the Dixie Stampede.
No photos allowed during the show, but here you see the arena as we were leaving.

We were served an amazing meal while watching riders on horseback perform in front of us. We were each served the food pictured below, and the interesting thing was that
NO silverware is provided. You’re just supposed to enjoy good ol’ southern cooking with your fingers! (I think our kids might have preferred chicken nuggets, but it was a good experience for them anyway. ; ) And everything was delicious!

~

Evan’s favorite part of the trip was the go-karts.
Wild Woody is four stories tall, and feels like an oversized wooden roller coaster!

Hard to get a good picture as they went by, but there go Evan, Paul, & Luke.

 

This was one of Ryan’s favorite parts of the trip, too.
He still gets pretty excited when he talks about the “big blue go-karts.” : )

 

 
Kara & Luke all set to go on the regular track

 

 
Evan & I going for a spin

~

Jenna’s favorite part of trip was the Titanic Museum. It looked like the ship from the outside, and inside there were many Titanic artifacts and stories of its passengers.

Each of us was given a “boarding pass” of an actual person on the Titanic,
and we were able to follow their stories throughout the museum.
It was fascinating!

 

Here we are in front of the replica of the grand staircase.

 

The photographer there insisted that Paul & I pose this way…
Made me feel quite ridiculous, but it’s good for a laugh anyway. ; )

~

That’s all for this time.
One more Branson post coming soon…

Back from Branson

Our kids had a few days off of school last week, and we headed to Branson, Missouri,
so Paul could attend a conference, and we could spend some time there as a family.
We had a great time and (as usual) took way too many pictures!

There certainly is something for everyone in Branson.
We each had different a different favorite part of the trip!

 

Hanging out in the hotel lobby with Smoky the Bear, who actually talked to us
(thanks to the hotel staff behind the desk! ; )

 

Ryan & Luke just waking up. Big smiles!

 

It’s become a family tradition to “Ride the Ducks” when we have the opportunity.
You can see us in the front window of this one!

Notice Kara’s “quacker”… the kids each got one, and they made for a noisy ride home! ; )

 

Beautiful view of Table Rock Lake from the Duck

 

This Duck tour was unique in that we were not only able to ride through the scenic Ozarks and splashdown into the lake,
but we also were able to see a private collection of US military vehicles.
Very interesting!
 
                 Weasel                                        Artillery Transport M5 Tractor


DUKW amphibious vehicle & trailer

 
                  Deuce & a Half                      Larc-V Amphibious Cargo Vehicle

 

 
Each of the kids got a turn driving the Duck out on the lake.
(Ryan was not interested in having his picture taken while driving, however.)

 

 

The highlight of the trip for me was going to see the Duttons!
I remember seeing them a few times when I was young,
but now they live in Branson and rarely do shows in our area.


The Duttons are a large family with amazing musical talent.
Here you see some of them playing their instruments behind their backs!

 

Cousin Julio was an incredibly funny part of the show.
He played horns of different sizes with different parts of his body.
We weren’t allowed to record the show, but if you are interested, you can view a youtube clip of Julio playing his horns here - http://youtu.be/lc4RjGlwDh4?t=8s

 

Here are Dean & Sheila Dutton with five of their seven children, and many of their grandkids who are part of the show.
My favorite Dutton song of all is “Boil 'Em Cabbage Down.”
You can watch a clip of it here - http://youtu.be/fmBbkZaOAuQ.
Watch closely what they do during the last minute of the song – it is amazing!

~

That’s all for Branson photos for now…
more coming soon! : )