BRANSON TRIP: HIGHS & LOWS, PART 1

This last week of summer is almost over.  What the what.  We decided to go out with a bang and spend it in Branson with some of my family.  We had wanted to go to the beach, but after our earlier trips this summer and all of the screaming in the car, we decided that driving 3 hours > driving 9.5 hours.  Branson may not be super exciting, but it is pretty close, so it has that going for it.  Here are our highs and lows.

High:  Our trip there was relatively and surprisingly scream free.  Since our expectations were at rock bottom, we were very pleasantly surprised!



Low:  The first night we were there, both twins did a lot of screaming in the night.  I think they were making up for the time they lost screaming in the car.  However, since our expectations were pretty low for this as well, we weren't really surprised.  All of our kiddos were up super early that first day.



High:  It rained our first morning there, and this ushered in a "cool front" of sorts that was so refreshing and unexpected.  We swam in the rain, much to everyone's enjoyment.  The kiddos LOVED pushing John in, and he was a great sport about it.

(this picture was before we headed down.  Because safety first, obvs.)

High:  We hit up mini-golfing, since the girls have wanted to do this for quite some time.  It was a hit, though as John pointed out, it seemed a little more like hockey than mini-golf.

Low:  In a bizarre turn of events, I thought it would be fun to do the Bumper Boats.  Not for one moment did I realize or imagine that I would get soaked.  Thankfully, the kiddos had a lot of fun.  As did my step-dad, Wes.  And John and Luke.  Really, I was the only one who wasn't exactly thrilled with being sopping wet at the end of this little adventure.





Low:  On Tuesday, we branched out to something we've never done in Branson.  We went to Ride The Ducks.  We made a slight miscalculation in timing our arrival and also trying to get coffee and very nearly ended up being late and missing our departure.  It was a stressful 20 minutes as we tried to get everyone parked and to the giant Duck on time.  We barely made it.



High:  Riding the Duck turned out to be really fun for everyone.  We toured the College of the Ozarks and took a ride in Lake Taneycomo.

(Ellen was in the splash zone when we headed into the water.  I was glad it was her and not me that time.)

Low:  We rounded out our outing with lunch at Joe's Crab Shack that somehow took forever, even though it wasn't very busy.

High:  Despite it taking way too long, the children did pretty well.  Thankfully, they had room to roam and extra entertainment.




It was a great trip to be together, though it must be said that not every moment on a family trip is enjoyable.  However, the sum seems to be greater than the parts, and we had a great time!  More to come tomorrow!