Sunday, on the way there, we stopped at the natural bridge somewhere in Arkansas. I got carsick on the way down the mountain, but it was worth it. Phyllis snapped this of the six of us.
My best friend Christa and her little girl Annalise came to see us and spent all of Monday with us. We had so much fun catching up and laughing and eating and swimming. It was awesome.
After a day spent at the condo all day on Monday, we had to get the kids out Tuesday. They were driving me bonkers! My list of things I wanted to do included seeing Table Rock Lake up close and personal and eating a yummy local lunch. The tamales you see pictured happened because we took a wrong turn trying to find a winery. They were delicious! We also ate pork rinds and fudge. We visited a fish hatchery, explored a campground toured a winery.
On Wednesday, we drove into downtown Branson and took the boys to ride go-karts. That night we went to the Sight and Sound Theater and saw Jonah, the production. It was amazing. The theater is beautiful and we all loved it! Jonah loved all the merchandise with his name on it~we bought him a cup while we were there.
Thursday we shopped. All day long. It was fun and the boys scored some new outfits from some of their favorite stores, like Under Armor, Nike and American Eagle. Thursday night we went to the Dixie Stampede. It was awesome and the boys and I loved it. I had never been to that, so it was a treat for me as well. After that was over, the boys wanted to stop and get their picture made with this giant elephant statue. Roll Tide. ;)
Friday was the day they had been (im)patiently been waiting for~Silver Dollar City. It was quite cool outside and guess who forgot their jackets? We bought sweatshirts for them all to wear, and I was glad we did. (I had a jacket, but it wasn't very warm. When Todd took his sweatshirt off, I wore it instead of the jean jacket I had worn.) Before we left, the weather turned drizzly. They all rode roller coasters and I watched. I'm such a fuddy dud...I can not stand heights or anything that spins. As in, they make me sick. But I had fun capturing lots of pictures. :) I love this picture of Phyllis and Wiley. They are as much fun to be with as it appears~I am so fortunate to have them in my life!
We got to see Christa and Annalise one more time before leaving, and this time her hubby Jason got to come with them. He was out of town on Monday. I love all these pictures~my boys fell head over heels in love with Annalise and so did Todd. I am so thankful I got to see them twice in one week! I miss Christa so much, and having her nearby. It did my heart lots of good getting to love on her.
We left Sunday morning and got home close to five last night. It was an amazing week, and our vacation plans for next year are already underway, this time to another place we've never been. Today will be spent playing catch up on housework and laundry and grocery shopping. I'm also almost finished with a book I started while we were away, and I want to finish it. I have to go to the library to return books and I have a week of work to plan for my kids. But we're starting tomorrow. Today I am enjoying extra cups of coffee and staying in my pj's for as long as possible. Tomorrow will come fast enough.
Love to all!
It was an awesome trip!!!! We loved every minute of it. We are so blessed that our kids want to have their family take vacations with us! You are very very special!!!! Looking forward to next year!
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