Branson Family Vacation

Wow, what a fun week! We highly recommend Branson as a vacation spot for all ages! We had a great time and we've only scratched the surface of what this location has to offer. We began with a trip to the Bass Pro Shop. What a magical father-son bonding experience, too cute! They were BOTH like little boys, running around looking at all the animals and making their noises, trying on fishing vests, picking out quite an impressive dream list of outdoor equipment. And of course, picking out the perfect picture for their souvenir penny.

We continued our adventures at the Dixie Stampede, full of wagon and horse and pig and chicken... and even Ostrich races! Ben asked to ride every animal he saw, over and over again! He's getting really good about giving us puppy dog eyes, but he doesn't stop there. He will get softer and sweeter and even take my face in his hands, pull it up close to his and whisper, "please mama"! "My ride horse, my ride PIG, MY RIDE OSSSTICH!" We feasted on yummy, although messy (since you use your hands-but you can still be proud Aunt Jackie because Ben was very adamant about keeping his clean after every bite...OCD just like you:)) chicken and biscuits while being entertained by comedians, singers and dancers! He had a great time waving his NORTH flag generously provided by Grandpa and Grandma who make sure that he has every necessary trinket to participate and fully enjoy each experience! Afterwards, we finally relented to his precious pleas and let him pick out his very own horse to take home. While riding his horse through the stables with Daddy after the show he decided to name him Clyde after a big black horse he met. We also went on the Branson Belle Showboat and dinner cruise! Ben was happily outfitted in a captain's shirt and hat by Grandma. He did an excellent job of being ogled by every other tourist and all the staff. He's extra handy to have around because not only was our service top notch (they even made him his very own serving of homemade mac and cheese which wasn't on the menu and despite us telling them that he would be just fine with the regular meal :)), but we also got invited to the Captain's wheel house. Very cool! And we got to feed HUGE carp off of the deck. Ben didn't totally understand the concept of the fish food machine at first and he threw his first quarter overboard when mommy said, "here you go Ben, now you can feed the fish"!

We played a few games of putt putt golf. Pirate Putt Putt was the favorite, which didn't surprise me since they offered Ben a pirate's hat to wear. And he thoroughly enjoyed all the "Arggggghs" and "Aye Aye Matty's" that Grandpa and Daddy encouraged him to say! We affectionately coined it toddler combat golf, since to keep things moving we kept playing regardless of where Ben decided to stand (like right in the way of your shot) or who's ball he decided to "help" move.

Here he is doing his best impressions of a pirate, flexing his muscles and saying "arrrrgh"!

We had a blast at the pool too... driving trucks (of course!), playing basketball, splashing in the fountains and playing follow the leader (a new favorite).





What a nice resort! They had all sorts of fun events like a campfire for smores.

Marc and I enjoyed many evenings out while Gmo and Gpo bonded with an adoring Ben. They colored and sang and danced and made up silly games and, of course, played trucks (and buses, and trains etc...). And I took the opportunity to school Marc in shuffleboard (I'm really just writing this to see if he actually reads through my whole blog entry, hee hee) and enjoy some slow walks where we talked and ate ice cream as opposed to answering hundreds of "how is that doing?" or "how is this going?" questions, convincing him why he should continue in the direction we have chosen and at the same boring speed the whole time without acquiring any new treasures (such as rocks or sticks or leaves or bugs) for our pockets and trying to protect a toddler and the world around him from his overzealous love for having, holding and licking his own ice cream cone!

Lastly, we went on a "very cool", according to Ben, train ride... that's a blog entry of it's own below! Needless to say, it was definitely a highlight of the trip!

And finally, we did all the other wonderfully normal things you should do on vacation, like enjoy lots of yummy meals out, perfect our card playing skills, catch up on sleep and the latest good reads and just celebrate our time together! Now we're refueled, recharged and ready for the exciting fall we have ahead!

love,

The Family Historian