This past weekend we took a little mini-vacation with some family to Branson, MO. There were aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, grandparents, brothers and Yakov Smirnoff. That was just the local hillbilly population.
We traveled down with B's mom's parents, Grandma B and Grandpa T, and met up with B's mom's Aunt M and Uncle D1 (there is something like 15 Uncle Ds on that side plus one on my side.) M and D1 also brought along their grandson Cousin C. We also met Cousin S, daughter of Aunt M and Uncle D1 and Aunt to Cousin C, her husband J and their two boys Cousins M and J. Confused? Trust me it wouldn't be any easier with names in there. All total there were 8 adults (if you count me, and that's a stretch) and 4 little boys.
We all shared a cabin/condo which turned out fantastic. There were four large bedrooms and each had it's own bathroom with Jacuzzi tub. For those wanting more here's the website: http://www.sunsetnightlyrentals.com/rentals/detail/Whispering-Woods-Lodge.html
From home to Branson is a 5 1/2 hour drive. This would be the first long test of our new SUV. We loaded that sucker up, I rigged up B's portable DVD player to the back of the passenger seat and away we went. B has been on a Cars kick lately so we were lucky enough to hear Cars on repeat in the back seat. It didn't take long for B to also figure out that he could kick the controls to the DVD player and thus a new game was born., How Many Times Will Dad Restart the Same DVD. The answer was, as many times as B wanted as long as it kept him happy. All in all B did very well in the car. No major meltdowns. We traveled for a couple of hours, stopped for lunch and after lunch B took a nap. We did make a couple of quick pit stops. One to pick up fireworks since they are legal in that part of the backwoods, but alas we forgot to give them to the boys later and they are now in my garage awaiting a slow day for me to remember they are there and be bored enough to light them off.
About an hour from Branson we got the call that the first party had arrived at the cabin. All reports were that it was awesome. The purpose of the call was to decide who got what room. Keep in mind all the rooms were the same except two were upstairs and two were downstairs. Luckily B's mom was driving and had just entered heavy traffic so she threw the phone in my direction. Before we could get into a debate about the acoustics of raised ceilings and the lack of any child protection along the staircase I made claims on an upstairs bedroom.
The first evening at the Cabin we all just settled in. The girls made a grocery run. We took the boys to the what we thought was the right pool (it was not.) We threw together an awesome pasta dinner and by request watched Cars on DVD. We also called the AC repairman since both AC units were not working. As the temperature in the cabin settled around 83 degrees we were informed that both units were frozen solid. Luckily the upstairs unit opened up pretty quickly and the AC guy was able to do his thing so the upstairs rooms were comfortable for the night. The AC guy also came back early the next morning to finish work on the second unit. It was unfortunate that we had that problem, but all things considered they were fixed quickly.
Saturday morning we all got up and ready and we headed off to Silver Dollar City. As far as amusement parks go, this one is definitely worth a visit. They have all kinds of crafts and demonstrations to watch, rides for big kids and small, shows and food. There's a little something for everyone. Plus it's in a heavily wooded area so there is plenty of shade. This was a good thing since we picked the hottest weekend of the year so far to go. We're talking record breaking heat wave for June here. By lunch time we all felt as if we had been on every water ride there. Sadly we had yet to ride any. That would change. Although the park was crowded the longest we had to wait in any line was maybe 15-20 minutes. Most lines were less than 5. Even the lines for the big roller coasters were short. So short in fact that after the first time B's mom, grandma and I rode one while grandpa was watching B, we hopped back in line and road it a second time before going back.
At one point B was so worn out that he took a quick catnap while Grandma and Grandpa took in a dog show. After his nap though he was ready to go.
Looking through the list of height restricted rides we noticed that the Log Ride was open to all with an accompanying adult. This led to B's first log ride.
Don't let the expression on B's face fool you. After the ride he was ready to go back and do it all again. He didn't care for the splashing part so much, but he was all smiles afterwards.
B had a good time. I figured we would make it half a day and then head back, but we ended up shutting the park down. I'm sure B would have stayed longer if he could.
That night we all came back to the cabin and had a cookout. Everyone was worn out. It was a good day.
The next day was a little dreary and rainy in the morning. This was good since everyone slept in a little. We all just rolled out of bed at our own pace. Once the boys were up and going a little more we took them over to a small playground to play a bit. B had a good time on the jungle gym while the bigger boys found a creek nearby to explore. The sun decided that it wasn't going to stay hidden forever and we decided it was time to head to the pool. This time we read through the information packet and found the pool we were supposed to go to. Turns out it was much better than the other pool. This was the first pool B had been in that had a shallow end shallow enough for him to walk on his own. Typically we just hold him in the water. He loves the water and the idea of being able to go on his own (sort of) was great. He played and played until he just couldn't take it anymore. If he didn't need to eat or sleep, I think he would still be in that pool.
After lunch we all got cleaned up and the boys went with Aunt M and Uncle D1 while the rest of us hit the golf course.
We were able to get a great deal to play at the semi-private course by our cabin. It was gorgeous. Since B's mom and I haven't been able to play for sometime now, our game was a little off. We all had some good shots. I still have the longest drives of our group, too bad we may never know where those shots ended up. I'm pretty sure that one hit a house. I've got to work on that slice.
I'm also not sure why they let me drive golf carts. In the past I have hit a tree with one. On this particular outing I missed all the trees. However I did manage to pull off a reverse 360. I was pretty sure the cart was going to flip. I was also pretty sure it was going to hurt. I've been told that the look on my face conveyed a number of emotions at the time. Mostly it was "Oh SHIT!" but I can't say for sure since I couldn't see myself. I can say that the cart didn't flip and I was still allowed to drive after that. Suckers!
After golf Aunt M and Uncle D1 took the older boys to see the Dixie Stampede show. The remaining girls took B and had some Mexican while the rest of us guys went for sushi. I was so excited to have some sushi again. I may have eaten my weight in sushi. I'm not sure.
The next day it was time to leave. We could have spent several more days there. Everyone had a great time. Next up I think we're going to try to hit Holiday World in Indiana. Looking over the website I think there would be even more that B could do there.
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