Branson Trip

Its not easy anymore to find a weekend that works well for all of us to take a trip! Mama and Papa have been excited to take all the grandkids on a quick trip in the RV and we nailed down a weekend that would work for us to all go to Branson. Peyton had her 4th grade graduation in the morning at school and we all loaded up right afterwards to head out. The RV ride went much better than expected! It was loud and the kids were crazy at times but they actually were great at laying down, watching movies, and playing games for the majority of the trip. We only stopped once to switch drivers and then we were back on the road. Matt got off at noon and caught up to us in my car by the time we got there. 

We knew it would be a short weekend and we didn't have a ton of time so as soon as we checked in to the Grand Country Resort we changed into swimsuits and went straight to the water park. The kids were in awe!!! Even though we have been before, its been a few years (Lisa was pregnant with Gunner and Hudson was 2) so the kids had forgotten what it was like. The boys were complete maniacs in the play area and the girls seemed to like the lazy river and the hot tub the most! Hudson was tall enough for everything this year so he got to follow right behind the big girls and ride all the slides this year.

After we had enough swimming we changed clothes and headed over to the arcade for pizza and some games. We tried not to make it a really late night since we were getting up early for Silver Dollar City but the kids were having so much fun it was hard to make them leave! We bowled, played laser tag, and my kids loved a mission impossible game where you had to try and make it through a maze without getting hit by a laser. 

The next morning we had a yummy buffet breakfast to get energized for a long day at Silver Dollar City. After this trip it still remains my favorite amusement park (besides Disney!). So kid friendly, but still fun for adults. And they have some of the best rollar coasters around...although I'm really not the most adventurous. It was so fun that Hudson could ride everything Hadley was able to ride this time!

Watching the glass blowers. This lasted about 5 minutes before they were bored out of their minds!

The swings were Hadley's favorite! She liked the rollar coasters but got a little scared on a couple. Hudson seemed to like the rollar coasters best. He liked the swings as well but didn't like me telling him to hold on the entire time.

Hudson and the boys in kiddie land while the girls rode the swings again. They loved riding on the bugs!

This was in the new section dedicated to firefighters. It is so cool. There is a big indoor playground and then outside there are tons of firefighter themed rides. There was even a store with all sorts of firefighter gear.

We had some exhausted kids after a full day! Thankfully, they had an absolute blast and the weather was perfect. We finished the day with a log ride to cool us off and the kids were asleep the second the car started. They got a quick 30 minute nap before we woke them up to eat dinner at a diner. The food was good but the dessert can't be beat!

Saturday was almost wrapped up. We made it back to the water park again for a little more swimming. Then we finished the trip with a little more time at the arcade. We stayed up way later than we planned since we had to get up so early but the kids were having too much fun!

Now to brag on Hadley a little bit. As I mentioned, it was so difficult to find a weekend that worked for everyone and unfortunately, the only one we found happened to be the same weekend as her dance recital. Her recital times were 12, 3, and 6 and we just prayed she would be assigned the latest one. As luck would have it, she was put in the 12:00 and the 3:00 show! Bummer. So we had to get up at 5 am and get on the road to make it home in time! Hadley never complained one time about having to leave the trip a little early, with all her cousins still there to play the next day, and having to ride home in a car rather than the RV. She knew the commitment she had made to dance was important and I was so proud of her for being mature about it and taking care of her responsibilities!

I don't many pics but on Sunday Hudson got to stay behind to go ride race cars and visit some shops on the strip before heading home. He had a great time with his cousins and Im thankful to be able to leave him with family to have fun while we had a day of dance at home!

One last thing...here are 2 comparison pics exactly 3 years apart!

We are very thankful for Mama and Papa paying for such a fun trip for us and wanting us to all be together. It was a quick weekend but such a fun one!