Surprise!

Branson, MO

For Fall Break, Granny & PawPaw took us on a wonderful trip to Branson, MO!

We pick JC up as soon as he could leave work (here we all are, waiting in the car for him) and we hit the road. I think we finally found our cabin sometime after 11 p.m.


This cute little squirrel was curled up on the front porch of our cabin when we got up on Thursday.

And here's our cabin that slept 14 (or more!). Aaron & Hilerey joined us on Thursday.

After breakfast, we took the short trip down the street to Silver Dollar City. Here we are on the very cold tram ride to the front.

They sure do a great job decorating for fall. I can't imagine what Christmas looks like. Everything was SO beautiful!


Here are the cold boys standing in front of the humongous cornucopia filled with giant pumpkins.

Right off the bat, we saw the North Army. Cameron got signed up right away!

Brendan, JC, Granny, Cameron & PawPaw rode the kid size roller coaster. Cameron did not like it. Not too sure about the rest of them either. Alexander was having fun though!

Cameron rode several rides but didn't enjoy most of them. I think he's actually smiling here.

We hurried to see the guy who makes knives. Interesting.

Last stop for the day was the Marvel Cave.

It was a little nerve wracking to me - but once we were inside, it was so fascinating.

God's beauty, hidden so deep in the earth, yet still so wonderful!

While waiting for dinner at McFarlain's, we watched fudge being made. The best part was the samples!

Friday found us back at Silver Dollar City. If the caves were my favorite of day 1, the steam train was my favorite of day 2.

Not because the train ride was particularly exciting but they had these skits when you got to the back side of the park. They were hilarious! Especially the part where they had audience participation and apparently the audience member said the wrong thing. The 3 guys looked a little dumbfounded and then said, "well, that's not really in our script"...and then began ad libbing in the most hilarious way! We all had some serious laughs!

Good treats from SDC

On our way to dinner on Friday, we drove by this beautiful bridge. The colors in Branson were so pretty. And just for laughs, here's a great picture of Cameron. He spilt his drink on his shirt and didn't want to be wet. Here's his solution. Now mind you, we were in a pretty fancy steak house! He enjoyed playing with his Tomahawk from SDC.

Saturday, we ventured out to the Shepherd of the Hills tower.

Here are the views from up top

Our last event for the trip was the Branson Belle, a paddle boat.

I think the ride was a bit over two hours. They fed us an amazing 3 course meal and the entertainment was so much fun. If I remember correctly, they (4 entertainers) did 20 songs AND 20 outfit changes in 11 minutes!!!

Here are the guys with the Captain of the ship.

There was also a ventriloquist with his dogs. He was quite funny!

And Sunday morning, we ate an enormous breakfast at Cracker Barrel and headed home. Thanks, Granny & PawPaw for such a fun trip.

Cameron, today, in the bath was crying because he wanted to be back at the cabin, making pancakes for PawPaw (out of suds).

More Weekend Pictures

We had a fun-filled weekend with family & friends at Red Rock Canyon! Here are just some of the great moments caught on camera:

Taelyn & her silly grin


Gramma & Papa loaned Cameron & Bella their headlamps. They loved running around with them on!


Aren't they stylin'?



Here they are snuggling with Gramma & Papa around the fire

Roasted marshmallows!

Who can resist those blue eyes??? Jackson was a fine boy, enduring the cold perfectly!

Taelyn LOVED playing in the dirt!

Isn't our boy a cutie?

Cameron really thought he was going rappelling!

Here he is listening intently as Mike gives instructions!

Cameron told me "that makes me very sad" when we finally told him he couldn't rappel. He was truly sad. We had to divert his attention to keep him from crying!

Bren's first trip down

Taelyn's "Funny Face"

Cam liked helping Papa belaying

Isabella, Brooklyn and Cameron played for hours in the dirt!

S'more time! Cam kicked back in Aunt Lyn's chair eating a Hershey bar!

Gramma's cake for Bren...we couldn't get the candles lit because it was too windy!

Birthday Boy

This morning we took Cameron up the back side of the canyon to the spot where the boys were rappelling from. It was a fun hike and it helped warm us all up!

A view from top