Dixie Stampede & Polar Express!

The Branson Scenic Railway turns into the Polar Express every winter. These tickets are hard to get, especially if you want to ride it on weekend evenings. I considered taking the boys last year but it did not work out. I made a plan back in the spring when tickets went on sale to get them, and Drew agreed to spend a night in his most favorite place in the world. 

We went all out and had dinner at the Dixie Stampede before the later train at 8:15pm, where they served us cookies and milk. It was cute and fun. They follow along with the story of the Polar Express the whole time. A little cheesy for our liking, but Griffin and Cooper enjoyed it, so that's all that mattered. 

Timing was perfect to change into our jammies and head to the train which departed right beside our hotel. The train actually traveled down real tracks, so at minimum you can say that you rode an actual passenger train if you didn't like anything else about it. There was quite a bit of Christmas lights to look at and we actually "arrived at the North Pole" where Santa boarded and took pictures. Cooper was shy, but Griffin had a lot to say. 

 

 

 

Annual Branson Weekend

Since Griffin has come along, we've started an annual weekend trip to Branson.  Last weekend was the 2013 version, and although the first year was fun.....it doesn't compare to how much fun Griffin is able to have now!

We started on Saturday at Silver Dollar City. Also there were the Watson family and the Carmans. This allowed us to ride rides and have a great time. The highlight was going to be the train ride that goes through the park. After waiting nearly an hour, we found out that the train broke down and needed repaired. What a bummer. Amazingly, Griffin was okay with that and apparently got enough enjoyment out of hearing/seeing it. 

on the drive down......I love this happy little boy

much different on the frogs this year, he jumped in and grabbed
the bar not caring if I was even behind him

"I like this one!"

Meagan rode the butterflies

wheeee!

when I refer to the Watson children, this is them!
Westlee, Makalah, and Meagan

Tammy took him to the carousel while we waited for the train

Silver Dollar City was hot and exhausting, but we refreshed at the hotel and had a nice dinner at the mexican restaurant on the landing. I have always wanted to see a Cirque show, so when I saw that a "branson version" called Cirque Montage was playing at a theatre I bought us tickets online. It was verrrrrrrrrry interesting. I think Drew was ready to leave at intermission, he said something about having nightmares. Griffin sat on his lap the entire time, and even high-fived several of the performers when they came into the audience. 

elevator ride after a long day!

We spent day #2 at White Water. As I expected, little water baby Griffin had a ball. It was a cloudy day but hot/humid and actually more enjoyable that if the blazing sun was out. We planned to meet the Watson family here also. I had a blast riding the rides with Westlee and Makalah, good times!

the water in the little kids' area was COLD

note to self: never buy a water camera again
all of the stripey photos came from it

wave pool, a big hit! he especially loved almost being knocked over

first photo bomb ever.....and it's a good one

silly girls!

running through the water spouts

hard to stand up!

Weekend in Branson

We experienced a lot of "firsts" this weekend. We have no plans to take a real vacation this year, so I convinced Drew to have a couple overnight stays during my week off of work. The first mini-trip was to Branson, our first time staying overnight there. It seemed a little strange, since we frequented the city so much on school trips as kids, but we had a really nice time. 


Our first stop was White Water. This was Griffin's first "swimming" experience. We anticipated he would enjoy it since he LOVES his baths. Although you can't really tell by these pictures, we were right. He splashed and sat down in that cold water, enjoyed attention from other kids, refused to wear a hat, it was a lot of fun. It's bound to be even more of a hit when he is walking and can run around. 

Let's do this!

I see the entrance....can we go?

Shrieking with excitement!

"Already picking up chicks" says Drew

Mom caught me during a blink.....but look at my teeth!

We stayed at Hilton down on the Branson Landing and really enjoyed all of the shopping and good food. It allowed us to be on the go with Griffin in the stroller and walking around seeing things, instead of him being in the car seat. Another first......Griffin enjoyed his bath in a jacuzzi tub! I had to get in as well to keep up with him and take care of business. Momma needs a tub like that at home!

Our final stop was Silver Dollar City. Griffin is a huge "people-watcher" so the fact that he couldn't ride any rides didn't really bother him. Note to self: when he becomes 36", it's game on! We made a big loop checking out shops and looking around. It turns out, Griffin cracks up at the "put your face in the hole for picture" boards--see below. It must be the peek-a-boo-ness of them. We would go behind and before I could even get his face in the hole he would be giggling hysterically.  

I like watching people.....

Mommy is trying really hard to get us both in place

We had a very nice weekend. Big thanks to my parents who took care of Duke for us. We had nothing to worry about and were able to enjoy ourselves. Next weekend will be another adventure!