Summer Vacation, Part II

In addition to our fun at Silver Dollar City, we did a lot of other things that were great for the kids in Branson. And, of course, we shopped a little bit and ate a lot.

 

More Silver Dollar City photos:

 

 

 

 

I took the girls for a special date night to see the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid--that was my surprise treat for them! We met my cousin Cody and his family at the show and had a great time visiting with them afterwards. While the girls watched the show, the boys played some mini golf. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of either!

 

We spent a small fortune at The Track letting the kids ride go carts for the first time. We also had a big splash in the bumper boats and lots of giggles in the bumper cars.

 

 

 

 

 

Ironically, after all the activities and all the money spent, the kids' most favorite thing to do is just swim in the pool. We could have skipped everything else and they would have been just as happy! Our condo has a great outdoor pool--that we always had to ourselves--and a huge indoor pool/hot tub combo that we visited late one night. Midnight swimming on vacation is the best!

 

 

 

Summer Vacation, Part I

Last month, the Bramells hit the road for a little family togetherness. We decided to keep it close to home and easy on the wallet this year, so we headed to Branson. Surprisingly, we figured out how to pack a whole lot of fun into just a few days.

 

Knowing that we weren't planning an extravagant vacation this year, we bought the kids season passes to Silver Dollar City earlier in the spring. We spent a day and a half there--the second day we stayed from open to close! I'd say we've already got our money's worth. We figured out that our kids looooove to ride the rides. Luckily, since most schools had just let out, it wasn't very crowded and the lines were short.

 

Big Sis has always been a fan of the Thunderation roller coaster, but this year, prepped herself for her first ride on the big daddy Outlaw Run. And once was enough, but she was a trooper! The twins were finally big enough to ride Thunderation with Dad and they both loved it, too. They are pretty adventurous little turkeys, but they each found a ride or two they didn't like.

 

On our first day in the park, we went on the tour of Marvel Cave. Of all the years going to SDC with my family, I don't think I've ever been in the cave. It was fantastic! And it's free (included in the park price, that is). I totally recommend taking the cave tour if you haven't. It lasted about an hour and held the kids' attention really well. Make sure you wear good, sturdy shoes and take a potty break before starting the tour.

 

Here are a few photos of our fun day at SDC. I have lots more to post when I get caught up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I know that this won't be our last trip to The City this year, so we'll definitely get more use out of those season passes. Stay tuned for more posts about our Bramell Family Fun.

Branson Trip in Photos

I didn't take many photos on this trip mainly because it was a beautiful day and we were having too much fun to stop for pictures. Also, we split up a lot of the time so we were all scattered around the park.  Enjoy our photos!

And, if you are looking for a great Christmas activity with the family, Silver Dollar City is our pick! It's expensive, but worth it.

Twin Tuesday: Who Pooped in the Pool?

The face of trouble.

This is a story about our dear, sweet little Boy Twin.  Today's lesson:  do not turn your back on him.  We spent this past weekend at a condo in Branson enjoying the beautiful fall weather.  Saturday morning, my sister and I took the kids to the indoor pool to play before heading to Steal Your Dollar City.  My kids are like little fish; they love the water!  We went back and forth between the pool and hot tub, and played a mean game of beach ball toss.

As we were gathering up our things to leave, I caught Mr. Mischievous throwing a handful of the landscaping rocks into the shallow end of the pool.  I was already dressed, so I couldn't go in and get them.  I tried to get Big Sis to do it, but she couldn't figure out how to stay under water long enough to retrieve them.  I figured it was not a big deal, scolded the kid and sent the little ones out to the playground with Aunt TP.  Meanwhile, I took Big Sis into the locker room to dry off and change.

As we came back into the pool area, I noticed that the other families who had been in the pool were about to leave.  I guess the pool was not fun without us.....yep.  As I walked over to our table, all 10 people in their group start yelling at me, "Don't get in the water! There's poop in the pool!"  It took me all of a second to realize that those brown rocks Boy Twin threw into the water looked like perfectly formed poop logs on the bottom of the pool.  I quickly explained to the parents what Boy Twin had done.  The mom gave me the "I understand because I have four kids" look, and they all jumped right back in with a big joyful splash.  I, however, grabbed our bags and got the heck out of there.