A family trip to Branson

Have you ever been to Branson during Christmas? Put it on your Bucket list if you haven't.  I went years ago with my parents and sister one Summer and fell in love with the town. But put Branson and Christmas together and it becomes this magical Santa-land. It was absolutly awesome and I highly recommend for everyone to do it once in their lifetime.

This trip was exciting for us because we were taking a mini Christmas trip to meet up with my husband's siblings. We had not seen them since we moved to KC back in September. This is the longest we have gone without seeing them.

 We rented a cabin right smack in the middle of down town. So we were close to everything. There are so many fun family activities, lots of shopping,  amazing restaurants and of course,  Silver Dollar City.


Due to my husband's work schedule, we got in late Friday night. I was bummed about this because I hate being the last person to arrive. I feel like I'm missing out on all the fun. The drive there seemed to take forever. Once we finally arrived, everyone was already comfy cozy in their PJ's and a big bowl of Chili was ready for us to eat. The kids had fun running around and exploring the cabin.

I was so excited to get my hands on those active little twins. My little Lilly Bug was glued to me for the rest of the weekend. She is an Aunt Dorothy 's Girl all the way and it totally melts my heart. However, sometimes the little Arlee Bug get extremely jealous!

After we put the kiddos to bed we stayed up talking for a bit, then we watched a movie. The next morning we got the kids bundled up and went to a local Pancake House and enjoyed a yummy fattening breakfast. Then, we dropped the kids off with the men folk back at the cabin and we girls enjoyed some long over-due shopping time!

And of course, we had to have matching shirts!

After the Kids had a good nap we loaded up and headed to Silver Dollar City. Not knowing what to expect or how cold it would be, I brought a wagon and packed it up with blankets. Good thing too, cause it was freezing!

Most of the rides were closed due to the cold weather, but luckily, a few of the kids rides were up and running and Arlee and Jackson had a blast.

Below is a picture of Arlee in a Bounce House, it was pretty challenging for an adult. You had to crawl through very small spaces, dodging tons of hyper screaming kids, all while trying to keep  up with a 3 year old who refuses to wait on you. The kids loved it, but none of us adults were crazy about this one

While we were there we found out they would be having a Rudolph the Red- Nose Reindeer Parade. We were told the parade started at 5. So, we found perfects seats and we waited, and waited and waited. Don't know if you have ever done this with children...you know, freeze your fannies off and tell kids to keep waiting....well, the parade never happened. The twins were past the "I'm Tired" mark and we were all so cold. We found out that the parade didn't actually start till 7....ugh. So, that was our sign it was time to leave and get warmed up and find some dinner.

The sight there a simply spectacular at night and the Christmas music was so festive and fun....pictures and words never do somethings justice. Even though it was cold, it was so much a wonderful day. 

We found a fun little pasta place and to our luck they had a special guest that night. The kids were all excited to see Santa until the little girl in front of us pitched a fit and screamed the whole time and that did it in for our kids. So, Sarah and I got to be a kid again and talk to Santa too. 

That evening we go snug as a bug in our matching PJs , took some fun pics and made Gingerbread House....oh the memories!

Imagine all that sugar right before bedtime!!!!!

The next morning we had a lazy morning and enjoyed pancakes in our pjs. We got ready and went to an outdoor mall. It was very misty but at least the rain held off untill the very end of our shopping. We stopped for lunch at a seafood restaurant and the kids enjoyed a little more playtime.

All to soon we said goodbye to Jessica and Tanner and the rest of us headed back to the cabin. We started to packing up process and before we knew it, it was time to leave. 

Living 9 hours away from our family makes goodbyes a little harder. But knowing we would see all these faces again in a week made it somewhat easier....