Sunday, June 16, 2013

Silver Dollar City

When I was a kid, we went to Silver Dollar City just about every year. My sister accurately described it as a "redneck Disneyworld." As harsh as that sounds, it's very true. But, not the bad kind of redneck... :-) It's in the middle of the Ozarks in Branson, Missouri- so it's a beautiful setting in the hills, with lots and lots of trees. It's perfect for all ages- there's wonderful bluegrass-type shows, super fun roller coasters, neat crafts to watch (we watched a glass-blowing demonstration, and it was SO COOL), yummy "fair" food to consume, and really interesting "period" settings to explore (they have a one-room schoolhouse to see how it looked back in the day, as well as small village set up to be just like in the early 1900's. very cool).
Anyway, we decided to go there with my sister and her girls and my parents after our camping trip...sort of a last few days together before my sister moved to Houston the following week. It's only a 3 hour drive from my parent's house in OK, so it was perfect. 
We rented a huge house only 1 mile from SDC, and it was AMAZING. After we got to the house, we went out to explore a little. The houses at the bottom of the hill (below) aren't ours, but the one we stayed in looked just like the one on the left.

For dinner the first night, we went to a singing restaurant where the waiters and waitresses sing to you. Hudson even got serenaded! He was SO embarrassed. 

and then we all shared this:

The next morning, we decided to go on a Zipline tour. Emery was too light, and of course, Crew was too small. My mom and Dave opted to hang back with the smaller people... The 3 kids did a great job, and they LOVED it. We went on about 5 different ziplines with varying lengths and speeds. Very fun.




That evening, and then all day the next day we hit Silver Dollar City. It was pretty hot, but with all the trees there was LOTS of shade, so we were very comfortable. And since we went at the end of May, a lot of kids were still in school, so the lines weren't bad at all.

the one room schoolhouse:

Crew became marginally obsessed with popcorn. He couldn't get enough!

see what I mean?

the roller coaster, Thunderation, which everyone rode except me and Crew (I rode it later with Hudson). Dave and Hudson, Tasha and Emery, William and Keira, Mimi and Papa. This was the only "big" roller coaster that William would ride. He was pretty afraid. Keira, on the other hand, was a wild woman. That girl wasn't afraid of ANYTHING. She rode every.single.ride-- except for 1 because she was too short. She couldn't get enough!

My mom and I rode Thunderation with William and Hudson. The boys just KNEW I'd love it, so they had to take me on it. :-)





The next morning we left to come home, and Crew didn't waste any time getting some shut eye!

It was a GREAT little vacation, and we look forward to going back there again!

4th Annual Camping Trip

This was our 4th year to go camping over Memorial Day weekend up at my parent's house in Oklahoma. This year was extra fun because my sister and her family were able to make it. Our first year to go up there was the year they moved to London, so they've never been in town for the trip. This trip is one of my kids' favorite weekends of the year. They get to run loose in the country for 4 solid days, eat a bunch of junk, play with friends, go to Kiddie Park (although, my 2 older boys are getting too tall for a few of the rides!), get super dirty, eat at Dinks, sleep outside in a tent, ride the horse, eat S'mores and go for rides in the Cruiser. It's fun for the adults too. We get to play with the kids and relax and chat with the other adults. It is SO nice to get out in the country and enjoy a much slower pace, letting the kids use their imaginations with NO TOYS-- just dirt, mud, sticks, grass, and bugs. Ok, and a couple of water balloon fights! (I apologize in advance for the mass quantity of pictures. I have been reprimanded that when I make collages, which I do to save space, makes it hard to see the pics. SO, I'm including the full size, for my picture loving readers)

Crew had fun on my brother's old rocking horse (and Keira is feeing the horse a carrot):

heading down to set up the tents:

the campsite:

Friday night we went to Kiddie Park. Crew got to ride his first rides. He enjoyed the turtles, and my knees did not:

Crew was NOT wild about the roller coaster. Maybe next year...

Keira, William, and Emily (aka. the 3 Amigos) insisted that they could still fit all 3 of them in 1 car on the roller coaster. They were right, but I'll be they won't next year!



I just love how relaxed everyone is! 


Renee made these really cool sand/plaster molds with dinosaurs hidden inside. So she gave each kid a "block" with sticks and toothbrushes to go on a dinosaur dig. They kids LOVED it. Such a great idea!

With 14 kids and 14 adults, mealtimes were a bit of a zoo. We took all the supplies outside, which worked out perfectly.

When this kid is outside, he is one HAPPY camper!

Most of the kids spent about 90% of their time here, building a bug city. They used mud, bricks, dirt, grass, and whatever else they could find to build this city. It was AWESOME.

lots of frisbee...

wagon rides...



water balloon fights...

getting dirty... (despite her sad face, she actually had a blast getting dirty.)

This horse swing is always a hotspot!

football....

and cruiser rides...

Sunday morning we had a worship session together...

and Sunday evening we hit our favorite BBQ spot, Dinks:

and on Sunday evening, we consumed the much anticipated S'mores!
Bringing down the supplies to the campfire:





It was a wonderful weekend with great friends! We look forward to continuing the tradition in 2014!

end of Pre-K

I am still in denial that Hudson will be in Kindergarten this fall. He's ready, but I'm not sure I am. Nevertheless, he graduated from Pre-K a few weeks back (ok, over a month ago...)

First day of Pre-K:

Last day of Pre-K:

His class did the cutest program for their "graduation." It was the same as William's was when he was in that class, but it was still so sweet, even the 2nd time around.
 both pre-k classes:


Hudson's wonderful teachers, Mrs Marjorie and Mrs Robin:

Hudson and his buddy Kye:


3 cheers for Kindergarten!