----my external hard drive is wacky and my laptop has kicked the bucket. Santa is fixing everything. Can't wait for him to arrive!!! So the blog won't be updated until after Christmas!!!

Have a Very Merry Christmas!

xoxoxoxo
Stephanie

...We Now Interrupt This Road Trip....

...for a SNOW DAY....Yes it snowed in South Texas today!!!!Just a dusting stayed on the ground, but it was so calming to watch it fall.School got out about 2 hours early so the kids could enjoy the snow. I'm really glad about that because by 4 pm it was over and starting to melt.The boys couldn't wait to play.Take a look at this masterpiece! Their first snowman!!!

After all the playing my little squire was soaking wet and practically frozen. Poor thing he just didn't realize exactly how cold and wet snow could be.

D-day...Quack!

What on earth is this? Is it a boat or a SUV....It's both!!! Today we 'Rode the Duck' in Branson. .

Click here for the website with a great video.

Ready for fun!

Having fun on the Duck! Everyone got a duck bill quacker and Captain Smiley has us all quacking to YMCA and Surfin Safari. This attraction is a must if you ever go to Branson. We got a driving tour of the city complete with a knowledgeable tour guide and then a boat tour of the lake....really enjoyed this!!

Table Rock Lake. We saw Bald Eagles flying and the Branson Belle too. (the birds in this photo are vultures.)

All the kids took turns driving it while we were on the lake.

After our Duck ride it was time for lunch. Did you notice that the sign says, "Home of the Tossed Rolls"?

A roll tossed itself right into MomMom's bowl of potato soup! She kept catching rolls...see the 4 in front of her!!! Go MomMom!!!! The rolls were delicious, actually all the food there was really good.

Quack!

That afternoon/evening Hubby and I took the boys to The Dixie Stampede. Hands down the BEST show for kids. They got to walk through the stables before the show, the food is all finger food and you can stand up and holler during the show....GREAT!!! We sat on the North Pole side and all night long it was a Christmas battle between the North and South poles. Hubby and I went to this show in Gatlinburg on our honeymoon and I'm really glad we took our sons to see it.

While we were busy whoopin it up, the other part of the family went to a Broadway type Christmas show. The little girls were enamored by the dancers, esp the tall blond one. According to the 3 year old, "He was my hottie!" I just about fell out the chair when she said that!

But the most exciting part of the day was when my 6 year old niece lost her very first tooth. The tooth fairy did find her in Branson!!! Very exciting!

During the trip several people assumed these 2 were twins...awww...they would love that. But they will have to settle for being "Lost tooth twins". My youngest lost his first tooth about 2 weeks ago...well the first tooth that wasn't knock out on accident anyway.

It was another very fun and exciting day in Branson!

GIRL day (well afternoon!)

Day 3 started with a visit to the local dam (Table Rock Lake) and a trout fish hatchery.

There were many aquariums and exhibits there to capture the kids attention.

Outside there is a huge trout farm. Workers were busy trapping the baby trout in the giant green net, then lifting it up to the live well on the truck. Later that day those trout were released into Lake Tenecomo (I think that is the name). Fascinating...well at least to the kids.

The girls decided to take the afternoon to have lunch and do some shopping. Here we are at the Disney store in Branson Landing.

The girls made a Max the monkey and Chloe the dog at the Build a Bear place there too. They are the sweetest little girls!!!
(Actually I lucked out on nieces because they are all sweet..at least to me!)

Girl Day was exhausting and the little one was HUNGRY. Here she is demonstrating her amazing use of chopsticks...one rice kernal at a time.

After dinner we took the kids to the Trail of Lights. Two + miles of outdoor lighted goodness.
That sure made it feel like Christmastime.

There were many animated displays like this one and music too. However to hear the music required rolling down the windows....remember it's freezing....very COLD ride...but the kids were giggling and singing and hanging out the window (we were going VERY slowly...it took us an hour to complete the 2 1/2 mile journey).

B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L.

After the drive we took an elevator up 9 floors to the top of the observation tower.

WINDY and cold...did I mention it was WINDY and COLD.....well it was. And although the kids were a bit windblown they had so much fun it was contagious. As cold and miserable as I was honestly I had a blast with them...LOVE those kids!

The cousins are here!!!

We arrived in Branson our destination on Day 2 of our trip about 3 pm. JOY JOY JOY...the kids were so excited to see their cousins, Aunt and Grandparents!

After unloading it was definitely time for a round of Putt Putt. The temp was a crispy 62 and it was pleasant and sunny. Ahhh but Darling you aren't in Texas anymore and when that sun went down so did the temperature, into the upper 30's. Freezy cold. After shivering through the last few putts we are hungry. Look there is an Italian restaurant just across the street. Lo and Behold it was Sunday and Mr. Meatball let the kids eat free!!!! The only other diners were a bus load of senior citizens. The kids stood up and waved at them like they were watching a parade and the sweet little old folks loved it.

Here they are beaming just after the parade.

So between the driving, golfing, parading and eating it was really nice to spend the evening at the pool. Did I mention it was freezing outside? Thank gosh this one was indoors and well heated, but the kids were still freezing on the trolley ride home.

Are you tired of my trip yet...well this is just the beginning..we've got 4 more fun filled days to cover!

Thanksgiving Road Trip Part 1

Just call us the Griswolds. We are just back from a week long road trip to the height of Hillbilly heaven, Branson, Missouri. At least WallyWorld (Silver Dollar City) was open. I think there were times when my husband may have actually been "channeling" Clark Griswold. We left without a map and are too old to figure out how to use a GPS lady. Just getting through Dallas was a death defying feat. But somehow we made it to Oklahoma.....and every time one of us mentioned Oklahoma , Clark broke out into song," Oklahoma,where the wind blows swiftly on the plains..." mercifully that is the only line of the song he knows. Then when we passed through Muskogee he changed the tune to, "I'm an Okie from Muskogee." I was so glad to see the Arkansas State line!!!Oklahoma! (Stop singing!!!..PLEASE!)Climbing a tree at the OK Welcome center. Finally a MAP!!!Honestly I LOVE Texas, but the nicest people on earth live in Arkansas. Everyone there was smiley and happy and helpful....and they gave us a map too!They even invited us over to 'sit a spell' by the woodburning fire. We spent the night in the charming historical town of Ft Smith. Come to find out this was the "Gateway to the West" the Gold Rush started here, it was the last American fort before Indian Territory, and many wild west outlaws spent time in prison here. My boys enjoyed the history lesson.Ft. SmithUs on the "Trail of Tears" that runs along Ft. Smith's Arkansas River border."Dad, how do you fire a cannon?"
The leaves were still falling and some were gigantic! After a crispy morning in Ft. Smith we headed up north to Missouri and landed in Branson. Blue Hair territory at it's finest.


(more road trip to follow)

Which one?

Out of the 200 shots from Saturday these are some of the best...
A. Chilly winter day - the scarves make it look chilly out...it was really 85!B. Happiness...they made up this silly song and were singing and clapping and kicking their feet.

C. Hanging out on the big rock (To me Squire's hair looks kinda funny...he is going this week for a professional cut.)

One of these could possibly end up on our Christmas card. I'm going to have some great opportunities at more photos over the Thanksgiving break, but these would do in a pinch.