Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Wait, are you in Missouri?

One of the highlights of our summer this year was our first annual trip with our dear friends Kane and Melissa...

We have always talked about our families spending regular summer vacations together...You know what I'm talking about: kids in tow---cooking every night...spending the day on the beach, or on the boat, or skiing...something awesome.

But, here we are, no kids in tow, and K&M just freshly married.

So this year, using K&M's timeshare that was gifted to them, we escaped to.....

Branson, Missouri!!!!

YES!

It was awesome. We enjoyed our days on TableRock Lake and our evenings cooking, riding riverboats while watching shows, breaking into hot-tubs, and talking into the night...it was sweet.

Here is a picture of Red and I on the road-trip down--


We tried to spend as much time as possible outside on the water---and it was beautiful. We were so blessed to have Kane's family's boat...here are some pictures of the lake and our time out there.

This reminds me of Interlaken, Switzerland.
But don't be confused, this, indeed, is TableRock Lake.

We were so blown away by how this looked, we all clamored for pictures to be taken---here is one of Red and I on the boat.



Branson is also known for their entertainment...well, really, their cheesy shows. It's very stuck in time...but I greatly appreciate it having grown up going to Gatlinburg, TN which is the sister city to Branson.

We went on the Branson Belle ( a show boat) ate dinner, enjoyed the water, and saw an awesome show featuring a woman who did acrobatics while singing and playing the violin.

No, I did not make that up.

Here are some pictures from that evening:

Melissa and I at the dinner table

Kane and Melissa at the front of the Branson Belle

The sunset was incredible!

We spent the following day at Silverdollar city--riding roller-coasters 2 and 3 times, eating awesome theme park food and thoroughly exhausting ourselves in preparation for filling ourselves to the brim with Red's and my home-made pizza (our speciality).

"Hey, let's act like we're sick from the ride in this picture."
Great thought Melissa--
I think you're the only one who followed through.
Hahaha
Here's the last pizza from the night-- Kane did an awesome combination of all the toppings from the night:

Mhmmm---sausage, caramelized onions, pepperoni,
fresh tomatos, basil, and fresh mozzarella.
Yum.
The next day was spent on the water and then we came home and cooked up a delicious meal: steak, asparagus, roasted eggplant and zucchini, and a potato for me (I'm a carb kind of gal).

We had decided after being filled to our hearts' content, that we wanted to go to the hot-tub. Turns out, things like the pool close early. No worries, we were undeterred.

After jumping a few fences, we enjoyed our time in the hot-tub...relaxing and talking about life.

It was the perfect ending for the trip.

Red and I were so glad that we got to follow through with these massive plans of annual family trips. I think it's a great sign of the future that we actually got together...hmmm 2 weeks...after K&M's wedding. That, my friends, is determination to make something happen.

I think we all know how sweet it is to have good friends and how important it is to put effort into keeping those relationships (Especially as we all grow up and enter into the real world)...

As you can tell, Branson was a great experience. If you are looking for a fun time not too far away...it really is worth the trip. I love that it blends the entertainment side (shows, SilverDollar City) with the outdoors (TableRock Lake). Check it out.

Have a good one!

1 comment:

  1. Spent every summer in Branson at Kanakuk! One of my favorite places, so glad to see you loved it!

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