Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Branson- Day 2



There are ENDLESS choices of museums, shows, shopping,
exploring, etc. of things to do.
All of the shows are in the afternoon and evening which opens up
the day to do all of the other things.

This toy museum seemed intriguing as we drove by it the prior day, so
we decided to start there!


We walked in and our childhood hit us smack in the face!
As well as the musty, old smell of your grandparents house:)


This place was loaded to the brim of every toy imaginable!
Anything from any decade you can think of.

Upstairs, downstairs, around the corner to another building full of "treasures".

Not going to lie, my minimalist mind was going crazy.
I wanted to sit in a corner and rock back and forth after 15 minutes.
But fun to see some nostalgia items from the past. 
  










Before the hoopla of the new Barbie movie even started!




Might get struck by lightening for this one!
Della really likes to pretend to give priesthood blessings.
My feminist daughter, lol!





This doll reminded me of a show I watched growing up.
Little Audrey: Tarts and Flowers









Then on to Wonder Works.
It was on our list last time we came but was closed. 
It is science focused and combines education with entertainment. 




I knew we would be here awhile.
We literally walked past the entrance and the kids were entertained by
the first 2 exhibits for an hour!
There were over 100 exhibits!











Lunch break at Steak N Shake!



It is actually weird how much I love Branson because I am NOT a play person!
I have zero interest in Wicked, Les Miserable, Hamilton...

Yet I LOVE the shows at Branson.
ESPECIALLY at Sight & Sound Theater. 

They are all bible based plays and are phenomenal!!

We got to see Queen Esther.
I loved that my kids remembered her story when we studied it in
Come Follow Me.
Her story is truly miraculous.
How her ordinary life changed when she was taken to the palace and was
chosen to lead a new life of royalty. 

How she had faith and followed in Gods plan risking her life
and not knowing the outcome.

Because of her courage, God preserved her as well as the Jewish people. 


Della still does not do well in movies, so I was worried all of these
shows would get to her.

She LOVED them all!





The stage is neat in itself.
They have side stages to fully captivate you. 
They also use live animals. 





You can kind of see them in this panoramic picture. 






You aren't allowed to take pictures during the performance, I think Della
took this one by accident. 






I didn't want to eliminate any shows, so we squeezed in one last one that day!
ReVibe by the Hughes teenagers/young adults!





Love when they all jam to their violins at the same time!











Andy's night cap!




 

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Branson- Summer Edition




6 months after our Christmas vacation in a snowy Branson Wonderland,
we were back at the airport to experience it thawed out!

Even more fun to go with cousins and Grandma and Grandpa this time!
The dads would meet up with us towards the end of the trip.


Love teenage phone row.
They claimed they were playing a game against each other.





Even more fun that my friend Sherri Lynn Bingham was our flight attendant!
I wish I snagged a picture with her.







It really is such an easy jaunt over to Springfield.
Before we knew it we were loaded into 2 minivans and off on our adventure!



Lamberts Cafe was even better than I remembered it.


Home of the flying rolls.
More landed on the floor than what we ate, which was a lot!




Like my pile of butters?
They are big rolls!





The main difference between Winter and Summer was the traffic. 
It actually never was terrible.
 I expected it to be much worse.
We did hear we came at the right time.
The following week was the 4th of July and it gets
 to be a mad house apparently. 





Our first show was the Haygoods!
And they certainly were GOOD!!
It had more of a production feel to it.
Lots of pyrotechnics and moving parts.
Much like what you would see in Las Vegas. 
Amazing talent.
I love that every show in Branson is mostly performing families. 





It started with this guy playing his guitar upside down in the air.
Way cool!






I also love that they greet their guests after the show.
They were a perfect way to kick start our trip!




I'm pretty sure we stopped at Andy's for concretes afterwards.
We went every night, yolo!

Back at the house we had accidental twinnies.




And it was late nights hanging out and adults talking!