Branson July 29 and 30

Monday, July 29th, 2019

Happy 70th birthday to my Dad today!

We started our morning by going to the John Denver tribute show.  Denver's songs are performed by James Garrett.  James Garrett was actually a friend of John Denver's when he was still living.  Garrett does a great job singing Denver's songs and incorporating stories of times they were together and things that happened in Denver's life.  If you like John Denver songs at all, we would recommend this show.  To find out more about this show or to buy tickets
click on this link - JOHN DENVER TRIBUTE SHOW.

While we were at the show, EP and Will stayed behind to play at the house.  They had fun with the 70 balloons that we had blown up the night before.  EP used dental floss, tied some of the balloons together and took time to actually decorate the house with them.  No more willy-nilly balloons everywhere...now we had a nicely organized balloon decorated house.

After the John Denver tribute show, we returned to the house for a birthday pizza lunch, relaxing, and some afternoon swimming.

That evening we all headed back over to Silver Dollar City to enjoy the evening show, fireworks inside the park, and roller coasters in the dark.

The man playing the piano was AMAZING!  I told Phoebe that she should set her piano goals to be like him.  Wowza!

The fireworks that were shot off every night while we were there were fantastic.  (Part of SDC's Moonlight Madness days.)

Much later that night, after SDC had closed, Dad opened a few birthday gifts from us and we all ate cake.

Happy 70th birthday, Dad!  We all love you so much.

Tuesday, July 30th, 2019

Will had to give his birthday card for Popee to him the next morning.  It was too late for him to stay up partying the night before.

Back into SDC the next morning.  The kids wanted to ride a few things and do a few things we had missed, like "Grandfather's Mansion".  If you have never been in "Grandfather's Mansion", don't miss it.  It could, and may have, messed up my balance for the next half hour after getting myself safely out of the Mansion.  CRAZY!

We stopped in Phoebe Snapp's Taffy Shop for a Taffy pulling demonstration, and a few pieces of Taffy.

We watched a few shows.  I absolutely love that Silver Dollar City promotes family, Christian values and lifestyles, and the United States of America.  It is clear that family, faith, and our country are of utmost importance here.  SDC, and most other venues in Branson, do a fantastic job of honoring and recognizing our military service members and veterans.  They know, and want others to know, the sacrifices these men and women have made for our freedoms in this country.  Great job, SDC!

Have I mentioned how much EVERYONE loves Popee?  They do!  It's true.  He is fun, funny, and always has a game to play with you, even if he makes one up on a whim.  Feeling down?  You can't when Popee is around.  Feeling lonely? Nope, not anymore, Popee is here.  Feeling grumpy?  Popee will turn your frown upside down.  For real, folks, he is seriously THE BEST.  If you had him for a teacher, or he is your friend, or relative... YOU ARE BLESSED!

Will's favorite ride was the carousel.  He had fun on the animals and cried when the ride was over.  Thank goodness the line for this ride was short and he could ride it a few times in a row with his cousins.

Dad took advantage of having a birthday while at SDC.  Along with his birthday button, he also received free kettle corn, a free ice cream cone, and some other perks in the park.

That evening we went to a high energy, amazing, family friendly show for all ages!  The Haygoods!  To find out more about this show and to get your tickets click on this

 link to visit the HAYGOODS family website.

This musical group is made up of 5 brothers and 1 sister and they have been playing music together for 27years in Branson!

We all wore our second set of 50th wedding anniversary shirts to this show, and Dad and Mom were recognized by one of the Haygood brothers for 50 years of love.

After the show, back at the house, we played an exciting game of one of our family's favorites...Pounce!

Happy 50 years of love, Mom and Dad!

Branson July 27 and 28

Saturday, July 27th, 2019
We all hit the road, or air, to meet in Branson, Missouri for a week of family fun last summer.  Dad and Mom celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 7th, 2019.  WHAT?!?!?! 

50 YEARS!!!!  

They did not want to have a party.  Instead they wanted us all to go on a big family "vaca", so we loaded up and we all headed east to good ole' Branson.  A few of the travelers managed to take a few selfies and pictures of their travels on the way to Branson.

 Dad and Mom rented a big 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom house for us all to stay in that week together.  It was very nice.  There was a pool within walking distance from our back porch, a playground, and outdoor games for us all to enjoy, and it was only about a mile from Silver Dollar City.  Oh, and who could forget this adorable stuffed opossum that was on the fireplace mantel enjoying his beverage of choice in our rental house....He watched our every loving 50th anniversary celebrating move THE. WHOLE. WEEK.  (That wasn't weird at all.)

Wow, we have some cute kids.  They all wanted to walk over and check out the pool and playground right away.

The first night before going to bed, Lindsee and I shoe-polished Dad and Mom's car.  We wanted everyone else to know it was their 50th anniversary too.  I haven't done something so "high-schoolish" in a long time.  It felt good.  I couldn't wait for Dad to discover it in the morning.

Sunday, July 28th, 2019

 The next morning we all ate breakfast and got our first set of matching 50th wedding anniversary shirts on so that everyone we came in contact with that day at Silver Dollar City would know why we were there, and what we were celebrating.

 Meanwhile, out front at the cars... Dad was taking out a sack of trash and getting ready for us all to go to SDC.... Everytime he'd go out the front door I'd wait with eager anticipation (camera ready) for him to look up and discover someone had written on the windows of his vehicle.... Finally he saw it!

He loved it!  Look at his smile below.  This could possibly be the only person I ever made happy by shoe-polishing their vehicle.

Below, our whole group right before heading into Silver Dollar City for our first day.  Left to right, Eric, Sarah, Gloria, Lindsee, Paul, Silas, Phoebe, Matt, Stacee, Eric, and Will.

Here we go.....

Matt stopped in the coffee shop and bakery.

Our first ride of the day was the newest big roller coaster, called Time Traveler. 

The next ride was the Flooded Mine ride.  Dad always loves this one and makes us all participate in a friendly shooting contest.

We continued through the park, riding rides, and watching a few shows.

 We spent about an hour in the ball area on Fireman's Landing.  It was nice and cool in there.  And, we all enjoyed throwing and shooting balls at one another.

We rode more big roller coasters, like Powder Keg, Outlaw Run, and Wildfire.  Phoebe surprised us all and rode everything!  Even the big coasters!

 The kids really liked getting to ride roller coasters with Matt, EP, and Lindsee.

We watched the Saloon Show and got a picture afterwards with the Saloon girls.

The last roller coaster of the day ended up being Phoebe's favorite.  It was called Wildfire.

The last ride of the first day was the American Plunge.  A log - water ride.  Below, front to back, Silas, Matt, Phoebe, Sarah, and Stacee.  Lindsee and EP rode in a different log.

It was a fun day at SDC.  That night, back at the house, we swam and watched fireworks being shot off at SDC.  Happy 50th Mom and Dad!

A lot later that night upstairs in our bedroom we blew up 70 balloons.  (Tomorrow would be Dad's 70th birthday and we wanted to surprise him right off with some festiveness in the house.)

After blowing up ALL 70 balloons we took them out of the bedroom and threw them over the ledge so Dad would see them as soon as he came out of his bedroom in the morning.