{ first days of summer }

Things have been rather crazy around here since school let out.

Brian started his new job.

We moved.

I started my new telecommuting adventure.

The kids are breaking in a new summer sitter (who is awesome, btw).

To combat the craziness, we decided to take a couple of days to get away for a mini-vacation.

We had such a great time in Springfield/Branson a couple of years ago, we were excited to go again!

The drive was much shorter this time.  My parents got to come along, too!

We started the trip with a picnic lunch at Bennett Spring State Park.

I have very fond memories of that place from my childhood.

The highlight of that stop was feeding the fish at the trout hatchery.
They have little coin operated fish food machines that dispense smelly pellets to feed the trout.

Hannah loved watching the feeding frenzy when she dropped each little pellet into the water.

We also got a chance to dip our toes in the icy spring water.

It was so refreshing on a hot summer day!

We traveled on to Springfield, MO and checked into our hotel prior to heading out for dinner.

The evening activity was a Cardinals AA baseball game at Hammons field.

It was a beautiful ballpark, and a great game!  The Cardinals won in the bottom of the 9th.

There were fireworks after the game, too!

Everyone got a good night's sleep, then we headed out bright and early for Silver Dollar City in Branson.

Hannah noticed "Hannah's Ice Cream Parlor" just as we were walking in.
We enjoyed a lot of the same things we did when we visited two years ago.
It's such a nice park with all of the big trees and very family friendly atmosphere.

 

The rest of the crew took a ride on the Lost River while I hung out with Luke.

I found a great spot to snap their picture as they floated by!

It looks like they all had a great time.

 

Another highlight was the Stunt Dog show.

I think my dad liked it just as much as Hannah did!

 

Luke had a lot of fun, too!

 

Hannah's favorite ride was called "Fire In the Hole".

Brian said he had great memories of riding that one with his Dad and brothers.

It was cool that she enjoyed it so much!

 

She also really enjoyed the log flume ride, although they all got soaked!

I feel very fortunate to have been able to spend that time with my kids, Brian, and my parents.

It was a great getaway! 

 

The end.