Few Moments to Breathe

I was sadly mistaken when I thought I would have more free moments of down time to share what this week has been like.  This is the first time in three days that I've had a few moments when I've not been completely exhausted.

It has been a good busy. 

Friday morning, everyone slept in which was greatly needed.  We headed to Mr. Pecks for lunch, our favorite chicken place in Branson.  There were fried pickles, fresh fried potato chips, cornbread and chicken for everyone. 

From there, we headed out on our Duck adventure.  It was so much fun to let the kids pick out taffy and then crawl onto the WWII style vehicles.  It was so hot!  The amphibious vehicles took us for a giant splash into Grand Lake where the kids became honorary captains of our floating truck.  The multiple "that was so cool" comments that came was worth every sweaty second.

Our next event was the Dixie Stampede.  I must admit that I wasn't looking forward to the show.  Having been three times already and the kids having been just a year ago, I questioned the wisdom of this decision.  The food was good.  I mean how could you complain when you get a full meal you eat with your fingers only and watch horses, buffalo, pigs and chickens?  Although everyone seemed to enjoy it, I still wondered if there would be some regret.  As we walked to the exit after it was over, my nephew turned to me and said, "Thank you for bringing us, that was really fun."  Again...all worth it for that.

Friday evening, the kids held their uncle to his rule that it's not vacation unless you have ice cream.  That has turned into a rule that they are carrying through their vacation now.  They picked Cakes and Creams for their treat for the night.  It was fun to watch their amazement that they could order anything they wanted, even funnel cakes.  We rounded out the evening with some swimming.

While everything physically went better than I could have asked for, the trip was already emotional.  Not very often in my life have things gone the way I had hoped and even better.  There were times when I waited for something to go wrong.  There were moments where I had just a few minutes of silence and I fought back tears.  Something I had dreamed of, hoped for, thought I would never again have was really happening.  What an emotional high...































































































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