Letters to Joshua & Luke: Dog Gone Fun!

Joshua & Luke at the School of the Ozarks museum.

Dear Joshua and Luke,

We had another great vacation in Branson, Missouri! We have been going to Branson for vacations since before you were both born. I remember many years of swimming with Elsa and Ethan in the baby pools. And to think of where Elsa is now!!!!!

Joshua is out of this world!

As usual, we spent time swimming, swimming, and more swimming. Daddy grilled a fast for us each evening. We had our famous Branson Potatoes. Joshua adamantly claims that the potatoes that we buy in Branson taste way better than the potatoes that we can buy here. The BIG secret to these potatoes is that the potatoes are peeled and thinly sliced. Then, the potatoes are slathered in butter and microwaved until they are cooked. A little bit of salt, and you have the famous Branson Potatoes! You both requested root beer floats each night for dessert. Only on vacation could you get root beer floats every night. You also managed to watch Lassie, Star Wars I - The Phantom Menace, and Tarzan. Again, only on vacation do you get to watch this much television. I should not forget the episodes of Phineas and Ferb. You watched these for the first time, and found them quite funny.
We spent one half day at the School of the Ozarks. It is an amazing museum. It's has many old items in the museum, and tons of taxidermied animals. Tons! It's biggest attraction is probably the fact that the museum is home to the original car used in the Beverly Hillbillies. You probably thought we were crazy as we tried to explain the old sitcom to you.

Luke at the swimming pool at the resort.

We spent two days at Silver Dollar City. Wow! Full days with two very energetic boys, but never a dull moment. There were lots of fun rides and a performance with the Stunt Dog Experience. In fact, we saw the performance twice! Luke chose the light up Frisbee as his souvenir from Silver Dollar City. He was able to go on the stage and throw the Frisbee to one of the dogs. It was loads of fun. Luke is practicing for when we get a new dog. I can not even think about that, but I am pretty sure that we will sometime soon. The MC of the Stunt Dog Experience asked the audience to shout, "Dog Gone Fun" when he raised his arms during the show. About ten minutes later Joshua said, "Oh, I get it. Dog gone fun! We are having dog gone fun!!!!" Gotta love six year-olds!

Inside Marvel Cave

Daddy took the boys into Marvel Cave. I would like to have gone with you, but with 450 steps going down, I was a little nervous. We had a great time on Huck Finn's River - we got soaking wet! Not a bad thing for a one hundred degree plus day! It was also a blast to squirt everyone with the guns and to play in the HUGE ball pit at Geyser Gulch.

Joshua bought a puppet Lassie dog and a cork gun as his souvenirs. Luke chose a sword and the light up Frisbee from the Stunt Dog Experience.

Joshua practicing his golf swing with Wii Golf.

Joshua and his snorkeling gear in the pool at the resort.

There are many of the usual things that we did not do this time, like going to the fish hatchery or Dixie Stampede, but this was definitely one of our best vacations. It is great to spend time together as a family with no other distractions around us. And vacations give us the opportunity to experience new things and to do things that we do not usually do at home.