They were very entertaining and put on a great show! The show started at 8:00 pm so it was about 10:30 by the time we got back to our room, and we settled in for the night. 
The kids were pretty excited after the show and excited to be in Branson. Thursday was Thanksgiving!
Initially the kids were pretty worried that we weren't going to get to have our traditional Thanksgiving Dinner, along with other traditions. But - everything was great! The morning started by meeting a family we know there at the high school to join in some football. (we actually got there late, and ended up just watching - but it was still fun!) The hotel had a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner for us at noon. We went to the dining room and they had our own table for us with name tag. The dinner was buffet style and really good! It was perfect....good food and I didn't have to make it or clean it up. Ricks aunt and cousin also drove from Arkansas to meet us. 
It was nice to spend Thanksgiving with them. We had the whole day ahead of us after dinner, so the kids decided they wanted to try their hand at shuffleboard. (The hotel had a board outside) 
It was pretty funny watching them try to figure out how to play and push the "puck" across the board. Once they figured it out - they got pretty good! Next on the agenda was to ride some go karts. The great thing about being in a tourist town is that everything is open on the Holiday! The boys were so excited to ride they could hardly stand it. Rick rode with Chase - and yes, they beat all of us. 
I got to ride with Cody. We went really fast! Cody loved it and was hollering the whole time!
Paige got to ride with Grandma. This was fun to watch! Paige had a smile on her face the whole time! I think she got a kick out of watching Grandma drive the go kart. 
And Jordan had to ride by herself. She was pretty bummed, because she was certain she would get to drive someone...but since she didn't have a license she couldn't drive anyone else with her.
Next - was window shopping. Actually, the stores were open, I just did very good controlling myself. :) There is a cute village there that has a humongous rocking chair. Last time we were there I got pictures in the rocking chair, so of course we had to do it again! Grandma and Grandpa climbed up into the chair with the kids! 
Cody asked if we could buy it and bring it home with us! They have great Christmas stores with tons of trees and ornaments. I have to say, this was the first time I saw an upside down tree! It was crazy...upside down, all decorated! It just didn't seem right! As we came out of the Christmas store, we happened to run into Santa! 
Of course he had a little gift for all the kids. When we got back to the hotel, I wanted to be sure and keep my promise to the kids that we wouldn't forget any traditions....SO....I pulled out the gumdrops I brought to make gumdrop turkeys.
I'm not sure if we made them or just ate them. The kids were very happy I remembered! We also had to have a little "bubbly" - family style with our welchs grapejuice. The kids (and their mom) love it!!! It is our special drink. 
I think they get so excited about it because we only have it a couple times a year. We save it for special occasions! That night we saw another show called, The Spirit of Christmas. This was more of a production type show, but was great to start off the holiday season! Again, it was pretty late when we got home. BUT - that was okay, beacause in Branson their stores open at 12:00 am....let the shopping begin! I'm not sure how I did it, but I talked Rick into going with me. Paige and Jordan came along too! We made them promise they wouldn't be grouchy the next day. Us along with everyone else in Branson, hit the outlet mall. It was crazy! We actually should have waited until 2 or 3 in the morning for the lines to die down. We found some great buys, and shopped until 4:00 in the morning. It was so cold, the girls were begging for some hot chocolate. Luckily we were very close to a Krispy Kreme. So we stopped in, got our warm donut and hot chocolate, and managed to pick out a dozen donuts for breakfast.
We had a blast! The girls were great, Rick was great, and we laughed and giggled all night! (Actually Rick was the one who benefited the most from our shopping excursion!) Friday morning at 10:00, we had tickets to see The Brett Family Singers. This is a family that used to live in McKinney that we knew. They have such a great show! I would HIGHLY recommend it. And I am not just saying that because we know them. They are terrific! It was fun to see them again and visit with them after the show!
They are so kind and genuine...they treated us like we were their best friends. After the show, Rick, his dad, Tom Brett, and Cragg Rogers (another friend from McKinney) went and played golf together. The girls found another place to shop and enjoy. The weather was beautiful and it was fun just walking around. Once again, we went to a night show. This time we saw Hamner and Barber Variety Show. The kids remembered this from our last visit to Branson and wanted to see it again. It was a great show, but I think from all the go, go, go, everyone was so tired! When we got home - we all zonked out as soon as our heads hit the pillow. Saturday, Rick and his dad took advantage of another golf game, and the rest of us went back to see the Brett's show again! After that, we were off to Silver Dollar City!
This is an amusement park with rides, great food, and shows. The park was covered in Christmas lights and the smell of the food was amazing. I wanted to try everything! The kids loved the rides - Paige and Chase were pretty daring and rode all the roller coasters. Cody even rode a little roller coaster with Rick and loved the "Fire In The Hole" ride. We also saw "Dickens Christmas Carol." That was really good. The kids loved all the places they could get their pictures taken...remember this one?? 
Paige painted a picture like this of my niece. 
Cody wanted his picture taken next to every snowman and Santa. Sunday came and we headed home. We had an awesome Thanksgiving. First a big thank you to Ricks brother for setting up the hotels with his time share. The rooms were awesome! A big thank you to Ricks parents! Thank you for coming with us and making memories with us. A thank you to Aunt Jewel and Tammy for coming to spend the weekend with us. Spending time with family is so much fun! Branson was a success! WE had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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