10 Year Anniversary Trip to Branson

We were finally able to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary with a little getaway! This was the first time Emmitt stayed overnight without us since he was a day old! From what I can tell, he did GREAT! There were a few snafus that made us wonder if the trip was even going to happen. We were VERY grateful when it did though! We left on a Saturday morning and the kids stayed with my mom. She kept them all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday. Sunday night they were supposed to go to Grandmom's, but something happened last minute and we called a babysitter who is also our neighbor to come over and stay with them until we could get home the next day! All told we were gone for two and a half days. It was two and a half days that we enjoyed! We decided to take a trip to Branson, MO. We went there a few years ago before we had kids, but didn't get to go to Silver Dollar City which is something we both remembered doing in childhood! We have some friends at church who have a time share in Branson. They were gracious enough to let us use it (for a fee of course). It was fantastic! You are probably thinking, "Branson?! In JULY?!" We were worried a little too about the heat, but it turns out that we had AMAZING weather to work with! The day at the park was absolutely pleasant! SO, here are the pictures:

This is what we saw as we were going through the tollbooth on the Kansas Turnpike. Jesstine asked if the cat was driving the car!

Drove through Tulsa and waved at family from a(very)far!

Next was Arkansas, birthplace of my man!

There is where we met Lana (Stephen's cousin), her husband, Jesse, Aunt Sandra, and Uncle Gilbert!

Then it was off on a scenic route to Misourri.

It was a beautiful drive!

Where we stayed!

Our first stop was a childhood fave of both of us, "Fire in the Hole!"

There were some interesting sites around town. We thought the kids would enjoy this!

Added SDC to the Shocker Nation!!

We literally attended "Church In The Wildwood." There was a church service held several times on Sunday. We made it our worship service for the morning. We were both very glad we did!

After church, we shared a "skillet" meal. It was tasty as you can see! Nothing left! This was recommended by Jenni (my sister-in-love) and I was able to locate a veggie one for her later in the day!

This was what we saw as we were getting on the "Powder Keg" coaster. A bit disturbing! Don't worry, the ride was perfectly safe!

This was probably our favorite of the coasters. I think we liked this and the next one equally once we got to ride in the front seat of both! At least, I did!

This coaster was called "Wildfire." We didn't like it as much until we rode in the very front.

A great view behind the coaster!

This was the "Outlaw." We only rode it once. We didn't care for it quite as much. Stephen wanted to ride in the front because it made such a difference on the other two, but I wasn't wanting to ride again and he didn't want to go by himself.

This was called the "Barn Swing." I was too chicken to ride this. I was getting a little tired of rides at this point. Stephen is the one in the blue shirt.

This is the Silver Dollar City train ride. I had never taken the time to ride it as a kid. Stephen had and there is a funny story about that ride! It was actually pretty amusing. These guys were pretty funny! They were supposedly "train robbers." The conductor (in the first picture) was arguing with them and made a mistake about the day of the week, they rolled with it. It was the funniest part of the whole ride!

There were several reminders of home. This was one.

This was another. I was browsing the shop for a trinket to bring back for Emmitt. Stephen spotted this little guy. It is exactly like Wesley, the owl Emmitt sleeps with and has had since he was a tiny baby!

I always wanted one of these as a kid, but never got to make one. Now they just let you buy the wrist strap and they do it for you. Still a nice little souvenir!

They put ink on it to make the letters stand out a little better!

Took a selfie in front of the picturesque waterfall.

Brought back a personalized parasol for Jesstine. I had one of these as a little girl too. It was broken (not by ME I would like to add). Going to try and convince Jesstine that it isn't for actual use, but to look pretty!

Found this for Emmitt. Believe it or not, it was the PERFECT gift for him! 

We each also got a t-shirt. We initially thought ALL the t-shirts were 2 for $20, but turns out they weren't. We bought them anyway. Stephen's has all the big rides on it and it glows in the dark! Mine is actually a deep purple even though it looks a little blue here.

The next day, we hit the open road for home. We wanted to get back quickly because we had a babysitter instead of Grandmom. Plus by this time I was really missing the kids. They didn't seem to mind too much that I was gone! Emmitt actually cried when I got home and Melissa had to leave! Then he saw his daddy and that made it all better! 

It was a great time for Stephen and I to reconnect. Did we do much outside of eat junk, sleep and ride rides at Silver Dollar City? No! But Lord willing, there will be plenty of time for that another time! We hope to go back and do some more things that others recommended like catching a show or eating at certain places! Until then, we are home and bushed! Stephen is in bed and was in bed almost an hour ago! It is just now 10:30! 

In Him,

The Hutchins Family