Family Vacation 2009 (Part 1)

So, 2009 hasn't been an all-that-terrific year for our family. The summer seems to get away from us and unless you count our travel up and down IH-30, we never got to get-away as a family. So, before the craziness of back-to-school took over, we made a nice weekend trip to Branson. It was just great to be together and to not keep any specific schedule. (As I get ready to write all this, I realize that we can really cram A.LOT into one day. So, to save you the reading, I will break it down into manageable segments.)

We drove up on Friday - after Brother got out of school. It was a nice, pretty drive through the north part of my new state -- full of nice scenery. Best of all, the kids slept most of the way. SCORE!! We got to our condo (Thousand Hills Resort) just before dinner. The kids quickly settled in and made their room look just like home.

This place was FANCY! And had lots of great stuff - stuff that we would never use. This was the view off our patio.

Too bad we don't golf.

It also had this HUGE kitchen. One that I would love to have in my house.

I didn't come on vacation to cook, so the kitchen stayed this clean the entire visit.

So, Friday night we went out for dinner, then drove around, exploring the town. We stopped at Wal-Mart to get cereal stuff for breakfast, then we went back to the condo to sleep.

The next morning, we got up and hit some of the local shops. Sister found something that fit right into or vacation lifestyle.

After browsing other stores, we found a great place to rest our weary feet.

And here I thought things were bigger in TEXAS.

After grabbing a wonderful lunch, we headed out to the Butterfly Palace (thanks for the recommendation, Amber).

To our surprise, the Butterfly Palace has lots more than butterflies. First we saw creepy things that I do not like. Sister was so brave and gave it a touch.

Then we walked through this way-cool mirror maze. Brother and I thought it was great. Sister still calls it "the scary part." It is supposed to be decorated like the rain forest.

Then, it was time to set our sights on the butterflies.

We saw butterflies of all colors and sizes. It was really beautiful. The visit was even more wonderful because we "hatched" our own chrysalises this spring, so the kids knew all about butterflies.

I have to share a funny story: When we were in the butterfly room, a centipede came crawling out of the rocks -- right towards Brother's feet. He SCREAMED bloody-murder and ran to me. I think he was so loud that he scared the ugly thing and it crawled right back into the rocks. I was trying to calm him and tell him it was part of nature, one of God's creations, blah, blah, blah. Then one of the workers came up and said, "That thing is one of the meanest bugs on the planet. If you see it again, stomp on it." It was UGLY and creepy!

Here are my two favorite butterflies.

When we finished watching the butterflies, we went outside so Brother could climb the coconut tree.

He is so brave - and such a boy!

The rest of us sat on the sideline and cheered!

So, are you tired? Well, we aren't even half over with this day. :) After the Butterfly palace, we headed back to the condo. I'll fill you in on the evening activities later.