Branson Trip

Last week we took a trip up to Branson.  We stayed at the Big Cedar Lodge.  We had heard a lot of great things about it and wanted to check it out.  I thought it was FABULOUS.  They had a lot of activities that would be great for kids who are a little older but it’s beautiful.  We had a wonderful time….it was so relaxing and nice to get away from life for a little while.

This picture was taken at the lodge as we were going to see Santa.  As you can see there aren’t any pictures of them with Santa because they were both scared of him.  Faith kept saying she was going to talk to him but once it was actually her turn and she wouldn’t even think about it.  Max wouldn’t either. 

 

Here they are looking at the gifts they got from Santa.  Luckily he gave them a gift even though they wouldn’t sit with him.  They got etcha sketches.  

 

The next day we went to The Landing (it’s like The Boardwalk and is anchored with a Bass Pro) and she saw Santa there but still wasn’t fond of him.  Then as we were walking around we saw Mrs. Claus….Faith actually asked to go see her and willingly talked to her and took a picture with her.  She was a SUPER nice lady and when she walked away Faith said “Mommy I like her”.

The Landing has a big fountain and at the hour they do a water/fire show set to music.  It was really neat. 

This is the coffee house at our Lodge.  It was decorated so pretty for Christmas.

Right outside of the coffee house was Santa’s workshop.  The tree lighting ceremony was supposed to be here on the Saturday night but it rained and got moved inside.

These lighted deer were all over the grounds. 

Faith’s favorite letter right now is the letter B.  Probably because it is the only letter she recognizes.  She can spot a B anywhere….any books we read that have a B in them she points it out, on tv….even in the credits after a show, or out and about she sees B’s everywhere.  I’ve tried introducing other letters to her but the B is her favorite.  Anyway…she found a B on these big blocks and was SO excited. 

This mantel was in the registration center at the lodge.  The part that looks like stone is made out of gingerbread!!!  How cool is that….it looked SOOOOO real.  I’m sure it took hours to make. 

The mantel and sign are made out of chocolate and white chocolate. 

We had a really good trip.  Took the kids to see the Dixie Stampede.  They were doing a Christmas show plus we figured the kids would sit still since they would be eating.  They did really good and the show was GREAT.  We decided against trying any other shows though….Max was antsy towards the end so we figured he wouldn’t sit still enough for any other shows.