Ok, ok, so it's been awhile since I've posted anything, but I do have some adventures to share.

First of all, Michael and I went to Branson over Memorial Day weekend and we had a great time. We got there Friday, May 28th, and went directly to Ride the Ducks. The last time we were in Branson, I wanted to Ride the Ducks, but we didn't, so I was super excited about being able to experience that this time. For those of you who don't know, a "Duck" is a vehicle that was created for the military and can travel on land and water. The tour guide drives you around Branson giving you information about the history of Branson and of the "ducks," and then you drive into the lake and get to float around for a few minutes. He even let some of us drive the "duck" while it was on the lake. Fun times! I even got to print out a Captain's certificate once we got back to the "dock." After riding the ducks, we ate at the Hard Luck Diner. The servers there sing while you eat. I was not so impressed with their singing. Sorry! Hung out a little bit Friday evening and then settled in for some rest.

Saturday included spending time at Silver Dollar City. We went early in order to enjoy the breakfast buffet before the park opened. Thanks hotel people for recommending that (that's about the only good thing you did for us!) Spent the morning and early afternoon riding all the fantastic rides including the *super scary* Fire in the Hole!!! That's a joke that Michael and I have. Apparently, it's only scary if you're 8! We left early in order to get ready to go see Noah, The Musical. I know, it sounds weird, but it was really cool. In the 2nd act, the stage opens up and you feel like you're actually inside the ark. There were real animals too! Really neat. I highly recommend it! Drove into Springfield for Saturday evening. Visited the original Bass Pro Shop and walked around the mall a bit.

Sunday, we went back to Silver Dollar City. We were able to ride almost all of the rides again, and listened to some bluegrass while eating BBQ. As funds were running low, we opted to go to the IMAX Sunday evening and saw a lovely documentary about Australia.

Monday was to be our "boring" day as we were just driving home, but it turned out to be much more than we bargained for. We got a bit lost on the way home after missing a turn, and only went about an hour out of the way!!! But wait, there's more! As we were driving through Oklahoma, about 10 miles or so from the Texas border, we got a load of excitement. There was a group of birds/buzzards feasting in the middle of the road. Of course, we thought for sure they would fly away as we got closer. One of the buzzards decided to fly away a little too late, and hit smack into our windshield. Glass pieces and powder went all in the car, and there was nowhere to pull over at that point. We made it to the lovely Choctaw Casino and pulled over to inspect the damage. We still had feathers and blood on the windshield! After calling the insurance company and receiving no help from them, we decided to continue home. We drove about 50 mph all the way home, which seemed to take forever. I thought for sure we would be pulled over if any police saw our windshield, but we must have passed 5 or 6 cops and they just stared at us. The looks we got were quite amusing. Needless to say, we will probably never forget this trip to Branson, and I now know exactly what happens when you hit a buzzard while driving down the road. (In case you were wondering, we did NOT stop to see how the buzzard was.

Michael and I ready to go on the "Duck"

Me driving the "Duck"

Silver Dollar City!

Sight and Sound Theater where we saw "Noah, The Musical"

Our windshield after its encounter with the buzzard!