A Year In Review---Branson Missouri

Hello everyone!  I've been really bad about posting ever since you heard I (Sienna) was taking over the blog. So I've decided to do a series of 'year in review' posts to get everyone caught up on the goings on in the Cochran Clan!

As most of you all know, last April our family experienced a tornado which destroyed our shop/apartment. (Or TLF which is a military acronym for temporary lodging facilities) After being displaced for about three months while we were rebuilding, at first living in a hotel and then an apartment, our parents decided to give us all a special treat for all the hard work once we moved back in. So........we went to Branson!!!

                                                                        Day 1:

                                     In the car, getting ready to enjoy a much needed vacation!

                                                 Our first stop... Sight and Sound Theaters!

                                 The architecture was simply beautiful, especially against the
                                                    background of a magnificent sunset.

                                                    Waiting for the performance to start...

                                       Of course, we couldn't leave without posing like Moses:)

Day 2

We stayed at a beautiful resort in Branson. They had miniature golf, (which we soon discovered was our new family favorite!) and a beautiful lake which we kayaked and                                                                                                                jet skied on, besides lots of other fun things!

  

                                                       All suited up and ready to go!

 

It was difficult finding the right size life jacket:)

                                                     Trying to get the hang of the kayak

                               Daddy took all of us kids out on the jet ski, which was a lot of fun!

                                           We had to try out the water slide...............

                                                                   Sibling picture!!!

                                        As I said above, we discovered miniature golf! Which we
                                                  made great use of while we were there...

                                                    Stasia was our dedicated score keeper

                                          Hmmm... where is the best place to put the ball?...

                                                       Or maybe I should just line it up!

                                              Oh Sayer, what am I going to do about you?:)

                                      Family selfie! Savannah has become an expert at those!

                                             

                                 Daddy grilling his special and family favorite grilled chicken

                                                              Dinner at our rooms.

                                                                          Day 3:
                                            The third day we went to Silver Dollar City!

                                                       A necessary visit to the bakery...

                             Our first roller coaster for the day - which happened to be the mildest!

                                                              Consulting the map
                                                           
                                                                     Marvel Cave

                                                           This does sound mystic...

                                                               Savannah and Sayer

               This is Powder Keg, and for those of you who don't know, it accelerates from zero to 53  
                  mph in just 2.8 seconds, thus the name! This roller coaster is not for the faint hearted!

A panoramic view of Wild Fire, which, even though it goes upside down, is a lot better than Powder keg!

                                          Some of us were feeling a little sick in this picture!

 I thought this was neat. We need to always remember our veterans and the price they pay for our freedom.

                                             At the dulcimer shop. We love the dulcimer!

                           No day in the Cochran family would be complete without some coffee:)

                                                            Am I going to like this?...

                                       Of course! Coffee's always good. Why did I doubt?!

                                                                          Day 4:

                    Our last day in Branson. We wanted to get one more game of miniature golf in:)

                                                                  Sibling lineup

                                                               Leaving the resort

PF Chang's for dinner

Some of our dear friends who were watching our animals while we were away left us this wonderful surprise on our table. It was so nice to come home to this!!!