Road Trip!

Last weekend we embarked on Anna's first real roadtrip to go see her Uncle! We drove on Thursday night, and that way we both only took one day off of work and Anna could just sleep on the way. It worked out pretty well, except that we got to St. Robert at 3:30 am! Plus Anna seemed a little unwilling to go right to sleep once we got settled in our hotel room. However, it was worth it when we got to see Stephen the next morning! We got to Ft. Leonard Wood very early, because we wanted to get good seats. It was so cold, and they didn't unlock the doors to the theater until the last minute, so that was a little annoying. It didn't even matter that we got there early, because they escorted us to the third row anyway! Having a dad who's a Command Sergeant Major really pays off! It was so great to see Stephen marching out, looking so young and trim! What a difference a few months has made! Afterward we took some pictures and drove on to Branson, where we went to the Dixie Stampede and ate way too much food. Anna enjoyed the horses (and enjoyed having pork for the first time - yum!) The next day we went to the Titanic museum, which was really really neat and had all sorts of cool artifacts and interactive exhibits. After we finished we were planning on going to Silver Dollar City for the rest of the day, but it was CRAZY crowded. Instead, we decided to go to a cave, and it turned out to be very enjoyable! The property also had some nature trails, so we walked along one of those for a little while and saw some beautiful Missouri mountains. The Ozarks are just lovely, and I bet it would be nice in the Autumn (ha ha). We also played some mini-golf there, but it got way too cold to finish. We ended our day at Lambert's Cafe, home of the throwed rolls! The food was delicious and all-you-can-eat, so it was a great way to end a busy day. The next morning we drove home, but Anna didn't enjoy the long ride very much. We got home at about 8 pm. So overall it was an incredibly busy weekend, but we had a great time and enjoyed seeing Stephen again! Now he's home for Christmas, and Dano should be coming too!