MO day 1

We made our way to Branson with a few major scheduled stops the first a drive through zoo in Strafford. While we were purchasing the tickets one of the staff had a liger on a leash for visitors to view. He was so cute, 2 months old and made these funny whining sounds when he didn't get his way. We all were captured by this little guy!   

The kids were pretty calm around him until he started whining at them! Braxton said he thought the liger was trying to get him. So off to the drive...we chose to all pile in one vehicle (grandma and grandpa's van--suffered some bangs by the longhorns and lots of snot!) We opened the side doors and the animals came to us-- fun but also a little nerve-racking---some of those animals are huge and with four bags of food inside, the lure of entrance couldn't have been more enticing! 

We saw deer, water buffalo, zebra, emu, wildabeast, longhorn and more. I was on photo/video duty so I shouldn't make fun of those who partook in actually feeding the animals but....oh so funny! 

The initial views...amazement... 

and some disgust...

The wildabeast---definitely beasty! Full of filth, moss, stink and the home of a fly village. But, I thought he was cute too.

Braxton fed just a few mild mannered animals and then hit the front seat for the majority of the ride. 

Alexis was willing but timid especially when there were teeth involved. 

Braeden enjoyed the experience and eventually warmed up but he also threw a lot out rather than letting the animals eat straight from his hand (throwing is actually the way the zoo asks guests to feed the animals). Brian gave Braeden a hard time but was a bit of a chicken himself.   

Rollercoaster Road: (warning: the following may have been one of those you had to be there moments) We stopped in Springfield for lunch before heading to the zoo. We took a side road that was full of  gigantic hills. Of course Brian made the ride even more fun by driving at high speeds. The kids were full of loads of laughing and screaming but what killed it for Brian and I was Alexis repeating "oh nap" (snap) in this hilarious voice while silently clapping her hands together. I tried to have her reinact it and get it on video on the way back, but she wouldn't do it-go figure. This is her in the midst of saying it.

 

Next stop: Lamberts home of the throwed rolls. We had stopped by earlier but the wait was two hours so after the zoo we tried again---this time the wait was just an hour. 3/4 of the kids were asleep so this worked out well. The free food was delicious---you can't go wrong with hot rolls, then there was yummy fried okra--a first for our family. I thought I'll just have a salad ---I knew I'd likely have my fill of bread so....give me something light....

the waitress said have no fear everything is all you can eat---so don't hesitate to ask for more ummmmm ok.

overheard out of Braxton's mouth before we started receiving those throwed rolls...."why do we have to stop at so many places before we get there?" Translation I want to swim ASAP! 

 But, Braeden could have stayed for hours to catch rolls! 

Finally, we were full and ready to make the rest of the trip to Branson. We stayed at a hotel that included a water park --lots of fun for the kids! When asked what was their favorite part of the day....ALL OF IT! You can't ask for more.