Branson 2009

Our trip to Branson, Missouri was sure a fun-filled one!! All the events we attended and shopping we did sure made up for the 12 hour car ride each way. We started out our trip by going to the IMAX theater to watch the show "Under the Sea." It was really neat to see all the underwater creatures swimming around us on the screen! Next we went to see the "Legends in Concert," an entertaining show of impersonators which included: Tina Turner, Elvis, Blue Brothers, Rod Stewart, and Alan Jackson. We got to meet the singers after the show and Kathy even got a kiss on the cheek from Elvis!! The next day of our trip we were very very busy! We went to the Hollywood Wax Museum first, and then took a ride on the Duck Boat, which is a boat that can drive on both land and water! After that we went to the Dixie Stampede, and celebrated Fay's 38th birthday with a pool party! Our final full day of our trip to Branson started off by going to the mall and listening to live bands of many known Branson stars who were singing Country Love and Gospel songs. After that music treat we headed to the "SIX concert," which was a group of 6 brothers who sing and make music without instruments; what a great experience! We ended our awesome trip with another trip to the IMAX theater. This time we saw "Wildlife Safari," which was just as cool as the first show we saw! This trip to Branson was filled with shopping, visiting gift shops, eating delicious meals, and of course, listening to amazing music!! We can't wait to go back next year!

Black Hills '09

Day one of our trip to the Black Hills consisted mostly of traveling to the beautiful city. We did stop at the ever famous Wall Drug where several people bought neat souvenirs!! The next day we spent plenty of time looking at and taking pictures of Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. We finished the day with some shopping and had an awesome pizza/ pool party.
We also visited reptile gardens saw many various types of the scaly creatures! Some time was spent at the Museum of Geology, the Big Thunger Gold Mine, and even the Everything Prehistoric Museum as well. They were all really neat and we learned a lot about the area and what happened here many, many years ago. Another popular destination was Bear Country to get a glimpse of all the elk, buffalo, and everyone's favorite: the baby bears! That night we got to see the film set of Dancing With the Wolves which was really interesting.
The final day we packed up the van and started our journey back to Mankato stopping at the Corn Palace in Mitchell. Then entire outside of the palace was made of corn, so cool!