Trip to Branson, Mo.

While Mike was on a guy trip visiting four ballparks in as many days, my mom and I decided at the last minute to take the kids to Branson for the weekend. We don't normally travel on Labor Day weekend, so neither of us knew what to expect. Except for the traffic when we were leaving KC on Friday afternoon, it really wasn't too bad. The traffic in Branson seemed its normal "parking lot"-self but we managed to use the alternate routes as often as we could.

On our way to Branson, we tried to stop at Lambert's Cafe in Springfield to eat dinner. I called ahead when we were about an hour away to see if we could put in a reservation or call-ahead seating, but they don't do either. That meant we'd be eating dinner around 8:30, so we ended up eating at the Taco Bell in Mt. Vernon, Mo.

We arrived in Branson around 9 on Friday night, so we just unloaded at our hotel and got ourselves settled in. We had two beds plus a pull out couch, so we all had a decent place to sleep. Each night, the kids would drop off to sleep, one-by-one, with Kira always the first one to succumb and Adam usually not far behind.

Each morning we ate at the hotel's continental breakfast, which was pretty pathetic. The kids thought it was cool getting to eat donuts every morning, but Mom and I were hard-pressed to find any protein in the place. Next time, I think we'll see if the Hampton is available...