Well, summer break for me has pretty much come and gone. In a blink. And my blogging was pretty much non-existent. I thought I would have so much more free time during the summer. And on a typical summer I hopefully will. But, this summer I had a toddler and a baby. Which both take up a lot of time. I had hoped that I would at least get a free hour or more each day where they were both napping. But, I am beginning to think you have to have some kind of magical power to make that happen.

Each week, the boys went to Nonna's (their babysitter) on Tuesdays and Fridays. On a typical summer, these days would have been my "me" days. But, this summer I spent those days at school trying to get familiar with my library. But, 12 days later=still not-so-familiar! But, hey I'm not complaining. I am so excited about my new job and even if it made me spend a bit more time in my school building than I would have liked to this summer, it is going to my make my school year seem much easier.

This past weekend, against Carl's approval, we went to Silver Dollar City. Don't get me wrong. Carl likes Branson and likes Silver Dollar City...in normal weather. But in the furnace that we call summer around here, he wasn't too excited about going. I tried convincing him by reminding him that there are a few rides where we can get wet. I guess it's obvious that in the end, I won. And it really wasn't too bad. We went up on Friday night, again not Carl's idea. But, I oh-so-dramatically reminded him that we would have to leave so early in the morning if we made it a one-day trip and that would put our already-prone-to-be-moody son Cale in a bad mood. And that's just no good for anyone involved. So, at about 2:00 on Friday afternoon, Carl told me to book a hotel.

We invited Carl's mom to come with us because we thought Cale would enjoy it and she hadn't been to SDC in years. We decided to leave sweet little Keaton with my parents because we didn't think he was up for the heat and I didn't think I was up for toting him around in the hot, black harness all day. We arrived in Branson at about 8:45 Friday night. We decided to hit the Landing before going to the hotel. It's so nice that Cale can stay up later these days, if necessary. When we were just about to the Landing, we noticed Dicks Five and Dime, and remembered what a neat store it was. We also remembered how many tractor toys and tractor memorabilia the store displayed...but we decided to brave the toddler, "I want, I want" fit and go in anyway. Plus, we knew we would probably come out with some sort of tractor, and we were okay with that.

Cale actually did great in the store. We talked him into a very small, inexpensive tractor...which is unreal because there were many big, $40 + tractors that he looked at while he was there. In the end, he was happy with the small one that his Mammaw bought for him...and even more pleased with his purchase when he realized the cab of the tractor was filled with small pieces of bubble gum. Which he chewed all of in about five minutes.

We got to the Landing at about 9:30. We were bummed to see that the water/light show was under construction. But, we found a simple candy store had all the entertainment we needed. The store had a train that chugged along the ceiling (like in Stoby's) and Cale was delighted. I don't think he ever even realized we were in a candy store, even though everywhere you turned there were clear buckets filled with colorful arrays of candy that made me an indecisive mess while trying to determine what to purchase. And seventeen dollars later, we had our bag of candy. And I swear it didn't even feel like a pound. They must make a killing at those places.

On our way out to our car, we heard a train whistle. In front of the Landing is a train track and sure enough, one was coming by. What a perfect end to the night, in Cale's eyes. He plopped himself in the grass for a front row seat in the train passing. We could have left Branson after that and he would have thought it was the best trip.

The next morning, after a breakfast that Cale tried to convince us he didn't need because he was so excited about his upcoming train ride, we headed to Silver Dollar City. We hit absolutely NO traffic...which is amazing for a Saturday going to SDC. We got to ride in a trolly car from where we parked our car up to the SDC gates. Again, could the trip get any better for Cale? We started off with The Great American Plunge, which is a log-ride that leisurely floats you around through several tunnels...one of which was completely pitch black, and then takes you up a giant hill before you make a huge, heart-pumping drop into a big pool of water. Cale was just tall enough to ride and I have to admit I was a little nervous. Carl put Cale in the front too, which made my nervousness just a bit worse. I think I reminded Carl to hold onto Cale about five times, as if he wasn't going to. But, to our dismay Cale wasn't a bit scared.

So, feeling pretty good about Cale's attitude towards rides, we headed to Fire-in-the-Hole (my all-time favorite when I was little) Cale thought it was a train, so he was eager to ride. But, as the ride began, I could tell he was getting a little nervous. And in his defense, what a creepy ride it is. From the old-timey, horror-movie music, to the fake flames...it's pretty intense for little ones. After the ride, Cale (serious-looking, but no tears) said he didn't really want to ride that one again.

After we got home from Branson on Saturday night, Cale was still bothered by Fire-in-the-Hole. He kept telling me that there were monsters and ghosts on the ride. He also talked about a man looking at him while he rode. I think he meant the fake people that are staged throughout the ride. After I spent fifteen minutes trying to convince him that it was all make believe, Cale simply told me, "Mama, don't you EVER make me ride that again!" Sad thing is, I'm sure we will try to coerce him into riding it again when we go back in the fall...unless he throws too big of a fit!

We were so glad to see Keaton when we got back home. It seemed strange only having one kid on our trip. But, I'm sure Keaton had much more fun in the air-conditioning, being cuddled and spoiled by Nan and Pop.

We can't wait until we can go on rides and roller coasters with both of our boys one day. I hope they're both little thrill-seekers. Wait, let me rethink that. When it comes to amusement parks, I hope they are daredevils. But as far as motorcycles, four-wheelers, and fast cars...not so much. I dread those reckless teenage days. Thank goodness I have just a few years with my "little" boys!