Victory At Last!

All summer long, the music of the ice cream man has taunted my boy. We hear the ice cream truck's elusive melody every other afternoon, but we always fail in our attempts to be in the right place at the right time. The ice cream man doesn't come down our street, so in order to meet up with him, we have to meet him at the end of the street, but we never seem to hear the music in time. I don't know how many times this summer, Colter has run out the door trying to see the ice cream man that never comes. Today, however, luck was with us. We heard the music in time to race down the street, flag down the ice cream man, and purchase an overpriced sundae cone! It made Colter's day.

Victory is sweet!

Missouri Travels 2010--Part IV Animal Taming at Compton Ridge

Well, we somehow survived the night in a pop-up camper during a heat wave. The poor pop-up's air conditioner ran all night long, but it survived as well. While waiting for the pool to open at the campground, Compton Ridge in Branson, Missouri, Colter spent some time taming the animals at the playground. He may have a future in the circus, although the gorilla almost got the best of him.

Normally, Compton Ridge is a great place to stay in Branson. It has nice, shady campsites, a couple of pools, a fun playground, and it's close to Silver Dollar City. I just don't really recommend planning a trip when it's over 100 degrees. :) That's the way it worked out for us this time though! It was still fun, but after playing at the playground and swimming in the pool, we headed home to the A.C..

Missouri Travels 2010---Part V Silver Dollar City

It's hot. Ridiculously hot. I'm talking fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk hot. Speaking of eggs, it's so hot that chickens are laying hard-boiled eggs. Really. Sounds like perfect weather to head to Branson, Missouri for Moonlight Madness at Silver Dollar City! Yes, we are crazy. It's practically 152 degrees, so we went to Branson to camp and hang out at an amusement park. Great idea!

Although it is stinkin' hot, it's hard to pass up an opportunity to take Colter to Silver Dollar City at a discounted price. The Moonlight Madness tickets are only $25 while they are usually over $50, and the park is open until 10pm. The atmosphere at Silver Dollar City is great (the city is stuck in pioneer days), and there are tons of fun things to do, so we did it! Who cares if we melt? We'll spinning around in circles on amusement park rides and beating the heat on the water rides! Yes!

The key to staying cool at Silver Dollar City is staying wet. This boy has it figured out!

Thomas Fans

What is the common little boy obsession with Thomas the Tank Engine all about? Trains are cool and the toys are fun--I get that---but the Thomas movies are filled with short clips of sometimes plot-less stories and cheap animation. Thomas isn't even all that nice. In quite a few of the episodes, he's an obnoxious little engine! In fact, most of the trains can't get along, they're ruled by a wooden man, and their adventures are limited to an island. How many trains does the Island of Sodar need anyway? It's not even depicted as being very big! I just don't get it, but these Thomas fans apparently do. Maybe someday they'll explain it to me.

Dress-Up

This cowboy has had a lot of fun dressing up in the outfit he got for his birthday.

He has had a lot of fun dressing up in this outfit as well. I'm not sure what it is though---fairy princess knight, perhaps? Helmet-head wizard? Hmm...

Box Boy

People always say that there isn't any need to give children toys, just give them a box. People are right! We got a new heating and cooling unit, and Colter has spent a lot of time in his box house. We cut out windows and a door and decorated the inside with crayons. He's filled it with stuffed animals and a toy chair; he's played with it inside and outside and had hours of fun! The only problem is that box boy's box is so big that eventually, we're going to have to throw it away. Maybe he'll sleep in on trash day sometime and the box house can mysteriously disappear. We'll see how that works out. ;)

Missouri Travels 2010--Part IV--St. Louis Zoo