July 15

Ashland, NE to Branson, MO

We were up early to get ready for our family picture at 7:30am. What a chore to get 10 adults and 15 children ready, in place, and smiling for a photo! I'll post a copy when we have it. After the photo, we had a big breakfast together and then those leaving for Branson began to load their vehicles. We got our van back - $213 for repairs. We left Ashland around 10:30am and headed south for Branson.

On the way to Branson, we stopped at the Pony Express Museum in St. Joseph, MO. I'll put up a picture or two later but it is enough to say we enjoyed it! What a remarkable endeavor and I guess I forgot that they only operated for 18 months - seems like such an important part of our history even though it only occupied a small time in our history. Take your kids, they will enjoy it!

Back on the road, we completed our 424 mile trip in about 7 hours of driving (plus stops) and got to Branson just before 7:00pm. Friends of ours had given us tickets to go see the Acrobats of China. I've seen them in Shanghai and in Beijing and they certainly were worth seeing again. The kids really loved it and it is one of the shows in Branson kids really would enjoy. We got out of the show just after 10:00pm and got into Branson traffic (all the shows letting out). It took us about 45 minutes to go 1.2 miles back to our hotel with a stop at McDonald's for a very late supper. We plan on sleeping in tomorrow morning.

While on the road, we got a phone call that dad was taken back to the hospital. He wasn't feeling well and mom was concerned so she took him back and they decided to keep him for observation. Thanks for praying!