Frozen on the Frontier: A Spring Break Story

RJ will tell you, kindergarten is hard work. "When you get there," he says, "you sit down, and you work. Then you do circle time and more work. Then lunch, recess, rest, and more work. It's pretty hard." It is pretty hard, and a break was well-deserved. 

Spring break kicked off a bit early for us this year as we fought (and eventually conquered) a nasty fever bearing, energy zapping virus. 

But, give us a few extra hours of naps, and we're ready to rumble. 

There's no better fun for this little man than his first soccer game of the season. 

And Sister Cheerleader was ready to go: "Kick it! Boot it! Knee it! Shoot it! (but don't use your hands!)"

Of course, cheering is hard work, and quite frankly, sitting on the sidelines makes a girl hungry. Hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to keep those thighs in shape. 

He scored a few goals. 

And, as with every season, I wondered if this would be the one where the score became more important than the fun. We're not there yet, and I'm glad. He's only five, and he tells me often enough, "Mom, I don't want to grow up too fast." No need. He's got a short time to be a kid on the sidelines and a long time to be a grown up. 

He probably needs a haircut. Probably. 

After a quick clean up job on the van, sister was ready to roll. After all, a trip to Branson and the Dixie Stampede most certainly warrants some Dolly red lipstick. 

This is what hour three on a road trip with a two-year old looks like. 

And this is what the fourth potty stop in three hours looks like. 

My sincere thanks to the State of Missouri for a totally awesome rest stop. We needed it. 

I'm either short, or he's getting really tall. I'm not sure which I prefer. 

Loaded up and ready to roll. Again. The blankies were already beginning to turn ripe. 

And this? This is what family vacation should look like. PJ's, happy tired kids, and a well-deserved rest. 

Well deserved because they have crazy parents. Parents who will, in just a few short hours, risk life and limb on snowy highways for a few fun-filled hours at Silver Dollar City. 

You remember National Lampoon's Vacation? "Sorry folks, park's closed. The moose out front should've told ya." 

I am Ellen Griswold. Because three days before we were set to leave, I discovered the park was closed. (Who closes an amusement park during spring break?)

We rallied, rescheduled, and found ourselves frozen in the frontier of Silver Dollar City. 

Gigi was the only one who really understood how crazy we were. It rained while the temperatures were a balmy 38. The wind blew about 40 mph, and rain turned to sleet and snow.  But we persevered. We rode the train and discovered the flooded mine (purposefully flooded, not flooded due to the weather that day, though it wouldn't have surprised me.). 

We found our own fun. 

Made a few memories.

Rain (snow?), rain, go away.

The plus side? We had the park pretty much to ourselves for the two hours it was open. 

That's right. Somewhere between the candy store and the pottery shop, we learned that yes indeed, the park would be closing for the day due to the abysmal weather conditions. The potter told us his stories about his starving artist days; the nice ladies in the bakery sent us home with extra cinnamon rolls. After we thawed our toes and noses, we realized we really did have fun. 

We swam just a bit.

Even though these tough guys pansied out at the pool. 

We found our way downtown to the Farmhouse.

And we made friends with a lovely blackberry cobbler there. (The kids' place mats have a free coupon for arcade games and a go-cart ride, by the way--and they let us use both of them for RJ, a $15 value!)

But really, nothing could compare to what we were about to see. 

We doubted Gigi's attention span for a movie, even a princess movie. But, the frontier was frozen, and there wasn't much else to do. So, we did it. We saw Frozen. 

Gigi loved it. She loved it. RJ was just excited because he was going to see Frozone. (He was just a little disappointed to realize that Frozone didn't make an appearance, and actually so was I--it could have been an epic crossover.). And, he really wanted to know why they liked doors so much in the movie because they sure sang about them a lot ("Love is an open doooooor!").  But, when all was said and done, he was a gentleman. He giggled and guffawed at just the right moments, and when it was over, he held the door so that his broken hearted little sister could make her way to the van.  

Because leaving that theater was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do. 

Saying goodbye to Princess Anna hurt her. 

(I am so very grateful that we didn't see the movie months ago when it came out. I would have had to spend my life's savings on Frozen tickets.). Spoiler alert: The movie came out on DVD two days later. Guess what we watched the whole trip home? All 7 hours of it. 

Gigi was still a little peeved about having to leave behind her princess friends, and she took it out on her brother. Soon enough, they'll figure out that teaming up against their crazy parents may be their only hope for surviving family vacations.

The next morning we found our way to the train station. 

Sometimes I forget that I have a mini-me. 

So does my husband. 

The snow made an otherwise dull winter landscape really beautiful. 

After lunch, we found a few minutes to play at the Branson Landing. 

Ladies, look out. 

And we toasted to a fun family vacation: "Cheers!" (You know you're a Lutheran when your kids know how to toast each other by age 2.). 

Later that night, we saw the ultimate in family entertainment. The Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede. For those of you who don't know, I have complete and total affection for Dolly. I've loved her since I danced to 9 to 5 on my Fisher Price cassette player. I'm proud that she made my carefully selected live concert list. The fact that her portrait hangs above every entry door in the theater just makes the performances that much sweeter. If you see me next week, my hair will be just a little bit bigger, and I might be wearing sequins. 

The performances really are impressive. They're family friendly, funny, and just generally entertaining. And if you've got a little girl, get ready. She's going to want a long hoop skirt. Gigi promptly told me after the show that she would be wearing her "bird dress," which is her only long circle skirt. She was not pleased to learn that she had only purple sweatpants remaining in her vacation wardrobe. Many tears were shed. 

We rounded out our trip with a morning at the arcade and go-kart track.

He got a hole in one! Really!

This is what happens on the 18th hole. They spent a solid 10 minutes trying to find their balls. 

Gigi was the first to realize that the balls had returned to the counter, and the game (and vacation) was over. 

Almost. 

This is the face of a little girl who has just been surprised with her most favorite movie ever for the long ride home. 

And this? This is what sibling love looks like after four days of surviving a family vacation. (They're watching Frozen. I've simply lost track of how many times.)

We survived Branson. Is it corny? Sure, it is. Is it just a little bit of hillbilly heaven? Absolutely. 

But is it fun? Entirely. The people are friendly. The hotels are easy. Food is reasonable if a bit fatty fried. There isn't an ounce of pretense anywhere in the city; the views are beautiful; and it really is just a simple, old fashioned family vacation. 

Little Everydays

One of my favorite childhood pictures shows me at about age 7, fresh after swim practice with a towel turban on my head and a green ice cream cone in my hand. I'm smiling, sitting at my parents' kitchen table. Another favorite picture shows me  at about age 2, pink curlers in what little hair I had, red Winnie the Pooh feetie 'jamas, snuggled in my parents' bed.

My favorite photos aren't the professional portraits, although they are beautiful. My parents didn't have many childhood photos, even fewer professional portraits. But, the snapshots tell the stories better than any portrait could. Three little girls, one so young she still carries a baby bottle, each one with red painted lips, all smile at the camera. An every day moment, fortuitously captured, giving me a view to my family history.

It's easy these days to capture memories. We blog. We Facebook. We email, text, Skype, and Facetime. It seems that nearly every mom has a professional-grade camera swinging around her neck, and dad carries the video camera.  We edit away the uglies.  Out-takes are no more.

I have a picture of my mom at about age 17 sitting at what is now my dining room table. Through the kitchen door, we can see groceries and a red KFC bucket. And it makes me smile. Another picture of the same table shows my grandpa working on a radiator--at the table.

Today? Those would be the out-takes. Little everydays that would be lost.

But today? I carry a smartphone. It has a camera. I don't take the best pictures with it, but looking back through the files, I discovered those little family everydays that will someday tell our story:

The best part of this one? The gate in the background. We have to lock them upstairs some days to get a few minutes of peace. And the race car rug; they've spent hours on that mat. 

Just a little trip to the little children's museum. She was so little!

This is what a drive across town at 4:30 looks like when you're 5.  I wish I was 5 sometimes. 

I left her too long in the chair; she tried to get out. What I'll notice 20 years from now? The Hot Wheels track in the floor behind her and the 2012 version of Crayons on her tray. Who knows what we'll have when she's 20?

Playdoh on the patio--because the last time they played Playdoh in the house, they smushed it into the carpet. 

I make them work for their supper sometimes. And 20 years from now, I will be infinitely entertained by the Dyson in the background (for the price, it better still be running). 

Helping with laundry.

The great escape. 

How we spent those stormy nights in May. I suspect that pink blanket will go on her honeymoon. 

Again, we see the elusive Dyson in its natural habitat. 

How excited will I be to see Tidmouth Sheds and her yellow "flaps" in the toybox 25 years from now? (Let's hope the flaps have found their way to donation at somepoint--I am not a hoarder, but those hoarding tendencies....)

This is the way we cook. 

And this is how we reasonably react to cake batter spills. 

The little Hot Wheels in her cereal ("shreebel")? It was mine. And someday, I'll spend hours trying to figure out who the cartoon character in the back is. 

Just a little girl putting on her lips for an everyday at home. 

We'll miss Yellow Chair when it has to go someday. And it will definitely have to go someday. For now, it's the perfect fit for one mommy, two little ones, and a furry cat beast. 

A big treat for a little man. 

How many hours will we spend at our library? And without my ever present phone, how I would have missed this moment. 

Summer can be hot. We can't all be as cool as our big brother. 

'Cause he's definitely cool. 

Every afternoon, he makes the run to the mailbox. 

Swim lessons require a lot of stuff. Note the piles and piles of stuff. 

I just love this picture. Period. 

This makes me pretty happy too. 

I spend 5 mornings a week waiting on a 5 year old to empty his backpack, hang his coat, and kiss my hand goodbye. At least once, I captured the morning routine, so my children's children will get to see where their daddy went to kindergarten. 

Not spectacular of either child. Why I like it? I can see the treasure bin. That little pink box on the counter, filled with little treats that motivate my little man. 

She just got totally busted on the train table--and is completely unaware. 

I hope she always gets this excited for the library. 

Terrible quality, but it was her first day in a swim cap. She asked for it for weeks. I finally caved. 

She refused to take it off. It makes her look fierce. 

The princess on her throne, otherwise known as the footlocker that I bought for $5 at a garage sale, painted, and re-finished and now can't bear to part with. 

He wanted a swim hat too. It makes me smile. 

That picture of me in my parents' bed? This is pretty darn close. She loves nothing more than to get in Grammy's bed to talk on her phone and eat snacks. The blanket? Made by Granny Bea--one of many quilts that continue to hug our family long after she departed. 

A princess gets her hair fixed at the same vanity that I bellied up to for nearly my entire childhood. 

"Mommy! Can you change the sheets? I got lotion!" Someday, I'll be astonished that the lamp in the background has survived 30 years. I love that crazy lamp. It will not be going anywhere. 

It snowed! We made a snowman!

Let's hope she gets better at keeping her pants on. 

And finally, this is how we celebrated Dr. Suess's birthday. 

I write a lot about little moments and appreciation for the little things.  I've learned a lot in the past 6 months. I've soul searched. I've hidden. And, I've come out of the shadows. Some days, I'm the mom with the fancy camera and the beautiful portraits. But these, these are the pictures that I hope will make the favorites list for my little ones. Those little everydays that could so easily be forgotten.