Emily and Chad Brown and their son, Jake Brown (my niece and her family) made the drive to Branson from Shawnee, KS to spend the weekend with us.  They got a room at the Welk Resort..yes “that” Welk – Lawrence of the bubbles 🙂  It’s  very nice resort on the south side of Branson, MO.  It has a golf course, an indoor water park and much more – perfect for a family with an active 10-year-old.

We packed more into that Saturday than I thought possible.  They got into town around lunchtime, so we ate at the resort’s restaurant.  Then we ventured forth to “do” Branson! 

Jimmy found a roller coaster-type ride where each individual gets their own car, and can control their own speed.  What a blast! I stayed on the observation platform to get some really great photos that took a while to upload, but worth the wait.

Of course, I had to “borrow” this lovely photo from Facebook of my nephew…Chad…Emily’s husband:

We then headed to an attraction for the “grown ups”: a wine tasting at Curling Vine Winery.  It’s the first tasting I’ve ever been to where they provided a variety of sparkling grape juices for the under-21 crowd.  Jake Brown found a vintage that was very much to his liking.

Then it was time for the grown ups to enjoy being a kid again at the Grand Country Arcade, Laser Tag and GoKart Track. We all played a few arcade games, including air hockey.  My friends won’t be surprised to hear that 10-year-old Jake Brown whupped me!

Then Uncle Jimmy challenged Jake to a game of laser tag…big mistake.  It seems that the kid is much more agile than Jimmy.  Jake won, Jimmy came out with a bloody arm, and very sore muscles the next day.

Then we jumped in the go karts…what a hoot!  The track was three levels, and we raced each other to the finish.  The action was stopped for a while in the middle of our race by the safety officer.  It seems Jimmy actually T-Boned his 10-year-old great-nephew, Jake Brown!  This despite the clearly posted signs: No bumping.  Always the rebel 🙂

And…oh yeah…Emily lapped me before just before the end.

We went to dinner and then early to bed since we were both exhausted.  We met the Browns again for breakfast before they headed back home.  The time spent with this family reminded me just how much I miss them and how proud I am of Emily and the woman she’s become.

Here’s one final photo of Emily and me that I LOVE!!