Silver Dollar City During Christmas

It was our first time with 6.5 MILLION lights in Branson Missouri.. It was incredible, so much so that it was blinding, literally your eyes are forced to squint in Midtown! While anticipated, it was beyond what you can imagine and the pictures I've shared don't do it justice! Having a 4, 5 and 6 year old there, I didn't think to take pictures every step of the way. *The kids know..Aunt Mary LOVES taking pictures* so they're generally ready and willing to pose. ![IMG_20171228_151724.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdraJAgJU9C4mkeiqPenvA878Q8TJqaS72hDjNDnpCPHr/IMG_20171228_151724.jpg) We started off by taking a family picture, as is our normal routine but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up, I HAD toget individual pictures of all the kids. Well, except my 15 year old nephew. *Oh teenage years, how I don't miss you* ![SilverDollarCityGingerbread.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYqrciTU2F5G2hZKE2dVepjhJNkyvrhra7yRkDUds2nNH/SilverDollarCityGingerbread.jpg) Next, we all agreed on Grandfather's Mansion (while picture quality is always terrible, it's always terrible fun) This is a house near the entrance where everything is tilted and upside down. The boys were very confused as to why the room kept "Pulling them". I've seen all of the older kids' reactions before but the little boys reactions were simply pure and adorable. ![SilverDollarCityGrandfatherMansion.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYrDoSB5z4SSsSdfuW1kRURsQg4PRpJmjGb3Xh15XNwGF/SilverDollarCityGrandfatherMansion.jpg) Our next stop was the Ball Pit. We've all been to this several times and the kids just love it. It's especially pleasant for my 5 year old nephew with Autism who tends to keep to himself. He was socializing with other kids (girls are always his preference), socialization he rarely seeks out. The smile on his face was worth a million dollars to his Auntie. Knowing he's making progress with his social skills...priceless. I will have to designate an entire blog to his accomplishments one of these days...he is something else! ![SilverDollarCityBallPit.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbTBPB2K81Ct7tsAcL9RKURrRr1AJjnYAH5CVhNtjqs5R/SilverDollarCityBallPit.jpg)

4 year old Nephew

Youngest Nephew: "That's a big tree Aunt Mary". Me: It sure is, do you want to get a picture in front of it? Kids: *Yelling* Yeah Sometimes you just have to run with it. ![IMG_20171228_152203.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQma5KBNWPgAQSRp7BrCgFJiVYzPojdbeJEUgyrbvD3sbBP/IMG_20171228_152203.jpg)

Teenagers

15 year old nephew: Aunt Mary, get a picture of me. Me: (*Said with lots of sarcasm*) Now you want to take a picture....in a coffin. Teenage boys, of course I chose the photo of him smiling to share so here ;p ![SilverDollarCityCoffin.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVJ2ZbJF5QPpvMQ8QGL1H7etWqqLR7LgfFxCgcj9QZGSi/SilverDollarCityCoffin.jpg)

Face Plant Your Face

One of my personal favorites was another "kid directed photo shoot" in Midtown, it's one of those things where you "have to be there" to truly appreciate the moment but let me tell you... These kids are so unique with some big personalities. Sometimes they just leave me in "awe" and this was one of those moments. The gingerbread man picture was added for cuteness, too cute to Not share... ![SilverDollarCityFacePlant.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXGFWPW3NfZk47kppgnYW69RbeTMR95PTN3BWi3iqx1Mz/SilverDollarCityFacePlant.jpg)

Good Fun

![Bread-SullivanMill.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbbW1VsYraa5t5o6CNaFYH2t34ZdyzvtwVDeifr7tmeam/Bread-SullivanMill.jpg) (picture from Silver Dollar City Website: https://www.silverdollarcity.com/theme-park/attractions/shopping/Sullivans-Mill) It wasn't complete until we shared some Cinnamon bread from Sullivans Mill in the freezing cold and saw "It's a Wonderful Life" show/play together. If you can get out of a show with putting your finger to your lips twice (shhhh), with 7 kids...I think it is a success, they were captivated once the show began..deservingly with the wonderful performance. https://www.silverdollarcity.com/theme-park/attractions/shows-entertainment/Its-A-Wonderful-Life.aspx ![WoldrfulLife.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdaMpzmb4N9EmacAik5vs1MT5WjLwJCvdv2w6MgX5A2B1/WoldrfulLife.jpg) We were all ready to leave after the show, the girls twirling around like ballerinas was just icing on the cake to a wonderful day. ![IMG_20171228_200246.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeNPaVvP7EmUWe9rWogin49izCL2Di1qrCo8xNZvSJfgi/IMG_20171228_200246.jpg)

BEFORE

![IMG_20171228_132752.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTGheR5PNG4zsVL5QpSxEg2ZCFDpCjrWHtfb3JPXvLVfe/IMG_20171228_132752.jpg)

AFTER

![homesweethome.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmREdxoG8VxCfJh18pd6kE44XVrCfE7p3QahLQPeW9JtTA/homesweethome.jpg) Thank you all for taking interest in this family. Not all moments are smiles and laughs but you have to cherish the ones that are. Thank you to those who have followed my posts, I've always loved writing and I'm glad something like Steemit exists to provide an outlet. And the cherry on top is the community here, there's none I've seen quite like it and I can only assume that this has a direct response to Steem Dollar value increasing. #SteemCommunity #SteemValue on the rise! I am in no way affiliated with Silver Dollar City or any of its entities, nor do I receive anything by writing this. Just something I wanted to share. Tickets are Very pricey, way overpriced for a one-time visit so season pass is the only way to go if you live close-by but it was well worth it..although I'm not planning on spending that again this year ;)