Russ and I went to Silver Dollar City in November as part of our fall getaway, but the kids hadn't been there for the Christmas festival yet and Evie had been begging. The boys didn't want to miss basketball practice and we all know Violet and SDC don't mix, so we told Evie she could invite a friend. She was very excited to bring Ava! And look at that sunshine on this late December day. . .
The decorations are always so pretty! And we found plenty of cute photo ops for these cute friends.
We knew it would be a popular day at the park so we got there early. As it turned out, we were the first ones there by the rope drop! We got comfortable, ate our lunch that we'd brought, and started planning out our day. A lady in line behind us told me, "Your babies sure have beautiful eyes!" To which the girls smiled GREAT BIG.
First things first, TIME TRAVELER! Ava had never ridden a roller coaster before and was convinced that she was scared of them. Well, we put that fear to rest straight-away with this ride!
So maybe the fear wasn't totally put to rest after that first ride, but it certainly was after riding Wildfire . . . twice!
Amazingly, the park still wasn't crowded at all so we ran over to Outlaw Run where there was still no line at all.
Then we rode the Giant Barn Swing (twice).
Took a break for a couple photo ops:
Next up, Firefall Tower! I hadn't ridden this one in forever, and I forgot how fun it was!
At this point we decided to change it up a bit and go through the Marvel Cave. Ava had never been in a cave, and the last time Evelyn was in this one, Russ was holding her. We got to the front of the park and were greeted with this:
The park was officially starting to fill up and it was going to be 2 hours before we even started the 60-minute cave tour, so we decided to wait until next time to do this. Instead we headed to the Jingle Junction to pick out our 2022 ornaments.
Evelyn did a great job of helping to pick out just the right ornaments for her brothers and sister, and Ava found a pretty one to take home also.
We were ready to rest for a bit, so we went in to watch the glass blowers do their thing. It's rather mesmerizing watching the molten glass melt and harden as they created their masterpieces.
After we'd watched them complete a couple of pieces, we headed into the store to admire some of the gorgeous glasswork. The girls even found some adorable little glass dolphins to bring home as a memento.
The "Christmas to Remember" show was next on our agenda. These guys can really sing and have a lot of fun, too (as you can see with the Grinch poking his head from behind the curtain).
When that show was over, the park was really beginning to come to life. It just never gets old seeing all of the beautiful lights. Get ready for a barrage of pictures of all the beauty!
Midtown is SO awesome!
We watched the Christmas tree on Main Street do its thing. . .
. . . and then it was time for Rudolph's Holly Jolly Christmas Parade! The girls had a front row seat and got some really great pictures of the fun.
After the parade, we went on a search to find the lit-up waterfall. Grandma Cheryl provided some assistance as to the location (she was there also with some girlfriends), and we took off. Success! Isn't it pretty? The park was super-crowded at this time, but the waterfall is tucked away and we were the only ones back there; so peaceful.
We headed back to the Fireman's Landing to ride Firefall one more time.
We had such a great day of riding rides!
We admired more lights as we made our way around the park. This view of the Nativity with the flag in the background is quintessential SDC. God and Country, never ashamed of either.
As we made our way to the front again, I mentioned to Russ that we missed the Tree dancing to the Carol of the Bells. The words were no more out of my mouth that everything around us went dim and the song began. I just love that one! It was a perfect way to end our way at SDC!
We had an absolutely fantastic day and we were blessed with awesome weather, too! We ordered our pizza and headed to the Barrington for the night. (The boys texted to let us know KU had come back from a 38-13 deficit in the Liberty Bowl, and we got back just in time to watch the 3 overtimes!)
After dinner the girls got their suits on and swam for an hour or so. . .
. . . and then we enjoyed some yummy ice cream at the hotel's reception from 9-11 p.m. We may have all gotten seconds even.
After a good night's sleep, the next morning brought us a great breakfast, more swimming and some hot cocoa before it was time to check out.
We always have a nice stay at the Barrington!
Grandma Cheryl had told us we should check out the gingerbread house collection at the Chateau on the Lake so after checking out, we drove that direction. I'd never been to this hotel convention center before and it was impressive!
All of the details on the buildings were amazing! I especially liked the stained-glass windows (fruit roll-up) in the church.
The girls found a gorgeous Christmas tree and Santa hanging from the rafters!
It was already over 60 degrees outside so we explored the property a little. Evelyn decided that, while the Barrington is nice, she'd like to come HERE next time!
The final activity on our little mini-vacay was some mini-golf. Grandma gave us some passes to the Coral Reef indoor complex and it was so fun!
Russ won't like to admit this, but Ava almost beat him. That girl is good at mini-golf!
In addition to the golf, there were lots of fun table games. The girls had time to play air hockey and shuffleboard before it was time to head home.
Ava is such a sweet friend to Evelyn and I'm so thankful they were able to have this fun trip before she moves to Emporia next week. There were countless laughs and memories made! I know these girls will be lifelong friends and will have many more fun times like this in the future. This trip was an awesome way to finish out Christmas break!
