Ok, so I recently got back from visiting family in Branson, Missouri, and I had a fantastic time! The family we visited was a couple living in a million dollar home who use to live in Saudi Arabia for 25 years. Ok, so we leave Wednesday at midnight (so technically Thursday?) and arrive 1:30 the next afternoon. The next 2 hours are spent touring their magnificent home and hearing their stories of what it was like to live over there. And man, was their house filled with priceless items. Paintings on papyrus paper from Egypt, beautiful rugs from Iran, coutertops made with the same marble used to build the Taj Mahal and embedded with semi-precious stones laid out in a beautifully intricate design...they're travelers also, heh. That place was just...a museum. I wanted to take so much stuff. And they lived right next to a lake and had the perfect property for a beautiful overlook. so, we rest and relax that day..

The next day, we tour the town of Branson which we all come to learn is actually a tourist hotspot. Kinda like a clean las vegas (and I know how that sounds but), moreso with all the lights and shows, not so much the gambling and prostitution. So, after a quick tour, we eat at a diner where the servers are also singers and they entertain you while you eat (Brooke got serenaded, like, 4 times, haha). Anyway, then we strolled through some shops where they only sell Christmas stuff year-round. Like a little Christmas town with the big tree in the center and everything. It was pertty :) Now then, afterwards, we went to see a Russian comedian, Yakov Smirnoff. He was funny, but I think some of the jokes were over my head because of an age difference maybe? Anyway, but this was a particularly special show because he asked the audience to stay after the show if they wished to see the filming of a pilot for his new TV show. How exciting! Of course we stay. We ended up being there from 3 in the afternoon till about 9:30 that night. But it was great :) so if his show gets picked up, I was there!

And the next day was even better. We bought tickets to a paddleboat called the Branson Belle. And this thing was actually huge to be on a lake. It fit a couple thousand people on it. When we were in the dining room, you felt like you were on the Titanic, with having 3 forks and servers waiting on and serving you and everything. Anyway, the Branson Belle is a boat with dinner and a show that cruises on the lake. It was awesome, first we ate (chicken cordon bleu!! hellz yea!) then we had a little time to walk around the boat (at the top deck, we had a beautiful view of the water and the lake) then they had the show. And man, was the show awesome. Ok, first they had a singing/dancing group, 2 guys, 2 girls. they were pretty damned good. But my highlights of the show were 1) a Russian couple who did amazing acrobatics, I mean the way this woman twisted her body...her spine shoulda broke, haha. Aand they did their part of the show to music and some parts of it was Pirates of the Caribbean-themed (one of my favorite trilogies!) so I loved that. And then a ventriloquist comedian came out, Todd Oliver, but instead of using dolls, he used dogs, but instead of fake doll dogs, he used real dogs! Apparently he uses some kind of (harmless) contraption on their face that allows him to control their fake lips like they're talking. It was so cool! and I thought he was hilarious, I loved him. After all that, the boat docked and the show was over :( I didnt wanna leave! The whole thing lasted 3 and a half hours. Then everyone else shopped around the gift shop (I forgot my wallet) and from there, we went home, rested, and drove the 13-and-a-half hour road trip home the next day. This vacation was marvelous.

But that wasn't it! We got back Sunday night and the next day, (after a short dentist appointment for me), we went to go see the Dark Knight! And it was an awesome movie. Just as great as, and possibly quite better, than the first, Batman Begins. Christian Bale makes a great batman as always, but many people were pessimistic about Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker (come on, the gay cowboy? plus, who could ever live up to Jack Nicholson's potrayal of the Joker?) BUT, don't worry! Heath did a fantastic job of playing the incredibly twisted joker. It kinda pisses you off that he died and won't be able to make another Batman movie because he did a spectacular job. He was creepy >:-) Anyway, I loved it!

So that was my weekend from Thursday to Monday. I had so much fun the entire time. And though I go out a lot, this is the greatest time I've had in a long time :)