Springfield Weekend

Josh and I headed to Springfield to visit his family this weekend. We headed down Friday night and had MadeRight burgers. I'd never had them before, and I don't really know how to describe them... they were mostly loose-meat sandwiches. But they were awesome! :) Saturday morning we headed to the city and ended up getting there around noon. Silver Dollar City is having the craft festival, which is one of my favorite times to be there (most of the time it is my favorite time to be there... but Christmas really wins, everything else is a tie). Everything is all fall and pretty colors, the trees are changing, and there's tons of fun stuff to look at (paintings, quilts, belts, any kind of craft you can imagine). Everyone was a little cranky and tired by the time we got there, but once we all ate lunch, and the Lootens took a nap before the Riders In The Sky concert (see picture), everyone was much more chipper! As usual, we ate way too much and it was all good! We ate lumberjack chips with cheese, fried fish, hot dogs, kettle corn, a bloomin' onion, and I'm sure there was more but I can't remember! After we left the city, we were going to take Mom Looten to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack on the new Landing in Branson, but we got there around 7:00 and the wait was at least 3 hours. Soooo we decided no way! We explored some shops in the landing, including one very lovely hat shop (see Josh above), and decided that the Landing is a really neat place. It is very similar to The Landing in Jacksonville, too. It has restaraunts, shops, kiosks, and tons of fun stuff. There were even two cowboys there doing tricks with lassos and whips (sorry, Ruth, I tried to give them your number but I couldn't get close enough). It had a very neat atmosphere, and I'm excited to go back next time we get the chance!

Instead of Joe's, we took Mom to a place called The Texas Roadhouse. It was amazing! They are known for their ribs, but they also have great rolls with cinnamon butter (I was definitely vibing on those) and the greatest mashed potatoes I've ever eaten! So we really enjoyed it, just sitting around and talking and laughing and having a good time. All in all it was a great visit! And we're excited to be headed back in a couple of weeks to celebrate Tim's birthday! :)