Dixie Stampede

This weekend, we took a short trip to Branson!  We have been wanting to go back to Silver Dollar City for sometime.  But also, we wanted to take the boys to The Dixie Stampede.  While we thought they might enjoy the show, little did we know that they would actually be asked to participate in the show! 

Their job?  Chasing chickens!  The premise of the show is the North vs. South during the Civil War.  And, audience participation is required for the competition at the show's finale to see which side wins the war. We were on the South's side, and the boys were paired against 2 other children to chase chickens from one end of the arena to the other, with the goal of being the first team to get their side's chicken to cross the finish line first.  Unfortunately, the South did not prevail during that competition, but the boys sure had fun!  Cole chased that chicken as fast as he could!  And, Chase?  Well, he chased Cole! (Unfortunately, I don't have a single picture of them since photography was not allowed.  Sigh...)

All in all, the boys loved Dixie Stampede!  Cole was completely mesmerized by the entire show.  And, when the horse riders were doing stunts, including jumping through a ring of fire, Cole's mouth was literally hanging open! 

Aside from the show, we also had dinner there.  And, that was quite the experience as there is no silverware.  Dinner consisted of soup, a whole chicken, sliced pork, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and apple turnovers.  And, we ate everything with our hands! I thought for a minute that Cole might have a meltdown....Only, I wasn't sure if would be over the fact that a waitress plopped an entire chicken on his plate or the fact that he was going to get his hands dirty eating it. Fortunately, he got over it quickly since the show distracted him. And, even though he had greasy hands and shoes full of sand from chasing chickens, he didn't mind a bit. And, walking to the car afterward, the boys were already asking to go back again!

As a prize and "thank you" gift for participating in the show, the boys each received a medal, an autographed post card from Dolly Parton and a book! It was truly an evening they won't soon forget!