First Day of School 2012

Thursday August 16 started the school year here in Tulsa.
And it really hit me hard that my baby who was never going to get older than 5 years old is a junior in high school this year...where did all the years go? It just can't be possible...



And when did this boy get old enough to go to 2nd grade?





Here's to a good and successful school year!

The Rest of Our Vacation to Branson, Missouri

It's been a week since we returned from our bacation to Branson and the details are already getting fuzzy so I better get it blogged before I forget even more!!

Lacey on a roller coaster ride with D. 

Another fun ride with Lacey and D...D is all buckled up and doesn't reach up over the side so that's why you can't see him.

Two cute boys pretending to ride in a stage coach.

Getting to eat brakfast in bed is a perk of staying in a hotel.

D enjoying sleeping.



Branson has several outlet malls and so of course we did our fair share of shopping.
Love the hat D!!



Found Chase some new school shoes and of course he found a hat to model also...

Oh and new shoes for D too!!!

Here we are getting ready to float on the Branson Belle.

And we jump back to Silver Dollar City where Lacey, Sam and Abby are about to ride a big swing that twirls as it goes back and forth.  I had no desire to ride on it...I'm getting to old for those types of rides.
Chase also didn't want to ride and Davis was too small.

Back to the Branson Belle...

Now we jump to shopping...
This is what Sam found.
It's his graduation gift and I think it will serve him well on his mission.

The Branson Belle is a show boat.
They feed you dinner and entertain you while you eat and float around on the river.
Fun.

The meal was better than the Dixie Stampede.
We were served roast beef, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, green salad and ice cream pie.
YUM!

Thisday actually was our 34th anniversary
and we decided it was a good way to celebrate.
Lacey had the emcee announce us and congratulate us.
Kinda fun.

And this was good. 
The emcee (Slim Chance) picked Chase out of the audience and had him get up and help him with some tricks. 
Chase LOVED it!!
And people would stop him afterward and congraulate him for doing such a good job!

There was a break after dinner to go out on deck and look around.

Chase and Davis were able to meet the captain and get his autograph...cool!!

Sam and LaVor had to leave Sunday night to be back at work on Monday.
The rest of us woke up Monday morning, checked out of the hotel and went to ride the Ducks or how the army spelled it DUKW.  It has something to do with the army and it stands for something that I at this moment cannot remember.

I was totatlly thrown off with this attraction.
I thought we were going to see some ducks and some water life but no,
it was a tour of Branson and then we went atop a mountain in the Ozarks (more of a hill to me, being using to the Rockies) and saw some army stuff and then we headed down to Lake Table Rock and plunged in with the DUKW we were riding. 

Chase was a busy boy because not only did he get to perform on stage on the Branson Belle he got to drive the DUKW boat!!
He loved it of course!!
They asked D if he wanted to drive and D being D wouldn't do it...silly boy.

Then it was time to head home...
and on our way home we stopped at the world renowned Lamberts.

This was ah-mazing!! 
 They sit you down and then start throwing rolls at you.  Actually if you want a roll you raise your hand and the guy chucks it at you.  And they also walk around and pile on your table fried okra, black eye peas, macoroni and tomatoes...and this is all before you order!  By the time you order and get your food you are STUFFED!!

But the food is so good you cram it in anyway!

And then you sleep all the way home unless you are Chase who never sleeps unless he is in his bed with the lights out and me...
who has to drive all the way home.
 But it was nice to have everyone asleep...I just put in my book on tape and drove.


It was a fun vacation and a memorable one.

We will definitely return!!

The 2nd Day in Branson

The main attraction today was the Dixie Stampede.
This is a sit down dinner with a horse show.

The dinner left much to be desired but the show was fun.

The theme of the night was the rivalry between the North and South with a fun competition between the two sides. We were on the South side and we were basically losing until the last competition where everyone was to get a flag and stand up and salute one by one (kinda like a wave) and the team finishing first won the whole competition and we won! It was a fun night.

After the show we went to The Landing which is a outside mall along the Lake Taneycomo lake.



Driving down a main road in Branson. Going to The Landing



At first it was hot and muggy but when the sun went down a breeze came and it was quite delightful. We listened to a brother sister duo called musicfromtwo. Their names are Ethan and Bethany Dunn. Look them up on YouTube and see if you like them...I did. We enjoyed some shopping and I found a fun store called Devo. They had every kind of flavored olive oil and balsamic vinegar imaginable. They only have 2 stores one here in Branson and another one in St. Louis. They are also online. I bought a white peach balsamic vinegar with a Persian lime evoo. Can't wait to try it on a salad! It was a fun day and we were all tired by the time we got back to the hotel room. Another fun day in Branson...

A light show in the middle of the outside mall called The Landing

First Day in Branson

We got off on a rocky start today mainly because we got in to Branson late last night and had a hard time getting to sleep (what is so hard about 7 people falling to sleep in a 350 square foot room?--2 of them little boys that couldn't settle down)

And so this morning was full of whining and moping. Chase also was crying about his left ear hurting which has turned out to be swimmer's ear.

But after a yummy lunch of turkey cheese sandwiches, chips, vegetables, and Oreos and getting some medicine in Chase's ear, life perked up a bit and we are having a grand time at Silver Dollar City!

A Picture of Summer

A picture is worth a thousand words...that is so true with this picture
And I'll add one more word...summer.