Branson: Day 3

We ended our weekend in Branson by touring Talking Rocks Cavern. Following our underground exploration, we went to the Amish Country Store where we bought a few homemade food items like jam, macaroons, and vanilla beans. Our Branson trip ended with a BBQ lunch from, and a stroll through, the Autumn Daze Arts and Crafts Festival. We were very tempted by a few things but managed to keep our money in our pockets. It was nice for just the two of us to get away for a weekend and spend some time together. Plus, I can cross it off the list I've been making of things I have the chance and would like to do while living in Missouri. Now in addition to remembering this trip with fondness, we can look forward to another weekend (perhaps somewhere else) sometime in the not-too-distant future!

This is flowstone, but it is also known as bacon. It does look similar to the food (especially when back lit), but from this underneath perspective, I think it resembles tentacles too! The formations are quite unique.

In a narrow corridor of the cave, we paused for a Patalie picture!

Beautiful, natural wonders. What's sad about these particular stalactites is they were broken off (in part during the first exploration of the cave, and possibly more so by tour participants when the cave was under other management) and will never grow back since they are no longer in the path of water that slowly helps create them.

In some of the pictures, the texture of the rock is not captured. But here, you can see the glisten indicating the cave was wet and drippy. This area will continue to grow, but again- very slowly. About 1 inch per 100 years, the tour guide had speculated, and that's not even the slow ones either. She said that shows how caves are one of the most non-replenishable natural resources. Makes you appreciate the concept of conservation and respecting the beauty and complexity of the planet God created and gave us!

Branson: Day 2

It rained all day yesterday but we didn't let it get in our way of having a good time. We started off by going to a little chocolate shop, then headed to the zoo/aquarium where we fed stingrays, sharks, and a giant sea turtle named Savannah. After the zoo, we made a quick stop for lunch and headed to Cirque Imagination's Montage show. The show was really cool- it's amazing what people can do with their bodies. The contortionist was especially astonishing- she could put her butt on her head. Nuts! The show finished around 5pm, so we drove back over to Branson Landing mall to eat dinner. On the way there, we made a quick stop at Dino's Cake Co. to get a slice of their carrot cake to-go (it's supposedly really good). Dinner was at the White River Fish House (run by Bass Pro) and consisted partially of alligator tail for an appetizer and habanero margaritas. We finished the night off with Ben and Jerry's and a stroll around the Landing. All in all, a great day!

The chocolates we bought from Chocolat.

Atalie and a kingsnake.

After placing parts of small fish between your fingers, you let the stingray suck them out of your hand.

Feeding Savannah, who occupied the same tank as sharks.

At Cirque Montage.

Tasting alligator tail and habanero margaritas for the first time.

Branson: First Night

Tonight was the beginning of our weekedn in Branson! We came down from Springfield after work, checked into a hotel, then headed off to Branson Landing for dinner. We were a bit late for our reservations at Cantina Laredo, but they didn't seem to mind. We ate out on the patio and had front row seats to the water and fire show (a miniature Bellagio fountain show with fire!). After dinner we headed to the Landing Queen paddle boat for a short cocktail cruise out on Lake Taneycomo. It was a blast... literally, if you see the pictures of the show!

Our waitress, Viviana, made guacamole fresh at the table for us! It was definitely delicious!

Cheers to a good night!

In front of the Landing Queen, just before boarding.

Giving the captain a short break! :)


The light show was really cool, and beautiful for sure! Our moonlight cruise made a special stop for the fountain's finale.

Patrick the Star Fish. My family ought to appreciate the meaning of that!

Our new place...

Sorry for the (long) delay on posting these...


The front of the house

The living room (with Atalie still putting stuff away!)

Hallway around the corner looking toward the bedroom, full bath and utility room located on right and the second bedroom directly behind
Hallway coming out of the living room with the 1/2 bath first on the right, the second bedroom beyond that and the utility room directly ahead.
View of the kitchen/living room area

Extreme Home Makeover!

I am guessing most, if not all, of you have heard of the TV show on ABC, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." It's a reality show where a team of designers, led by Ty Pennington (formerly a carpenter on the cable show Trading Spaces), scouts for and chooses a family to build a new home for. Their aim is to choose families who are deserving and in need, and complete the house in 1 week.

For example, the Hamptons. The mom & dad both work, and are involved in various things like a rodeo association. They have kids, but one day not long ago, Social Services called them and said, you have one hour to decide if you'll take in your nieces/nephews or else they go to foster care. And they took them in. The family- now of 8- had to share the one bedroom farmhouse, so every room was filled with stacked tubs of belongings, they shared beds, and the older kids had to take their meals on the floor.

Extreme Makeover decided to redo their home, so they came to Ash Grove, MO to surprise them.....about 30 minutes away from Springfield. And here's the kicker: the local builder selected for the project is a big client of Meek's- a hardward store down here. A hardware store that is a big client of Young & Company advertising. So I wrote a press release to promote our client's involvement with the show! :)

My boss & I got passes to enter the Media area on-site one of the days during the build, so we paid a visit!
A construction sign gave us a heads up that we were close (the screen flipped to give directions to the parking area). My boss stopped at the side of the road so I could take a picture- haha!

Inside the Media tent- I took a picture of anything that proved I was at the actual site.

Mom encouraged me to sign up as a volunteer so we could hopefully see me in a hardhat on TV. I was too late for the sign-up, but I got a picture in a hardhat at least! The house is in the background- Day 3, and already the frame and most of the exterior is complete.


I didn't see any celebrities, but this volunteer woman (the one who let me wear her hardhat) had autographs on her shirt, and her husband emerged from the inside of the house to show her he got autographed photos from Ty & Paige (one of the designers).

Even though I didn't see any national celebrities, I saw local ones. Here's a husband & wife anchor duo from KSPR news (the Springfield area ABC). They were practicing their update as the camera crew set up.

I think the show is set to air in September or October if anybody wants to tune in. It's sure to look very different from the actual process I heard about and/or witnessed, so it'll be interesting for all of us MO folk to watch!

Canoe trip on the Buffalo

These are out of order, but we don't care. We assume you enjoy reading about our nearly exciting lives. If not, there's a blog about skateboarding here that you can read: http://deeperthanyouraverage.blogspot.com/.

The weekend before climbing (June 26/27) we joined Pat, Jackie, Chris (Jackie's brother), and Brittany (Chris' girlfriend) for a whirlwind trip down to the Buffalo River for an overnight canoe trip. Atalie took a sick day on Friday and we all drove down in the afternoon to AR to get some miles in and find a place to camp. When we got on the river, the temperature was up in the mid-90s, so the water was a welcome relief. We floated for a few hours, swimming off and on, and found a large gravel bar to call home for the night around 6:30. Sleeping was miserable- it was about 80 with no breeze until 4 am- we averaged 3.5 hours of sleep with 2.5 hours of dozing and wiping sweat off our brow.

The next morning was nice- it was cool (about 75) and slightly overcast. None of that lasted long. It was back in the 90s by about 10am and the sun was relentless. Luckily, there were plenty of gravel bars to stop and go swimming at along the 5 miles we floated. We took out in the early afternoon and then headed home. It was a short, enjoyable trip!

Pat, Jackie, and Barley

Eddy (the dog), Brittany, and Chris.

Atalie and I jumping off a (maybe) 12-foot ledge into the water. Lots of fun!

The 4th

We had a treat for the 4th of July this year- Mike came down! To celebrate his arrival, we went rock climbing down in AR at Sam's Throne. He got in really late Thursday night (or really early Friday, whichever you prefer) after making the long drive down from MI after work. We (Pat, Jackie, Derek, Kat, Atalie, Mike, and I) set off from Springfield around 1pm. Before getting outside the city limits, however, Doris (the Taurus) decided to blow a tire on the highway. Good times. It was obvious that Mike and I wouldn't be making a NASCAR pit crew team any time soon. By the time we swapped for the spare, the hazard lights had drained the battery. Did I mention that we stopped at the end of the on ramp at the start of the 4th of July weekend? By this time, Pat and Jackie were on their way back to meet us in case we had to have the car towed. Right after Pat and Jackie arrived we realized that Pat couldn't jump with his car because he was facing the wrong way with nowhere to turn around. Up pulls a State Trooper. He says "I can probably turn around" and then does the crazy u-turn with lights flashing and tires squeeling- awesome. Jumped the car from his then took off back for the apartment. We then switched everything over to Mikes car and set off (again) for AR around 2:30pm. By the time we left, Derek and Kat were already at Sam's Throne setting up camp. We rolled in around 4:30 and commenced setting up camp as well. After all was set up and refreshments were in hand, we decided that we'd try and get one route in before sunset. We, minus Atalie and Jackie, attempted a route that was above our skill set and none made it to the top. Oh well, there was always the next day! We pulled the rope once everyone had thoroughly exhausted themselves and called it a day. Dinner was served (hot dogs) an hour and a half later. We sat around the campfire the rest of the night chatting, setting some fireworks off, and then headed to bed REALLY late.

The next day was rough. Climbing was made harder by the fact that the majority of us were "sick" (I won't elaborate because I'm sure you get the idea and if not, don't bother asking). Despite this, climbing was great. I'd forgotten how much I love it. Unfortunately, we could only get 2 routes in before the rain forced us to call it a day. In our haste to leave camp that morning, we all left our tents wide open, our backpacks out, chairs out, etc. So everything we own got wet and we were forced to pack up camp in the rain. Other than that, it was fun!

The ride back was uneventful (thankfully) and after some nice, hot showers, Mike and us went out for dinner. Sadly, Mike had to leave the next morning.

The group (minus Atalie) the first night following our attempt at the really hard route.

Atalie attempting the "Posion Ivy" route.

Mike also attempting the "Posion Ivy" route.

The three of us sitting under an overhang trying to wait out the rain.