Some photos to catch you up... Missouri trip, 6/2010

So as 50% of our readers know, cause well, you were THERE, we went to Missouri and got to spend the week with Stacey's family. Always a good time. This visit we all drove down to Branson, MO and stayed in a really cool log cabin. The original plan was to all go to the Gulf Shores of Alabama and stay in a beach house, but that was nixed (thanks BP!). This was way fun, though, and I'll take a cabin at the lake over a beach any day. The first night we had some serious storms and a tree actually fell on Sue's car... Luckily it wasn't bad as an adjacent bank caught most of the weight, but there was quite a bit of damage to the roof and the doors. We went to downtown Branson (which for my family is like Pigeon Forge touristy stuff crossed with LA gimmicks) and rode the DUCKs! They actually have the old WW2 amphibious vehicles that they do tours around town and then down - and into - Table Rock Lake. Our driver/guide was a hoot as he looked and acted like a muppet. You know the jazz guy with the shades and beard? That's him, driving an amphibious vehicle through Missouri. Fun time. Still have the duck quacker and my coworkers hate it. :)
It was HOT though, on the trip. Like 103+ hot. And that's not the "index" or "feels like" BS. True measurement. Whoo.
We also went to Eureka Springs in Arkansas. You talk about a cool little town! Totally tourist driven (not gawdy, but small stores, cafe's, etc) but I really dug the matching architecture and how the town was built into this little valley... No really.. BUILT INTO THE VALLEY. I think I got a couple shots of that town... I'll look.
On our way back we stopped for ice cream and then hit the pool! See attached photos...
What else did we do... Stace and I got to have some time with her Uncle Dale and his wife, Terry, when we got to Kansas City before heading to Branson. They took us out to eat and we had a nice talk over some good barbeque (Houstons, FYI. Go. Try the skillet beans). Always good to see them and to catch up. It was also really good to get to spend some actual time with Lee and Melissa as I never get to.When we visit we're usually so rushed we basically say "Hi/Bye" and that's it. At least this time we were all in a central spot so we just relaxed and got to talk. Well, that and the 4 hour drive down in the same car helped.


Yes. Yes, that's a tree that fell on Sue's car the first night we were there.

This is the turtle who laid it's eggs in the front yard near the street instead of down near the couple of ponds behind the cabin we were staying in. I guess when you have to go...

Happy Grandpa? Hmmm.. I say "Yes". This is Lee and Melissa's son, Jackson, if you've somehow happened to miss Stace's photos of him so far. He turns two November 25th. Stace has been aching for some time with him and hopefully got enough to keep her happy until the holidays. You'll notice that in most of the next photos who has him...

Jackson and Lee in Eureka Springs

Happy Auntie? Again, I'll go with "Yes".

Happy Auntie? Hmm.. tough call... Not.

Some nice daisies in Eureka Springs

Turtle King? Cool!

Shark King?? AWESOME! Even 1 year olds know Shark trumps Turtle.

Future Class President photo

"My Auntie is the Best". Duh.

No, Dad, it won't stay there under the tree, but Sharon and Kress gave us their old firepit and we found some fun chairs at Home depot. Why YES! My lawn is very nicely manicured in this photo, thank you! Yard work was my July 4th gift to my neighbors.

Remember the earlier post where Mark was tilling the ground? That's a pumpkin vine he planted that day. We're gonna name it cause we figure we're all gonna get real cozy like very, very soon. Oh and the rest of his garden is under there somewhere. Pumpkins are already forming on our side of the fence and yep - you guessed it - we're keeping them. WE GOT PUMPKINS!

And here is ours! As you can see we have very happy squash (left side front) and the corn is going well. The squash is covering up the carrots, the onions really never showed up, and the lettuce can't really make up what its mind as to what it wants to do. In the 4x4 you can see the bean bushes by the lattice and an eggplant are coming alive over there. Hanging on the hook is a tomato plant that has yet to blossom, but it's been way hot and I'm not sure we've been watering it enough. Oh! On the other side of the corn are three pepper plants (red and green) that are starting to produce. Whoo hoo! We have already picked squash, surprisingly enough.

Be well.