daddy4ms

I am so excited to be taking a short vacation to Branson this week.  Both my oldest (19) and youngest (11) asked to go to Branson for Spring Break.  Bethany and I decided we needed to make it happen.  We will spend 2 days at Silver Dollar City and we are looking forward to this time together as a family.  Thank you Lord for the opportunity to get away and spend time together! I am excited to ride some roller coasters.  Praying for good weather.

Today, we are in Branson, MO again.  We are enjoying a weekend away as a family.  We will of course head to Silver Dollar City.  But a highlight for us will be attending "Joseph" at the Sight and Sound Theatre.  We were blessed with some free tickets so our family could attend.  I am looking forward to this mini-vacation as a family after three weeks of school. Happy Labor Day Weekend Everyone!

Summer went by too fast this year.  Since school has been in session for two weeks now, I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures of the summer.

Today has included mini-golf, picnic, & waterslide & pool. Tonight, we are taking it easy & maybe go-karts or bumper cars.

Grandma, Aunt Kay Jean & the cousins joined us today. Grandma took little ones to track & butterfly pavilion while older kids went to Ripley's & Titanic. We ended day at Track & supper at Fuddruckers. Shopping for Bethany & Kay Jean while kids & I & grandma went swimming. Here are a few pictures:

I will not be posting any new content except maybe some pictures until after May 28th because I am on a family vacation to Branson.  Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend and the beginning of summer break!

Today, I am reminded of God's faithfulness, provision, and love. We leave today for vacation in Branson and I am looking forward to time away with family.  Before we left, I needed to run some errands which included purchasing a family pool pass to get the discount (you know I am always looking for a sale).  All of these things--Branson vacation and pool pass were reminders.  Why? Because of the generosity of a family from our church, we can stay at a home in Branson without cost. Because of the generosity of a family from our church, we have season passes to Silver Dollar City for free. Because of the generosity of an anonymous donor, our pool pass was purchased for us. I am thankful for each of these individuals/families for their generosity.  I thank God for them and their love for me and my family.  I am grateful to serve God with these families at Hesston MB. I have prayed blessing over them as they have understood, "it is more blessed ...

Today, begins my vacation. I am so excited to be spending it with my family in Branson, MO.  We plan to go to Silver Dollar City three days and spend some time in Yates Center after leaving Branson.  I look forward to riding Silver Dollar City's newest roller coaster, Outlaw Run.  I wrote a few posts before leaving on vacation so check out the blog over the next few days. As you read this, I might be flying through the Ozark Mountains on one of many great roller coasters.

Happy New Year! I am finishing up 2010 on vacation. Bethany and I and the kids spent our first three days on vacation in Branson . We stayed at Grand Country Inn which has an indoor waterpark . Each day we started with time in the water. Then we headed to Silver Dollar City to see the 4 million Christmas lights. It was a spectacular sight! There was a five story Christmas LED Tree with moving lights to music. There was also a lights parade. But probably the best was the live production of "A Christmas Carol." Our kids really enjoyed it and it had very good music. The extra bonus was that it was above 40 degrees on 2 days so we were able to ride roller coasters. This is a treat for Mitchell, Megan and I. Mackenzie is more like her mom in this area and does not enjoy roller coasters. Molly is still to be determined but she loves the "cat coaster" in Grand Exposition . We enjoyed some good meals together and of course some ice cream from Andy's. We he...

No, I am not posting this while on my weekend with my son. I posted this before I left. However, if you are reading this-currently, I am in Branson , MO with Mitchell for a father/son road trip. The purpose is twofold-have fun together and listen to CD's together. We will be going to Silver Dollar City 3 days, a magic show one night, and on the drive listening to Dobson's "Preparing for Adolescence" CD's . I can't wait to share how the weekend went and to encourage other parents in a similar experience with their kids. Please pray for our time together!

Last week, I had the wonderful opportunity to go on vacation to Branson with my family. God blessed us with two warm, sunny days at Silver Dollar City. Also know as " dolla , dolla city" by Molly. It was such a great time to relax and have fun. Our car ride down to Branson went very well and we arrived about 9:30 p.m. Then we were up and ready to head to SDC . We headed towards Powder Keg first and Mitchell and I were able to ride quickly. The girls waited and when I got off, Molly told me "I not like the fire." For those not familiar, powder keg shoots out fire when you take off. It is one of the best roller coasters I have ever ridden. We then headed to Wild Fire. Mitchell was too short last year to ride this one. He was a little nervous, but excited too. It goes upside down 5 times. He loved it! We rode it twice in a row. It was then time for the girls to pick so we headed to the Grand Exposition which has 10 family rides. There are tons of ride...

As I am reflecting on the past week, I thought I would share some recent memories from my vacation, but also other memories from the past. Just a reminder that time spent with family is always a blessing even if it can be a little stressful at times. Here are some of my Branson memories: My mom screaming when she saw the Lamb Chop Balloon (about 10 years ago) Water Slide in the hills near Silver Dollar City-our family loved it and was sad when they took it out(about 20 years ago) Eating at the fancy restaurant ( Candlewood Inn-I think) and embarrassing my dad because we played in the water that we were supposed to use to wash our hands (about 25 years ago) My sister screaming when a goat ate her dress (about 30 years ago) Mom falling down the stairs-she was not hurt (several vacations over the last 33 years) Water Chute on the strip where we have gone many times over the last 20 years Bumper Cars with Aunt Kay Jean at The Track and go-carts with Uncle Robert (about 20 years ago) M...

Well, I am in Yates Center at my parent's house. We left Branson today around 2:30 p.m. The kids did well again on the car ride. Molly slept for almost an hour and a half. My pick for lunch was one of my favorites: Chick-Fil-A. We left last Sunday to drive to Tennessee. We drove for 9 hours and the kids were great. We stopped in Poplar Bluff, MO for the night and finished the trip to TN on Monday morning. We had a great time seeing Judy, Steve, Katie (as the girls called her), Brandon, Bryan, Grandaddy Red, & Meemaw. They were great hosts. The kids swam in the pool, enjoyed breakfast at McDonald's (Grandaddy's idea and treat), riding 4 wheelers, and just playing together. We left TN on Wednesday morning and drove to Branson. We arrived in Branson in time to eat and get a movie for the night. On Thursday, we headed to Silver Dollar City. All of the kids had a great time. We saw two shows: JEERK & Veggie Tales (Molly kept telling me to clap). I rode all ...