The Holidays - Final Post 2011

Because we did not return from Branson until Thanksgiving Day, we held our family dinner on the following Saturday at Amy and Bobby's home, and celebrated Jenni's November 26th birthday at the same time.

When the kids get together there are always games to be played!  Several of the kids and grandkids have really gotten into the activity of geocaching which is best described as treasure hunting with a GPS.









Kyle and Tiffany geo- caching with a friend. 




Almost before we knew it, Christmas was upon us!  We attended vespers at our church on Christmas Eve and then went to Chris and Bill's home for gift exchange, a wonderful dinner and solving the mystery of the Family Tree that Chris and Alyssa had decorated.  There was an ornament for every family member and the goal was to match the ornament with the person.  Here's a few...







Camera - Serena - takes a class in school and is the yearbook's rep to take pictures of various activities; she even wears a "press pass".
Who else could this beautiful golden crown match up with but Rod - the "golden child" as his sisters call him.  His request is that next year the crown will be illuminated, with angels singing the Hallelujah Chorus in the background!


Tennis racket - Actually, this ornament could have been for Kyle, Ashley and/or Tiffany. 

Airplane - Stephanie works for U.S. Airways.

To round out the holiday season, we applied our skills at building a gingerbread house.  Chris, Amy, Nancy, Tiffany and Rod were the master builders - Rod was a little more masterful than the others by using a rolling pin, ruler and exacto knife to prepare his pieces for the house.  Ah yes, we knew that architectural degree would come in handy some day!  Exterior design was completed by the ladies on the construction team.  Bill chose to nap through the ordeal while Russ and Bobby watched football on TV.

Matthews, Brannon & Jakes, LLC
"Holiday Ideas Unlimited"

Thank you again for allowing us to share with you this special 50th anniversary year.  There were a few set backs (health-wise) along the way, but our faith and trust is in the Lord. Our family was blessed by the addition of our first great grandbaby, Bella Rae, to Kyle and Ashley (proud grandparents:  Amy and Bobby).   GOD IS GOOD!  

Branson, Missouri

For our final trip of the year we went to Branson, MO for an International Coaches for Christ Rally.  South of Flagstaff we ran into this beautiful white stuff.

Somewhere between Flagstaff and Holbrook, we discovered we had battery problems - no house lights or heat except for small electric heaters.  The temperature got down to 19 degrees so we experieced a very cold first night on the road.  Left early the next morning for Albuquerque and Camping World where they were able to replace 4 batteries.








We spent the night in Amarillo, TX... and the next day travelled to Shawnee, OK, the home of Oklahoma Baptist University where our good friend Hannah Karr is a student. Hannah, along with her siblings, work in the dining hall at Ponderosa Retreat and Conference Center where we volunteer in the summers. 

Campus Entrance

The OBU bison

Hannah & Nancy

Chapel

This was our first visit to OBU and we were impressed with the campus.  We have several friends who are alumni, including Nancy's dad who attended his 75th reunion before passing away in 2004.  Marcus and Terri Rawls, Clint Walker, Jack Young and Don Browning are also members of this elite group!  While on campus we met with administration officials to inquire about our friends only to find out they had never heard of them - LOL!  (Stands for laugh out loud - we've learned the "new" language since learning to text with our grandkids!) For Don Browning that was understandable because he probably graduated before they began to keep records, but I don't know about the others!  What do you think?

The weather was quite foggy as we passed into Oklahoma and we didn't see the Welcome to Oklahoma sign until it was too late to take a picture!

While in Springfield we visited the Bass Pro Shop for the first time.  What a place!  We could have spent much more time looking around but met our friends PJ and Carrolyn Arthur for dinner.  They are part-time residents of Springfield and spend winters in Arizona; they are in our Bible study class at Palmcroft and are long-time friends of another acquaintance, Bob Goodin.

Nancy found this friend

As I mentioned earlier, the main reason for our trip to Branson was to attend a Coaches for Christ Rally with other members of Coaches for Christ from around the United States and Canada - 60+ RVs converged on Treasure Lake
RV Resort for a week of fellowship, fun and inspiration.  Every morning we had breakfast and devotions with great music and a different speaker each day.  There was at least one Branson show planned for each day.  The remainder of the day was free to go to other shows, shop, sight see, shop, eat, shop, visit local attractions, shop...well, you get the picture!

Our cruise on the Branson Belle included pre-lunch entertainment, a wonderful meal, and a stand-up comedienne who not only was funny but an accomplished violinist as well.  She gave some history on the violin - told when it was invented but said it wasn't a very popular instrument for many years.  Then...when they invented the strings to go on it, it increased in value and popularity!  LOL!

On the dock

Pre-dinner and show entertainment

Pierce Arrow

Shoji Tabuchi

This was our favorite show - five brothers, their wives, and a whole lot of kids ranging in age from a few weeks old to young adults - all of them performing in many ways - singers, dancers, violinists, guitar players, handbells - incredible!  In fact, they have had a "live" baby Jesus for their Christmas show for the past 17 years!  We recommend this show if you ever go to Branson!

The Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede was lots of fun.  The meal consisted of soup, biscuit, loin of pork, a whole cornish game hen, corn on the cob, twice baked potato and an apple turnover, all to be eaten WITHOUT utensils!  It was finger-lickin' good.  LITERALLY!!

We were at the Andy Williams show on the day of his cancer surgery so he was not there, but among the entertainers were the Lennon Sisters of Lawenrce Welk fame.

The lion and the lamb

Pre-program music provided in the lobby

The Sight and Sound Theater is relatively new to Branson. It seats more than twice as many as the Shoji theater and the stage is the length of a football field.  It was built for the purpose of bringing the Bible to life.

A group of us went to lunch at the beautiful Keeter Center on the campus of College of the Ozarks.  The college is unique in that students do not pay tuition.  They all have jobs on campus and what is not covered is provided by scholarships.  They grow all the food that is used in the restaurant and are basically self-sustaining.  All students must prove their inability to pay for their education before being accepted to the college.

 

Silver Dollar City is a large theme park near Branson.  They have shows, rides, crafts, etc.  We stayed for the light parade that evening.





Here we are hoping the light parade would hurry up and begin.  Below are videos of the light parade.

Although we have been to Branson many times we have never been for the Christmas shows.  What a wonderful time.

On the way home we had heavy rain between Oklahoma City and Amarillo.  Although we had a great time it was good to see the welcome to Arizona sign.  It's always good to be home!