Branson Vacation...the rest of the story

The internet at the condo was on-again-off-again, so I didn't get to finish posting the rest of the events from our vacation. So, here is "the rest of the story"....
We decided to spend Thursday by the pool again and then have a cookout on the lake. So, Norman got the fire going and Andrea, Camryn and I brought the hamburgers and hotdogs and all the fixin's down to the picnic area. We enjoyed the serenity of the area while others enjoyed boating and skiing on the lake. Camryn and her Papaw spent a while trying their hands at skipping rocks on the lake while I tended to the cooking and Andrea watched and enjoyed the peacefulness. After we ate our burgers and dogs, Andrea demonstrated the art of making S'mores. Camryn was not too sure about this, but finally got the hang of it.
Here are some pictures of the cookout:









Finding rocks to skip









Papaw shows his skills at skipping rocks









The "cook" checks on the meat












Chowin' down...(Camryn did not like the flies)









Andrea shows Camryn how to brown her marshmellow









Then Camryn tries her hand at it..









To quote Camryn, "WOW!!!! Now that is a flaming marshmellow!"









Next you put it together...












Then you eat it!!!












Friday, we had to be down at the Convention Center by 7 AM because Camryn's group was the first routine of the day. It was quite difficult to get all these little 4-6 years olds up and going at this hour of the morning. That is why I am not getting any smiles or poses out of Camryn in her
"Ice, Ice, Baby" costume. They did this dance at 8 and then had to be ready for their "Chapel of Love" routine by 8:30. Once those two dances were done she was finished for the day.


Their group got an Elite Gold 1st in their age category and 6th overall. The MC was talking to them asking them what they wanted to be when they grew up.









The "Chapel of Love" dance also scored Elite Gold 1st place points but got 3rd overall in the 8 an under category. We left after awards to eat lunch and then went back to watch the rest of our large groups compete.

And this is called, Dance Competiton Wipe-out! Camryn had danced in the back of the room most of the afternoon with her friends while the other groups from Ms. Karen's did their routines.









All in all it was a fun and relaxing week. We enjoyed the time off and loved getting to watch our kids perform. We look forward to next year and all that it holds.

Branson vacation...Day #4

Day #4 of our vacation in Branson started with sleeping a little later since we had been up late the night before at the competition. Then we spent a relaxing two hours or more at the pool. We cleaned up and then headed to the Hard Luck Diner to eat where Jason Yeager (a contestant on American Idol) is now singing and waiting tables. We tried to get Camryn to have her picture made with him but she would not agree to that. After we ate we went to play Putt Putt Golf. I kept score and recorded the event on camera. Here are a few pictures of our evening:
Camryn tees off and does a sort of "sweeping" putt on the first hole.










Andrea takes her first shot and gets the ball in the hole in two strokes.










This is Norman's shot on hole 3..he made a hole-in-one on the first two holes...a feat Andrea was not too happy with him about.









Here Camryn is working on her 4th stroke on a hole










This golf course was called Pirates Cove and thus was all landscaped and decorated in a Pirates motif. At the end they had this pirate figure that I wanted to take the three golfers picture beside. Camryn was not too excited about this as you can see. Her she is thinking her mother has gone nuts.









And here you can see her disgust with having to get her picture made in front of the pirate.










Afterwards we came home to an evening of TV (Hannah Montana, Suite Life of Zack and Cody for the 15 gillionth time) and computer games. Tomorrow will be another day of relaxing by the pool, cooking hamburgers and hot dogs for supper and maybe we will take in some go cart racing. Later...

Branson Vacation...Day #3

I know this a day late but we spent most of the day at the Starpower National Dance Competiton. It was a very long day and also very cold in that convention center. Camryn did very well on her solo. In fact it was the best she had ever done it, which is fitting since it was her last time to perform it. She score Elite Gold 1st place points.
Here is how the day went:

Camryn does a little stretching warm-up...

Then it is time to fix her hair...

Curlers all in...

Now comes the make-up...foundation...

Eye shadow...

Make-up all done....

Costume on...now the company warm-up suit

Andrea is showing her support

Camryn is dressed and ready to go!

Let's do it!!!

Go MKDS! Go CAMRYN!

And Success! Elite Gold 1st place!

All in a days work as a MKDS Company dancer!

We are all very proud of what Camryn has accomplished this year on her first solo! I think this is only the beginning of many more to come!

Branson Vacation...Day #2

Today we spent here at the condo. It is Norman's birthday so we let him decide what he wanted to do today. Unfortunately, he had a report for work that he had to get finished so he ended up spending most of his day on his work computer. I did fix him a nice dinner though.

Andrea and Camryn decided they would head to the pool after a few lazy moments in the bed. They went swimming while Norman and I made a quick trip to Walmart and a roadside fruit stand in West Branson. When we got back they had come in for lunch. We all ate, then I headed to the pool with An and Cam for their second round. We pretty much had the pool to ourselves for an hour then some teenage girls and their family came out. Camryn of course made friends with them quickly and spent most of her time diving and swimming with these girls. However, before they came she and Andrea worked on their diving. Camryn has completely lost all her fear of the deep end of the pool. She can swim and dive like a little fish as you will see in the video down below. When they finally did decide to come in she was one pooped little girl. She had a ravenous appetite and was also exhausted. As a result she fell asleep on the couch until I got dinner ready. She awoke and ate a really good supper and was ready to do whatever we wanted to do. After we ate, Norman finished up the report and we plan to take him to Cakes and Cream a little later for a Birthday Shake!


Here are some pictures of our day:
1-2-3-Jump!









Adjusting the nose plugs









Camryn's dive









Andrea's dive

Here is a video of Camryn's dive...Well, it is taking too long to upload it so I will have to do it tomorrow...I am going to bed now. We have to get up and get our little dancer to the Branson Convention Center tomorrow. She does her solo around 1:20 PM and her trio around 6:06 PM. Please keep her in your prayers that she will do her best and have fun!

On vacation...in Branson Day #1

Camryn will be in the Starpower National Dance competition here July 15-19 so we are using our week in our time share to attend. We arrived yesterday and have been to the pool and to Silver Dollar City so far. Camryn dances on Tues and Friday so we will have some free time to rest, relax, shop and swim. Here are a few pictures of our vacation thus far:


Her support team








Papaw and Camryn put a puzzle together...








the finished product








Pool time..Camryn shows off her diving ability









Pretty wet smile












Today we went to Silver Dollar City...pausing for a picture









Playing in kids area of SDC












A pause for lunch...the corn dogs are good, according to Camryn.




Taking a look at the map to see where we are...












Flying high with Dumbo









It was a beautiful day for going to SDC...cool and no humidity. We all had a good time but are glad to be back in the condo for some rest and TV.
Until tomorrow...

Patio Project

For some time I have wanted to fill in the gap between our poured patio and the red terra cotta block patio. It had white rocks in that section but I was ready to have it as continuous concrete. So, I bought 6 more 16" terra cotta blocks and began the job. Back breaking as it was, I am pleased with the end results. It would have been better to start from the existing concrete patio and move out but, I did not want to have to take up all 60 of those 40 pound terra cotta blocks and move them over. So, there is a little gap between both sections. However, it is not bad enough to warrant moving 2400 pounds of blocks by myself. I did, lift some of the older ones to try to level them out so it is not as uneven.
Anyway, here is the pictorial record of today's project:
Here is what it originally looked like.









I had to rake the rocks out (not an easy chore).
The first block in place.












All 6 in place.












All finished, cleaned up and furniture back in place!
Now time to hit the shower to get the sweat and dirt off!