Daddy-Daughter Date to Bass Pro's Hemingway's

Kristy and I decided that we were going to implement something that we have talked about doing soon after Molly was born......it has taken awhile but well worth it all the same. What we have decided to do is hold regular (monthly/bimonthly) nights were we each take one of the girls for a night on the town to do their choice of activities. Our first attempt at this effort went perfectly. Kristy took Molly and Neleha was with me. Molly chose to spend the evening at McDonalds at the playland and Neleha....well she loves Bass Pro, and so we headed for the fish restaurant as she calls it in Bass Pro, a.k.a. Hemingway's.

This restaurant serves up some very good sea food and local barbecue flavor on a buffet that just wont quit. On top of that they have a huge salt water aquarium over the length of the bar which easily captivated my little fish lover.

Neleha was especially fond of what she called "baby lobster" which actually was crayfish but not much difference really. We had an awesome meal and spent some real time together enjoying what my little Neleha enjoys, fish and food.

I later learned that although Kristy didn't get to enjoy the high quality food that we did, she had just as much fun with Molly. And so it was that our first effort went very well at spending time with our little angels.

Snow Bird Trip to Arizona - Best Timing Ever

Using the opportunity that was provided by all of our schools being out for the MLK jr. holiday we headed down to Arizona for what was expected to be a very quick 3-day trip. During our 3 days we had no idea however that we had left Missouri just 36-hours prior to their greatest natural disaster in decades. Missouri received a massive dumping of ice which resulted in the great destruction of trees which ended up knocking out about 85% of Springfield's electricity for at least 5 days and for some up to 12 days. We did not even learn of the devastation back in Missouri until the night we originally expected to leave when my friend Hans told us about the ice storms we missed. We soon learned that our power was out and that many of the interstate highways were closed between Arizona and Missouri. Our 3-day trip was immediately extended and since all of our schools were closed, we had no reason to go back anyway. I wonder if we would have packed differently had we known that we would actually be spending 9-days instead of 3?

During our visit we had the opportunity to spend much time with Collin, we had so much fun with him. The girls sure do love hanging out with their Arizona cousin, they almost fight each other over being able to capture his exclusive attention. They have so much fun.

Dillon is growing faster and faster each time we see him. The more he grows the more he looks like his Daddy. He is certainly a mini-Tony.

A very unique opportunity that being in the Safford area that we took advantage of was visiting the childhood home of Spencer W. Kimball. He was our head church leader back in the 70's and 80's. I always thought it was so cool that I grew up in the same town as President Kimball. The town neighbors Safford and is called Thatcher.

Spencer Kimball was known for his faithful service to the Lord, always standing up for what was right regardless of how unpopular it might be. He stood for principles and he had a love for his people. His kind and undeviating heart and service reminds me so much of our current leader Gordon B. Hinckley.

This year the entire adult membership is learning about the specific teachings of Spencer Kimball which made this little visit to his old homestead that much more meaningful.

My sister Amy invited us all over for a wonderful Barbecue. It was so enjoyable spending time with her and her family, the food was great and the conversation was too.

I must say Amy has made such wonderful progress over the last two years, she has done so well with her marriage and family, I am so pleased with her. She is beginning to know happiness and it really shows.

I had to take the opportunity to get a photo next to her, after all she is the only sibling I have that I can stand next to and actually feel like the older sibling rather than a younger one.

We had a great time with great food, that is what it's all about.

During this visit I wanted to make sure that I took Kristy and the girls back to Roper Lake State Park but this time to enjoy the natural mineral spring hot tub.

Visiting the hot tub was one of my favorite activities as a child and it was so much fun to watch Kristy and the girls enjoy it as well.

Having Collin and Chad as well made the experience that much more fun. The hot tub is fed by a natural hot spring and it felt so good in combination with the slightly crisp desert air.

Before we knew it, the time had arrived for Collin to go back home, we sure did enjoy his visit and it was very clear that he enjoyed his visit with us. We sure do love our little nephew/cousin Collin.

One of the frequent activities that we participated in was of course stopping in at the Water Depot for their snow cones. We couldn't get enough of these things.

We talked Tony into cooking his very famous Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches. We quickly learned why these sandwiches are so famous, simply because they are soooo goooood!

One night we were able to hook up with Hans and April and their kids for pizza and a movie. We watched "Night at the Museum" and then headed for Pizza Hut.

We enjoyed the great company and the awesome pizza. Good times indeed!


Later that night us guys got together again for another game of RISK. We changed it up a little bit which made the game more entertaining but less time consuming.

Hans claimed the victory of this one but we all had a great time playing, as usual, it's not who wins, it's just about playing the game.

Kristy had a great time with Zoe and the girls, they had a great time listening to her iPod.

Kristy and I came across an interesting place in Thatcher. The Rainfire beef jerky roadside stand appeared to have much potential, I mean the idea was too cool. Even if you happen to stop in during a time that they are closed they have a 24-hour vending machine.
We happened to stop in during one of those closed times, but the vending machine offered many flavors of their homemade jerky. We purchased a few of the vending machine offerings but to our great disappointment the quality and flavor was subpar at best and mainly just simply a far stretch to be called beef jerky. Oh well, it was a cool idea.

Carmen's brother stopped over one afternoon after driving up the local Mt. Graham to play in the fresh snow. He loaded up some of the cold wet stuff and dumped it in front of Tony's house. This was very ironic looking back since the day we finally left Safford it actually started snowing and they ended up with a record breaking 10 inches.

Our last night in town we headed up the hill to Safford's finest dining facility, the Branding Iron Steakhouse. Tony had been talking up their ribs all week which they only serve on Saturday night. We originally did not think we would have the chance to try them out but indeed we did.

The Branding Iron not only serves up some pretty good food, it also provides the best view of the Safford night skyline which really sets an awesome atmosphere.

So we gathered for one great meal. Tony was right about the ribs, certainly worth all the compliments he had been awarding all week. We had a great time talking and eating and during this meal we even began some talk about a Grand Canyon trip for Memorial Day this year. Good times and good food!

Kristy looked so beautiful all dolled up which makes me feel so special to be able to parade her around my old home town.

The girls also had a great time, this was certainly a good way to close our very extended trip to Safford.

Late Aniversary Getaway to Big Cedar in Branson

When we first moved to Springfield one of our trips to Bass Pro resulted in Kristy purchasing a weekend getaway package for the Bass Pro Resort "Big Cedar Lodge" in Branson. The package was very inexpensive and Kristy thought that it would be perfect for our anniversary. Due to school and the holidays we were not able to take advantage of our anniversary getaway until now, but we enjoyed it all the same. The one catch to this very inexpensive package was that we had to listen to a 2 hour sales pitch about time shares for the lodge.

The lodge was breath taking, certainly an outdoorsman paradise.


The room was unlike any hotel room we had ever stayed in, it was like staying in a log cabin crossed with a hotel room.

From the framed vintage fish lures, to the old time radio lamp and even the window into the bathroom; it was a singular experience.


The resort's restaurants were not exactly appropriate for a graduate student's budget but we were able to find a deli that was very good and pretty cheap.

They had such wonderful sandwiches and deserts, a place we could certainly appreciate.


So after lunch we ventured out to check out what the resort had to offer.

We found a huge Lincoln Log table where the girls got to attempt to build their own log house while Kristy got to decide what spa services she would indulge in as my gift to her for putting up with me for last 7 years.


We took a walk around the resort and enjoyed the crisp weather and fresh Ozark air.

The resort was so beautiful.


Kristy headed out for her spa appointment and the girls and I headed out for the lake.


Along the way to the lake we decided to explore the rest of the resort.

We crossed the hanging bridge and found the playground and the mini-golf course.

The playground was very fun for the girls and the last hole of the mini-golf course being in a big Bass was pretty cool for me.


We finally found our way to the resort marina on Table Rock Lake were we got to enjoy the complimentary paddle boats.

We squeezed into a 2 seater and paddled around having a great time on this most wonderful lake.

Afterwards we picked up Kristy who was most happy and relaxed however her dope of a husband was trying to be proactive and help her into the van and I inadvertently messed up one of her freshly painted toe nails. However the staff at the resort spa fixed it for free and encouraged her to have me stay away from her until her nails were completely dry. Advise that she certainly put to use.

So for our anniversary dinner we went to a Branson favorite "Outback Steak and Oyster Bar".

We heard so many good things about this place, which all panned out to be true.

Kristy ordered a steak........

Molly wanted the onion blossom.......

Neleha and I went for the "Gator Tail" which tasted like chicken??????

We enjoyed a wonderful meal together and highly recommend this "other" Outback Steak restaurant.

Back at the resort we decided to hit the indoor heated pool. We had such a wonderful time swimming and splashing and having a really great time.



We even ventured outside in the very cold crisp air to take a dip in the very heated hot tub. Neleha was so funny, she kept telling us that she wanted to go back to the "cold tub".


The next day it was time for Kristy and I to take our sales tour and sit through 2 hours of very boring sales pitch. The good thing was that Molly and Neleha didn't have to be tortured with the experience, they actually provided a class for the kids where they got to make and color fish and fishing poles.


Kristy and I however got to enjoy a very long but luckily very low pressure sales tour of the resort. In the end we decided that even if we had the money we would not put it here, the resort was awesome however, the time share options were very over priced.

All and all it was a very wise choice for Kristy to purchase this Big Cedar package for our anniversary. We had such a relaxing and enjoyable time. We would certainly recommend Big Cedar to anyone that is looking for an outdoors getaway in Branson.

To our first seven of eternity.......... I am certainly looking forward to the next seven.