The Simpsons in Branson~ Take Two

**A list of things I discovered or rediscovered on this second trip to Branson....

1. Big Cedar Lodge is a relaxing place to stay in Branson.

2. Stan thinks so too.

3. My family really enjoys amusement parks together.

4. If you ride this particular ride first, you will walk around the amusement park with wet underwear for the rest of the day!
5. Mason still enjoys these rides that go around and around in circles. 6. Mason ISN'T tall enough to ride this ride.
7. The line for the go-karts was longer than the line for the above roller coaster. And not nearly as much fun.
8. Taking a video camera on a roller coaster doesn't work very well.

9. I sound like a drunk moron on a roller coaster.

10. Madison loves to dance!~

11. False eyelashes are difficult to glue on.....

12. Mason loves the Tutt girls.

13. Catie Beth and Emily are so sweet to Madison.

14. Mason's taken modeling lessons somewhere????

15. Makenzie could be an actual model.

16. Mason is a ham for the camera!

17. My niece Danielle looks a lot like my kids.
18. Mason wants to be just like his daddy.19. Vacation wears you out.

Stay Tuned for Take 3~

The Unbirthday Party

The last post was a preface to this post.....

Yesterday, July 8th, Makenzie finally got to have a friend birthday party. Now before you start judging my abilities as a mom, let's get something straight. The child DID have a birthday party, and we did do something as a family in February. But as far as a friend party, we waited until something really special came along (like a break from school so Mom had time to plan it :-))

Makenzie's first and only American Girl doll is Kit Kittredge. She chose Kit, because they are very similar in looks with the blonde hair, blue eyes, and freckles. Thankfully, Hollywood decided to create a G-Rated movie about Kit and it came out just in time to have a great "Un"Birthday party for Makenzie.

Her guests were two friends from school~ Emma and Eden; three cousins~ Maguina, Caroline,and Ana; two "Best Friends" Middle Schoolers Catie Beth and Allison; and of course, her two darling siblings; Madison and Mason.

Emma, Makenzie, and Eden

Makenzie and Cousin Caroline



Catie Beth and Allison are sweet to still come to a 3rd grader's birthday party.... :-)

Stan and Cousin Ana

We met at Chili's for lunch...... and then went to see the Kit movie. By the way... it is an excellent, clean movie that I highly recommend seeing~

One last picture after the movie.

Stan was relieved that Mason was the only one without an American Girl doll~~

I had to include this to remind myself that they do NOT fight 100% of the time. Only 99.8%....

Only 7 more months until PARTY TIME again. My new slogan is "In time for '09"!!!!!

I will not be late, so get off my back~~~ :-)

Locks of Love

Makenzie wanted to get her haircut like Kit's (the American Girl doll... more on that next)


So on Monday, I took her. I told the lady that we wanted a short bob. As she was getting ready to cut, she said to me, "If we take off another half inch, she'll have enough for Locks of Love." When we explained to Makenzie what that meant, she was so excited and said she wanted to do it so that her hair could be a wig for a patient with cancer. So what was going to be a normal haircut turned into much more than that for us. I had to choke back tears as she got her hair cut. Makenzie has such a tender sweet heart. And in the end... she got a pretty cute haircut out of the deal~

TOO CUTE~ Without the headband... she looks just like an American Girl named Kit!

The Simpsons in Branson~ Take One

Hello my Blogger Friends and Family....

I am sorry I have neglected you for so long. No excuse except absolutely not taking the time to sit and blog... Sorry, I'll try and catch you up.

At the end of June, we went with Stan's mom, sisters, brother-in-laws, and their kiddos to Branson for a 4 day stay. Yep, all 20 of us (Brett, the oldest grandchild, thought making money at his summer job was more important than us....Just kidding Brett.. we missed you!!!)

We stayed at the Grand Country Inn, and the kids enjoyed playing in the indoor waterpark.

Danielle, Makenzie, and Madison stop for a diva pose

Madison holding on to her swimsuit while 10,000 gallons of water poured out of a large bucket.

Tammy and Brooke enjoying the Lazy River. Makenzie in the Lazy River

Mason "Joe Cool" Simpson HATED the indoor waterpark. He wore these sunglasses all weekend, but lost them before we came home.

However Joe Cool DID enjoy the outdoor pool and would jump to anyone who would catch him.
About half of us spent a day and a half at Silver Dollar City waiting in lines, riding rides, and screaming, and laughing our heads off!

Donnita, Makenzie, and Danielle on the tram ready for the day!

Stan and his twin sister Leanda.... Just kidding on the twin stuff, but they do look a lot alike!Madison and I waiting to get blasted on Powder Keg. Riding a roller coaster as a mom is a lot different than as a child. I never remember reaching my hand out to hold the person next to me in their seat until my kids started riding with me. Like that arm across her lap is REALLY gonna hold her in!!!!

Madison and I again, but this time with Stan and Mason behind us. Mason is hidden behind the trashcan... but he was there. And he hated every minute of it. When the ride pulled into the loading area he said, "YES....it's over!" He is not my Evil Kenevil by any stretch of the imagination! The next picture is the way he looked the entire time waiting in line for the LOG FLUME!!! I guess he thought if he looked mad enough, we wouldn't make him ride???

He did enjoy the rides that make most adults sick though. Thanks Aunt Donnita for enduring this one!!! Look at his left arm all propped up on the side. So cute~I draw the line here.... Absolutely no teacups for me. Good thing Mason was tall enough to ride with Makenzie and Danielle!

Mason is in the cup with the girls. He didn't move at all. Just sat there quietly and let them spin him. UGH~

Mason and Stan showing off their guns while waiting to begin this "ride". Not much of a ride for the adult in the seat......

After our days at SDC, we would meet up for dinner somewhere together.

The Boy's Table

The Kid Girl table

And that's it... no pictures of the adult sistas or the little guys. (If you look at the guys' picture above, you can see a glimpse of the little boy's table. Austin is visible anyway....) I was still nauseous from the roller coasters to take many pictures. We had a great time together as always!

The Simpsons in Branson~ Take Two will be premiering on July 14th (approximately). Madison has her dance competition the weekend of 11th.

Happy Birthday~

Happy Birthday to my best friend, Stanton Monroe. As I was showering this morning, I remembered it was his birthday. But when the morning routine was over... I had forgotten to verbally acknowledge his birthday~~~ EEK! So I called him from the car and the kids sang Happy Birthday to him. I quickly called Magic 107.9 and low and behold he won their birthday contest. The kids and I were screaming in the car when they announced his name. You would've thought he had won a million bucks instead of a Western Sizzlin gift certificate. So then I called KLRC, our local Christian radio station. Yep, you guessed it.. the lucky guy won that contest too. I wanted to take him to Las Vegas tonight for good measure.

Stan's first birthday request was a pair of sunglasses, but I think that's a personal purchase... so I went to get him a gift certificate at the Sunglass Hut. I promise you the man working at the SGH said he could not sell me a gift card because all of his cards were too old to load money on. I thought he was kidding and Jay Leno was gonna pop out and put me on the show. Next item on the list, Cabela's Big Game Hunter for the Wii. Seriously. This is what he was looked like a bigger portion of our evening :-) We went to the Outback for dinner with our friends Jack and Michelle, and then back to their house for birthday cookie to celebrate. Not as exciting as last year's surprise 40th birthday party and Caribbean cruise ... but we did enjoy the evening.

I love you Birthday Boy~

Boogie Shoes

It's that time of year again~ Marathon Dance Recital Weekend. For those of you who have never experienced this.... I don't know whether to pity you or envy you. Hopefully, I'll stay sane enough until Monday and can post even more pictures and a video of Madison (Blogger is VERY slow with the video downloading!!!) Until then... I have 2 girls to get make-uped, hair doed, and costumed.

Enjoy~

Makenzie with Catie Beth Tutt

Madison was one of the mice in the Cinderella Ballet.

Cheer Pom~ Makenzie is on the far left at the beginning...

Super Celebration Sunday~

Sunday, April 6, 2008 Makenzie was baptized. Both Nana and Grandma Simpson were here to celebrate with us.

Makenzie made her profession of faith two years ago with her Daddy. They prayed together and Makenzie asked Jesus to come into her heart. I was very nervous that she was too young and wouldn't remember anything when she was older. So we didn't press the issue of baptism until we knew it was a decision that she was making on her own. A couple of weeks ago, she asked us when she was getting baptized. So she went public with her decision, and her baptism was scheduled for this past Sunday.

When I woke Makenzie up on Sunday morning, the first words out of her mouth were, "Am I getting baptized today?" I responded yes to that question. And then I asked her, "Why do you want to get baptized?" And her immediate response was, "Because I love Jesus." Any doubt I had about her being ready was gone at that moment.

She is such a beautiful young lady with a bright bright future ahead... not just an earthly future, but an eternal future as well.

Enjoy the video~ It's the next best thing to being there.