Branson, MO

 Because of COVID and Ken's surgery, our fall travel plans had been canceled.  We decided to go to Branson, Missouri in December.  We went to Branson in the fall of 2017 and had a grand time.  It is pretty easy access by plane for us.  It has wholesome, uplifting shows and great food.  We had our COVID shots and boosters and, at the time we scheduled, COVID was at a low.  But by the time we went, the Omicron variant was starting to rear it's ugly head.  But we went anyway, hoping for the best.

We had a great time.  

When I blog vacations, it can be overwhelming.  I call them monster posts.  They take so much time, effort, searching, juggling, writing, etc.  I am going to try a new method.  I will divide this post into several parts: shows, food, lights, and pictures.  They will post over the next few days.  We'll see if that makes it easier.  Let's go to Branson!

Keynotes Christmas Concert

 Thursday, December 9th was our Keynotes Christmas concert in the St. George tabernacle.  It was a rainy, cold, and windy night.  But we still had a nice crowd.

Following are some recordings of some of our songs:

Checked

 

Checked by Cynthia Kadohata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kadohata has an amazing ability to write about any world and make me love it. I could care less about ice hockey, but because Conor loves it, I now love it. And I love Conor. That’s her other ability: to create characters that are real and good and lovable. I really enjoyed this story of family, hockey, dog, and love. I will be reading more of this author as I just got four more of her books for Christmas. Yea!

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Winter Finally Arrived

 We had an exceptionally long and beautiful autumn season this year. These trees in our backyard were gorgeous for a very long time.  They brought us so much joy!

Finally, in December, we had wind storm that blew down the leaves all at once.

A carpet of fallen leaves

And the branches are bare.

Then we declared that winter had indeed arrived!

Popcorners

 Here is a post of one of Ken's favorite things.  Kristen shared some of these with us when we visited there and Ken really liked them.  But really only the Kettle Corn variety.  We tried some of the others, and they are just sitting in our pantry, waiting for someone to eat them.  But this variety gets gobbled up.

Miller's Valley

 

Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another quiet, poignant novel by this Pulitzer Prize winner. I have read three of her novels- having found another favorite author. I think this is my favorite of the three. I like her style. I like how I know the characters so well and find myself guessing why they do what they do- especially in this book. I feel like she knows and loves the characters- just as they are. I so appreciate her talent.

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Ere You Left Your Room This Morning

 This mantra is from a favorite hymn:

I need to do as Gabbi has done and print this up to post in my bedroom where I will see it as I leave my bedroom each day.

Keynotes Sing at the St. George Temple

 The Keynotes were asked to sing at the St. George temple on December 2nd.  The Visitors Center organized stories and music every evening all through December.  It was such a privilege to be part of this event and to sing in such a sacred setting.  

They blocked off the street in front of the temple and put up bleachers for the audience.  They had refreshments of hot cider, cocoa, and cookies.  

Debbie, our leader asked me to create a narration from the scriptures, introducing each number.

We just did some of our sacred numbers; not our entire program.

Since we were unable to go into rest homes and assisted living centers this year, it was extra nice to have this opportunity to perform.

Hallmark Christmas Movies

 We signed up for the Hallmark channel and have enjoyed watching Hallmark Christmas movies.  They may be a bit cheesy, but are always clean and uplifting.

Eating Out

 Ken and I really enjoy going out to eat together.  For most of our marriage, we have done so most every Friday night.  Since Ken's retirement, we usually go on Saturday night as well.

COVID stopped us for a while, but we still often got curbside to go to maintain our tradition.

Going out to eat is fun for us!

Thanksgiving

 Michelle and Brian and family came over the river and through the woods to be with us for Thanksgiving.  We had such a marvelous time.  We made a delicious, traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Gabbi

Michelle made the rolls.  They were delicious and everyone's favorite part.

Stuffing

Yams

Turkey, of course

Potatoes and Gravy

Rot Kohl

Kenny

Jaron (he is starving!)

Grammy

William

Brian

William was so careful with Grandma's china and crystal

Later, we had pie

Over the weekend, Kenny tried every kind of pie.  He didn't like any of them.  He especially disliked the Key Lime pie.  He was so determined to find a kind he liked.

We had fun playing outside and at the park.

Our basketball wouldn't pump up.  So, we got a new one and the kids broke it in.

I love the method Gabbi resorted to to guard her dad.

We have a lot of toys downstairs and the kids had a lot of fun with them, especially Marbleworks.

The Princes brought their bikes and went on several bike rides.

Jaron's tire kept going flat and wouldn't hold air.  Finally, Ken told him to ride home as fast as he could.  I guess he flew like the wind.

We played lots of games.  This was Kenny's favorite.  I can't remember the name of it, but he got a near-perfect 0 score, so we had to take a picture.

My favorite was Ticket to Ride.  I think I won every time.  Pure luck!

The kids had so much fun raiding the costume box and putting on little plays for us.  It reminded me so much of what our kids would do with their cousins at my mom's house.

We read lots of books.

William is learning to read.  He LOVES his daily reading lesson. He loves to sound out the words and his comprehension is amazingly high.  He asks for his lesson every day.

On Friday morning, we visited both of our temples.  First, the Red Cliffs temple under construction.

Then we went downtown to the St. George temple which is being renovated and walked around it.

William learned to skip as we walked.  It was so cute.

The Princes even did some Black Friday shopping.

And finally, finally, after trying every other kind (pecan, blueberry, apple, and key lime,) Kenny found a pie he liked!!  Pumpkin is the winner!

 

It was such a fun weekend!  Happy Thanksgiving!!