Daddy - Daughter Date at 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.

Comparing Hot Chocolate

So I got this email from a good friend of mine, Jeff, who lives in Florida. Him and I share a very deep love for food, all food for the most part. So when we come across some food or drink that really grabs our attention we are sure to tell the other. Such was the case when Jeff tried the new Hershey's Cacao Reserve Hot Chocolate. I went right out and purchased the two flavors they carry. To be fair I compared them to my personal favorite hot chocolate by Nestle "Butterfinger".

After all was said and done, and the Cocomotion was done whipping up the three flavors, the Hershey hot chocolate fell short, the Aztec flavor was the best between the two but neither came close to my love for the Butterfinger Hot Chocolate. But don't take my word for it, try it yourself.

Molly's First Hair Trim from Mommy

Kristy decided that Molly need her bangs trimmed as well as some of the length of her hair. For the first time Kristy decided to take this endeavour into her own hands. From the huge smile on Molly's face you can see how it went. Kristy did a great job and her first customer was most happy.

Kristy & Neleha Overcome Their Fears in Branson

During our little excursion in Branson we came across an announcement board at the Shoji Tabuchi Theater that peaked Kristy's interest. The message was announcing an open audition for stage performers on the morning we were to depart from Branson. I casually joked that it could be her big chance so she should try out. To my surprise she agreed. So she practiced a few songs and then got all dolled up for the audition.

We drove back to the Shoji theater after checking out of the lodge. I must say I was so impressed with my sweetheart, she was so brave, she walked right in that theater like she had auditioned a million times, this time of course being her very first. However she soon called me to come back, after filling out the paperwork they learned that she did not bring an 8x10 head shot portrait and background music and told her that they would accept her audition the next morning if she were to get those things together. She agreed to do so.

So we headed down to Branson Landing to enjoy the beautiful day and ended up having another brave one come out from amongst us. What happened was that we walked by a Claire's jewelry store and the girls wanted to go in. Kristy told them only if Neleha agreed to have her ears pierced. Molly quickly told Neleha that she should do it and before we knew it Neleha was actually excited about getting her ears pierced. For about the last year Kristy has been trying to talk Neleha into this but every time she was other wise persuaded by my statements about how much it would hurt. This time my efforts were useless. When Neleha decides to do something, no one can change her mind.

As she jumped up in her Mommy's lap she was so happy and excited, she kept saying that she was a big girl and that she was ready for ear rings.

Her smile quickly turned into a very concerned look as two strangers garbed her ears, marked them and then counted to three.

At first she got mad and gave those women the most evil look she could. Neleha is well known for her evil looks so I am sure those women felt a bit threatened.

But the pain quickly overwhelmed her and she let the river of tears flow.

They showed her how pretty she now looked but it wasn't much comfort for her.

They even gave her a sucker...didn't help.

It wasn't until they laid the long string of stickers in front of her that she calmed down and was happy again. Our little Neleha is now all grown up. She did look so cute in those ear rings though.

Our brave girls, Kristy and Neleha, certainly deserved a reward after this most trying day. Where better to reward someone than Lambert's of course!

To Lambert's we went and for the first time ever there was no wait....at all.....I mean there was not a single person outside........this was too cool.

We were immediately shown to our seats where Molly quickly spotted the very same tin sign we have at home of Tim Williams endorsing Moxie

We enjoyed a most wonderful meal and talked about Kristy's and Neleha's most awesome day and even talked about what Kristy was going to face the next day when she had to actually get on the stage at the Shoji theater. I was so proud of her and Neleha, my brave girls.

Neleha of course was just beaming with joy as she showed off her new ear rings to all around her. Good times for sure!

Once we arrived home we quickly snapped some photos of Kristy for her head shot requirement which turned out so good! Then we downloaded two karaoke tracks for a Loretta Lynn song and a Patsy Cline song. Kristy spent most of the night practicing, she sounded so awesome!

The next morning she was off again into the Shoji Theater, my brave angelic wife, off to her first professional audition. I could not have been more pleased with her. I could tell that she was scared, but her overcoming that fear so easily was a clear indicator of how badly she wants to be a stage performer.

Kristy once again walked into that theater as if it was second nature for her to perform on stage.

We impatiently waited while she did her very best. Once she emerged from the theater she filled our car with the wonderful experiences she had inside during the audition. She talked about although she was nervous she did very well. She told us how she had to sing along with the established staff including Shoji's daughter Christina Tabuchi. She talked about what an amazing experience it was and how they smiled during her songs, she was very hopeful that if this wasn't her big break at least she knew what it was like to audition for a professional show. I was so happy for Kristy and her courage to do what so many others would never try to do. They told her that it would be a month or so before they would let her know.

The Shoji show is one of the most well known in Branson, to learn more go to their website:

http://www.shoji.com/