Branson!!!

First off, thank you so much to the Nienstadts and Crowells for taking such great care of our babies!

Truly, Mark and I had a blast in Branson this year! We took 32 seniors and they were so fun! We laughed so much and we really enjoyed serving them and taking care of everything so that they could have a good time. We had several things go wrong this year (like a horrible bus driver and hotel room and luggage mix-ups), but that is why we went- to deal with those glitches. The seniors were so sweet about everything and really never complained about the problems. We had a travel agent that we dealt with and she tried to make everything better for us. The shows and food were really good, too.

 Here are Mark and I before the "SIX" concert. They are 6 brothers who sing acappella and make the instrument noises with their mouths. They were very entertaining. We were late getting to Branson (hence the horrible bus driver with the bad attitude) and so we didn't get a chance to change and were a little under dressed.

                     Yes, that guy always spikes his hair like that! He looks like the statue of liberty.

 We toured the College of the Ozarks- incredible school. It is a Christian College with no government funding where the kids work 15 hours a week and that pays for their tuition. They have a working farm, gristmill, dairy, preschool and hotel/convention center that the students all run. They also build the newer buildings- the chapel about took 7 years for the students to build and they did everything but the cut the limestone and the stain-glass. Bush, Palin, Colin Powell and others have all stayed in the hotel. It is very rustic and gorgeous. Seriously thinking of sending the girls there- but there is a big waiting list and it is very selective. Only 1400 students, but was such a neat concept to have the kids learn hard work and stay debt free.

 Gatlin Brothers- I happened to sit behind their Odessa High School football coach and he was so sweet and hooked Mark and I up with pictures (while everyone else waited on the bus). There was another couple with them and the the lady's name was Sue Dewberry and she took some pictures for us too. We exchanged e-mail addresses and saw them at another show. She almost cried when she hugged us goodbye- it was so precious and special how well we got to know them in such a short time!

                                                    Steve Gatlin- Coach is on the right.

     Larry- wish he'd been smiling. He was much more interested in catching up with Coach then taking       this picture- but he was nice.

                                        Rudy Gatlin. One of the really neat things about Branson is that most of the performers come out and sign autographs and talk to people after the show or during intermission.

                                        This is most of our group eating at Montana Mike's.

                                    I just loved this picture of two of our oldest seniors laughing.

                                            Oak Ridge Boys- the one on the left in the white shirt was so fun to watch- he laughed and smiled and danced the whole time! Mark and I seriously were on our feet clapping and dancing and singing along! It was greatness!

 Our whole group before the 12 Irish Tenors show. The guy on the right was one of them and truly the best performer out of them all. After the show, Bob (the man in the middle of the front row in the red shirt) wanted to buy some cd's. I stayed with him and he got to talk to most of the tenors. They were incredibly sweet as he told stories of Ireland from World War II. He came to Branson especially to hear these guys. I made a special point to thank them afterwards bc they were so attentive to him! Bob has gone to our church for over 50 years and plants all the flowers around it and takes care of the fruit trees on the property.

 My favorite lady who went is Ms. Patsy Walker- she is in the front left. We laughed with her the whole time- she is 82 and so fun!

 The guys standing in the black sang to us during dinner. They are a group called the Cats Pajamas and they are supposed to perform in Branson next year. I think they won on some singing contest show on tv.

 Ok- this was the best part of the trip! Bob wanted to see the Lennin sisters and they too were so sweet to him! They saw him in line and made sure to take a picture with him. When we went to their show 2 years ago, Mark and I wanted to pull our eyelashes out one by one bc we were so bored and thought their show was so corny. But, I have a whole new respect for them! They are talented I guess, but the way they treated Bob was so precious. I went back and thanked them too and they had big smiles on their faces from talking to him. He told Mark and I that this picture made his trip! He said, "I don't know if my wife will be jealous or mad!" We plan to blow the picture up and frame it for him. It is a little blurry though- bummer! Hopefully his 89 year old eyes won't notice. He told us interesting war and depression era stories and we talked current politics.

 We were supposed to see Andy Williams but he had the flu, so the first half of his show was the Lennin sisters and the second half was Ann Margaret. Don't know if you can recognize her from the pictures, but she is a movie star and performer. She was in an Elvis movie and many other movies and a guest star in lots of tv shows.

 She is 72 and really getting too old for all the dancing. She took breaks for several drinks and to catch her breath.

The Crowells first shiner! The bruising has moved to the upper lid today, but she is one tough cookie!