10 Year Anniversary Trip to Branson

We were finally able to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary with a little getaway! This was the first time Emmitt stayed overnight without us since he was a day old! From what I can tell, he did GREAT! There were a few snafus that made us wonder if the trip was even going to happen. We were VERY grateful when it did though! We left on a Saturday morning and the kids stayed with my mom. She kept them all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday. Sunday night they were supposed to go to Grandmom's, but something happened last minute and we called a babysitter who is also our neighbor to come over and stay with them until we could get home the next day! All told we were gone for two and a half days. It was two and a half days that we enjoyed! We decided to take a trip to Branson, MO. We went there a few years ago before we had kids, but didn't get to go to Silver Dollar City which is something we both remembered doing in childhood! We have some friends at church who have a time share in Branson. They were gracious enough to let us use it (for a fee of course). It was fantastic! You are probably thinking, "Branson?! In JULY?!" We were worried a little too about the heat, but it turns out that we had AMAZING weather to work with! The day at the park was absolutely pleasant! SO, here are the pictures:

This is what we saw as we were going through the tollbooth on the Kansas Turnpike. Jesstine asked if the cat was driving the car!

Drove through Tulsa and waved at family from a(very)far!

Next was Arkansas, birthplace of my man!

There is where we met Lana (Stephen's cousin), her husband, Jesse, Aunt Sandra, and Uncle Gilbert!

Then it was off on a scenic route to Misourri.

It was a beautiful drive!

Where we stayed!

Our first stop was a childhood fave of both of us, "Fire in the Hole!"

There were some interesting sites around town. We thought the kids would enjoy this!

Added SDC to the Shocker Nation!!

We literally attended "Church In The Wildwood." There was a church service held several times on Sunday. We made it our worship service for the morning. We were both very glad we did!

After church, we shared a "skillet" meal. It was tasty as you can see! Nothing left! This was recommended by Jenni (my sister-in-love) and I was able to locate a veggie one for her later in the day!

This was what we saw as we were getting on the "Powder Keg" coaster. A bit disturbing! Don't worry, the ride was perfectly safe!

This was probably our favorite of the coasters. I think we liked this and the next one equally once we got to ride in the front seat of both! At least, I did!

This coaster was called "Wildfire." We didn't like it as much until we rode in the very front.

A great view behind the coaster!

This was the "Outlaw." We only rode it once. We didn't care for it quite as much. Stephen wanted to ride in the front because it made such a difference on the other two, but I wasn't wanting to ride again and he didn't want to go by himself.

This was called the "Barn Swing." I was too chicken to ride this. I was getting a little tired of rides at this point. Stephen is the one in the blue shirt.

This is the Silver Dollar City train ride. I had never taken the time to ride it as a kid. Stephen had and there is a funny story about that ride! It was actually pretty amusing. These guys were pretty funny! They were supposedly "train robbers." The conductor (in the first picture) was arguing with them and made a mistake about the day of the week, they rolled with it. It was the funniest part of the whole ride!

There were several reminders of home. This was one.

This was another. I was browsing the shop for a trinket to bring back for Emmitt. Stephen spotted this little guy. It is exactly like Wesley, the owl Emmitt sleeps with and has had since he was a tiny baby!

I always wanted one of these as a kid, but never got to make one. Now they just let you buy the wrist strap and they do it for you. Still a nice little souvenir!

They put ink on it to make the letters stand out a little better!

Took a selfie in front of the picturesque waterfall.

Brought back a personalized parasol for Jesstine. I had one of these as a little girl too. It was broken (not by ME I would like to add). Going to try and convince Jesstine that it isn't for actual use, but to look pretty!

Found this for Emmitt. Believe it or not, it was the PERFECT gift for him! 

We each also got a t-shirt. We initially thought ALL the t-shirts were 2 for $20, but turns out they weren't. We bought them anyway. Stephen's has all the big rides on it and it glows in the dark! Mine is actually a deep purple even though it looks a little blue here.

The next day, we hit the open road for home. We wanted to get back quickly because we had a babysitter instead of Grandmom. Plus by this time I was really missing the kids. They didn't seem to mind too much that I was gone! Emmitt actually cried when I got home and Melissa had to leave! Then he saw his daddy and that made it all better! 

It was a great time for Stephen and I to reconnect. Did we do much outside of eat junk, sleep and ride rides at Silver Dollar City? No! But Lord willing, there will be plenty of time for that another time! We hope to go back and do some more things that others recommended like catching a show or eating at certain places! Until then, we are home and bushed! Stephen is in bed and was in bed almost an hour ago! It is just now 10:30! 

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

Dandy!!!

Well, another week has gone by! We are still here and still healthy! Just returned from a trip to Lego City the OTHER Hutchinses' house! Was a fun weekend! Ian and I had some good bonding time with some legos! I have always wanted to build with Legos but never have been given the opportunity. So the kids were all playing in the game room and I spotted a box of legos on the top shelf that had yet to be assembled. I sat down and got to work. Ian came in and decided to help! It was a blast! So we kept going with the legos that Grandmom had just brought him for his birthday!!! All told we built a house (complete with working garage door, basketball goal, and EVEN a lawn mower), hospital, ambulance, medical helicopter, fire truck, burning building, and a truck with a trailer for some dirt bikes. So.much.fun!

So, this week, Jesstine had her last dance class of the month and got to do a tap routine for us! We were told that the routine was to a patriotic song, so we could dress her up in red, white, and blue if we wanted. So, we did! She was the.only.one. :-( She didn't seem to care, but I wondered if it was a little silly of me! You can tell she acts WAY different in class with me there in the room than with me behind the glass! Anywho, here is the result:

Yankee Doodle Dandy!

In Him,

The Hutchins

Busy Week!

So the blog has been empty a lot lately. I finally found a temporary fix to the picture problem. We have just been really busy this week! We had VBS at the church where Jesstine's preschool is located. I agreed to help this week and there was free childcare for Emmitt since I was helping. I helped in Jesstine's class. Here are some pictures from the week. I didn't get any of Emmitt, but he had a good time...after the first day that is!

Jesstine's group was the blue 5s. Ironically the main leader (closest to me) was a part of a group that comes to Westlink Church of Christ (where we attend) for a Wednesday night Bible study. She is also the sister-in-law of a guy that Stephen grew up with! Small world!

Top Left clockwise: Storytime (featuring Kara, our babysitter); Playing during recreation time with "partner" as these two started calling each other by the last day; Practicing their songs for the end of the week. Ironically she stood right by her third cousin (my first cousin's son); Lastly, craft time making a banner flag that says "Jesus Loves Jesstine."

Recreation time was always one of her favorites. The last picture she is in the background but this little guy asked me to take his picture because he hadn't dropped his ball even one time....he did right after I got his picture! :-)

These two were a HOOT! She wasn't supposed to turn around to pass it over her head! LOL!

Story time with Adventure Liz and Adventure Derrick was also a favorite!

They had some super adventure moves. They liked to jump high, crawl low, run fast and run slow. (The little girl who is video bombing here was QUITE the handful and ended up crying the last night because I made her sit by me after breaking a rule! :-/ )

They learned that "God's big story (the Bible) tells us about God's big love!"

Program night:

The first through 6 graders have day camp from 9-1 at a local farm here in town. They were awesome! It gave me goosebumps watching them!

Overall it was a fun, but busy week! This took up all of our morning until naptime. Then we had evening activities on three of the five weeknights as well! Needless to say, I enjoyed that Stephen let me sleep in on Father's Day nonetheless! Speaking of, we did acknowledge him today with a few things. Jesstine and I found a panda card that sang "I Love You A Bushel and a Peck!" We had to tape a picture of a monkey on it though because he specifically mentioned a monkey card. We also got him a Wichita State tie (and a matching one for Emmitt) as well as a set of Dallas Cowboys pencils. Maybe one of these days I can get a picture of Stephen and Emmitt in their matching ties!

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

Almost Famous Tiny Dancer

I know some of you are familiar with our babysitter and her family who are more like family than friends! Her mom is like another big sister and Kara is like a niece! They take a big vacation each summer as a family. This year just Johnna and Kara went with some other church friends to the Big Apple, NYC!! They were able to catch some Broadway shows (including Annie, MY favorite) and do lots of other fun things! Yesterday they were on an episode of Katie. I don't typically watch and don't know if I will watch again, but I did yesterday because the topic was interesting (former child stars) and because I knew some people in the audience!!!

Can you spot them?? Kara is the first full head you see in the bottom left, Johnna is right next to her. Then in the upper right corner, you will see Linda Newsom from church!

Here is a better view:

They are circled.

Today Jesstine started something that both she and I have wanted to do for a LONG time! She is now in a dance class. We are just at the Y, but that is alright! She will have fun I am sure! That is all I am letting her do it for right now is for fun!

Switching to ballet slippers.

Two butterfly hand stamps for a job well done! 

Over all she had fun! She was a bit nervous at first, but followed a long pretty well for the most part! Emmitt enjoyed some fruit snacks and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while we waited! Overall a good experience. Next week, we have to go to VBS, so she will have an evening class instead of one during the daytime!

In Him,

The Hutchins Family