escape the ordinary // summer vacation 2014

hello, friends :)

the night of May 7th, a Wednesday, we packed dad's car with luggage and snacks for a the ride to Branson, MO. We had a room at Still Waters Resort near Silver Dollar City and planned to stay until Saturday. Monster was dropped off at Camp Bow Wow (not my favorite thing) and we were on the road!

Wednesday night we settled in and got to watch Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - I love that guy.

Thursday morning we woke up to a rainy, rainy day. we decided to go to a show and hope that the rest of the days would be nice to be outside!

we saw Jonah at the Sound & Sound Theatre. let's talk about a great show. before the showtime of 3:00 we paid for the backstage tour! our tour guide, Jenny, was in the ensemble of the cast and was fantastic. She was peppy, bubbly, and fun all without being annoying! I was the youngest person in the tour group so I volunteered to show everyone what a "quick change" is with costuming. it was fun asking her questions about the theatre and the others in the group being like, "what are you even talking about?" it was nice to be in the theatre environment again!

The show included lives animals and incredibly built set pieces. part of the tour was through the animal holding areas - I made some intense eye contact with a llama. The actors in the show were so great. we had good seats so it was nice to be able to see the facial expressions and set pieces up close. if you are in the Branson area this summer I would HIGHLY recommend this show!

You can find out more about Jonah here - and also the Bible.

Sight & Sound Theatre 

VIP status

view from the stage

tour guide - Jenny!

Friday morning we decided to get up and go down to the lake to kayak. Still Waters provided kayaks and paddle boats for free. It was my first experience kayaking - I was a bit nervous! once dad helped me get in the thing though I'd like to think I did really well. I loved figuring out the rhythm of paddling - it was relaxing. we saw lots of turtles, snakes, and a fish skeleton in the water! I don't have any pictures to prove that this happened - I was afraid I'd tip the kayak! 

after our water adventure we got cleaned up, headed into town and ate at the Fish House on the Branson Landing. talk about some good food! (and sweet tea) we sat outside and had a great view of the water - we also saw lots of birds and fish! 

I have no words.

so cute

the place with the food

a goose

he looks like a Peter to me.

after lunch we did some serious shopping on the landing and then at the Tanger Outlet Mall. 

Saturday morning, our last day, we packed up and checked out of our room. then we played miniature golf! if you don't already know this about me - I LOVE MINI GOLF. my favorite place to go in Branson is Pirate's Cove. there's a ship, a cave thingy, and they play 50's music - which now sounds weird to me because it's Pirate themed...

argh! or whatever

my momma! 

lovebirds

Saturday also happened to be my parents' 28th wedding anniversary. talk about an example of steadfast love. I'm so fortunate to have grown up in such a loving home and am now getting the chance again to see how marriage works. I've learned so much from them! 

after golf we ate and then headed home. a good car nap later and we were back to our little reality. and back to our (exhausted) critter. 

I love him so!

xoxo,

H

The Giving of Thanks

Over the years, Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday. As a kid I was very into Christmas - presents, duh. Now that I've "grown up", I've realized that I actually like my family, and love the chances we get to be together. I realize how hard it is to plan a time for everyone to be in one place at the same time - schedules and life are hectic. 

This Thanksgiving was such a blessing. 

Josh and Ashley drove up from Texas on Tuesday night, stayed in South Missouri that night, and got to Lee's Summit around 1:00 on Wednesday the 27th. The original plan was for them to drive up all day Wednesday - getting them there late Wednesday night, but we decided to surprise my mom with an earlier arrival. Wednesday was her birthday! 

Those two met me at work - I showed them around Gymboree - and we went to lunch. We had decided to make a video for her. We titled it "Now That You're Old Enough." Mom turned 50 this year and we did not want to make her feel like an old geezer because she is in no way, shape, or form old or a geezer. (that sounds like a type of bird anyway - mom is human.) So the theme of the video was things that she can do now that she's older - like take a long time walking places, use the motorized scooters at Target, and buy lots of knick knacks for no reason. You can watch the video here.

We had a blast filming all afternoon. Then we went to the house and surprised mom. That night we ate out at On the Border and had a great time catching up and embarrassing mom by having the waitresses sing to her. 

On Thursday my mom's side of the family and my dad's mom came to our house to eat food, watch football, and eat more food. Harper came and kept us all entertained as usual. We watched the National Dog Show, we colored pictures with my other cousins Karson and Ashley, and we listened as Harper sang us Silent Night and other Christmas carols. It was crazy to think that Christmas was already less than a month away! 

This year, as every year, I have soooooo much to be thankful for. 

To be blunt - I AM thankful to be alive. If things had gone my way, not the Lord's? I wouldn't be here.

I am thankful for such a supportive family. This past year has been a tough one on all of us. 

My parents have opened their arms, home, and lives up to me and I literally can not imagine living anywhere else during this season of my life. 

I am thankful for my friends - the ones who have stuck with me through this time of confusion and change. 

I am thankful for the Lord providing a way for the love of my life, Korey, to be placed back into my life. We have such an exciting time ahead of us and as I've said before, we can not WAIT to see what God has in store for us. 

I am thankful for a new church family that has also been incredible supportive and surprisingly easy to fall in love with. I feel like I have a purpose there and I have a new group of people who are praying for me and who are interested in my life - that is something refreshing and something I need so badly. 

To sum up, I am thankful for a Savior who is full of grace, forgiveness, wisdom, and love. He has showed me what it feels like to be truly accepted for who I am. He has placed people in my life that have showcased what it means to be a true friend. He has given me two incredible people to be my parents, my leaders, my rock. His mercy and love are never ending - thank you, Jesus for being everything that I will ever need. 

Here are some snapshots from this time with family :)

Monster's "I want turkey face." Mine, too.

I love these two!!

Harper :)

dad showed her the classic "airplane ride"

coloring!

ideal To-Do list :)

I hope your holiday was blessed! I love you!

Hannah

Another Year Older

I turned 22 on the 18th of October and let me tell you - it was a day to remember. The entire weekend was one to remember, actually. What happened you ask? Well by golly let me tell you.

Before I tell you what I did for my birthday weekend I have to introduce you to my boyfriend - yes you read that correctly - BOYFRIEND. I am still very excited to be able to call him that again (again? yes...I'll explain later). His name is Korey and I am quite fond of him. I am also very fond of this picture of us. It is my favorite so far.

Korey, the boyfriend.

BIRTHDAY WEEKEND 2013

(I love my birthday. A lot. Probably too much if you ask my mother and father.)

Thursday 10/17

Korey arrives at our house after driving from Indianapolis 8 hours away. We had not seen each other in over a year. It was a JOYOUS reunion. After catching up and such I took him to Gymboree to show him where I hang out with the kiddos. Then we went to Olive Garden and stuffed our faces. After dinner we drove to Blue Springs and spent the evening with my small group getting ready for a church event. It was a small group so it was a good time for Matt and Holly (the leaders) to get to know him - Matt asked lots of questions. (He approves of him, and I trust his opinion!) After life group we went home and hung out with my parents. 

Friday 10/18 - DAY OF MY BIRTH

Sonic photoshoot

After sleeping in (a birthday treat for sure!) Korey and I got ready and went to Cracker Barrel in Independence. I was so excited about this meal. I love that place. Then we went to the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City! We both will happily say that we have our nerdy sides (one of us more than the other...aka Korey). We had a blast walking through the exhibits and discussing the pieces of art. We eventually got kind of tuckered out and decided we should get home to let Monster out - after getting drinks at Sonic of course. Happy Hour and my birthday? It HAD to happen. We got home, played with Monster, and waited for dad to get home from work. When he got home we drove to the Carrabba's in Independence to meet mom. Then our good friends the Prewitt's showed up to surprise me! I was very excited to see them and was so glad they were able to be there. We ate our (delicious) food, they sang to Happy Birthday to me, and then headed home! Bradee was waiting at the house - we were going to play games! My good friend Jessica and her boyfriend Logan were driving up from Springfield, too. While we waited for them to arrive we watch the Cardinals play on tv. At this point I was a very very happy 22 year old. I had my very favorite people around me. After Jess and Logan got there we played Taboo and a couple of other games. It was so fun. I'm so glad they could be here! 

the girls! friends since high school :)

the boys! friends since...that night :)

Logan, Jessica, Bradee, Monster, me and Korey :)

happy happy happy!

Saturday 10/19

Korey and I went to Fort Osage to explore the national landmark! It was really neat to be able to see a piece of history that is pretty close to Lee's Summit! We spent a good amount of time exploring the soldier's barracks and then learned a lot at the fur trading post. 

history

he knew LOTS

opossum for dinner, anyone?

we walked down to the river!

our new friend, Wooly. 

3-D ready to go! 

After exploring the 1800's we traveled back to 2013 and found a Sonic just in time for Happy Hour! Then we drove to Barnes & Noble and walked around the store. For dinner mom made a delicious meal of chicken and stuffing. It was so good. Then the 4 of us went to the IMAX to see the movie Gravity starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. It was fun! 

Sunday 10/20

Sunday morning was the first time that I got to sing in the praise team - it was Team 3's time to shine! I had to be at the church at 8 AM which was...okay - it was not fun. Early morning Hannah is not a delight. But I was excited that Korey would get to be there the first time I was singing up front. Our team and worship choir did really well  - it was fun! After I sang in the second service Korey and I went downstairs to my Sunday School room with Joyce. We helped with the kiddos - they were definitely curious about Korey. After church we went to eat at Porky's, a great BBQ place in near Grain Valley. Then we drove to my cousin Harper's house to celebrate her 3rd birthday! Korey had to leave around 3 to get back to Indiana. It was a tough goodbye - I felt like he had just gotten there! We said goodbye and I went back in and played with Harper - that helped cheer me up a little :) 

I loved every moment of this weekend. So many memories were made. I'm very excited to see how my 22nd year of life pans out!

my sweet grandma Carol sent me these beautiful lilies - my favorite!

this was my birthday cake! mom and dad are the best!

xoxo,

H