Turkey Creek ~ Jacuzzi Suite

Dear Friends,

Last week I celebrated my anniversary with Mark. We have been married longer than we were single. When we bid on and won a 2 night stay at a Jacuzzi Suite at a charity fundraiser last Fall, we felt like this would be the perfect way to use it. Even though we are not big Branson fans we were ready to give it a whirl. We arrived in Branson, checked in, and went to check out the suite, did I say

it was a Jacuzzi Suite??...

And that is what it was...

a bed

and a jacuzzi!

Nothing else unless you count the microwave on top of the portable refrigerator

and the small bath. To make it even more fun we decided to check out

the Branson Landing and

on our way there we passed over a creek called

Turkey Creek.

(you cannot make up better names for some of our Ozark places)

So we made a song up about our jacuzzi suite on Turkey Creek to the tune

of the old song Rocky Top.

And I remembered why I married Mark in the first place

he knows how to make me happy and laugh,

always laugh in every bizarre situation we encounter.

And you can't ask for a better companion than that

because life is so full of bizarre situations!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,

Katie

~*JuLy 4th * FaMiLy ReUniOn 09*~

Niece Sadie
Nephew Duren

Nieces Sadie, Courtney, McCormack, and Nephew Chet

SIL Jeanne has a handful with 4 kiddos

but she does a beautiful job of mult-tasking.

Sweet SIL Bobbi and BIL Robt

Our family's "Grand Pooba" and wife ~

Ed and Marianne

Sam and Ivana's roses

A Great idea ~ all of the family's hand prints

on a canvas to remember this 2009 reunion.

Tomorrow we'll add our signatures

Me and Mark

My shirt says Full House

but it should say ~ Full Heart!

Wherever you find yourself this Holiday Weekend,

May YoU be BleSSed beyond measure!

Katie

*~Unexpected * Pleasures~*

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Dear Friends,

Last week I was close to downtown Commercial Street

and decided to visit it and see how the renovations

were coming along for this part of our city.

This is what I discovered...

The bridge my father walked over many times in his youth.

I stopped at this wonderful french country antique/flea Mkt.

store and spent awhile talking to the owners Tom and Gary.

Two of the nicest people on Commercial St.

Red Velvet Art had some funky

and whimsical music & art items.

The Pizza House, a nostalgic eatery, recently

moved here. The waitress gave me a Dr. Pepper

and would not let me pay full price because it

was too hot of a day.

I purposely did not share the insides of the

stores this time. Will save for a later post.

Today

I had a wonderful package arrive in the mail...

It was my celebrate summer bracelet from Jodi

from

Everything Vintage

I won it on her give away and it is loaded with

pearls and shells and tiny charms.

I adore it.... there is only one problem....

Sophie saw it and now..

she wants one too!

Summer Blessings,

Katie

*~I am a Living Legacy ~**

To The Leader Of The Band

Lessons my father taught me ~

A hard day of work never killed anyone,

tell good stories often

pretty is as pretty does,

laugh everyday,

cherish your spouse,

tell the truth,

sing often, be positive,

harmless practical jokes are OK

and make life fun,

enjoy the outdoors everyday,

everyone needs a good dog friend,

don't hurt anyone ever,

use stepping stones to cross high creeks,

a good tickle breaks the tension,

dance even if you think you look silly,

swing as high as you can,

if you need help, I'll give you a push,

don't ever cheat, go the extra mile,

leave things better than you found them,

treat authority & elders with respect,

always put a little back

for rainy days,

a smile is cheaper than a face lift,

don't wear loafers to a dance,

(and my favorites)

take care of the "under dogs"

and

we're all an under dog at some time,

Your faith in God

is the most important thing

in your whole life.

The latter is one of the last things he ever said to me.

Even though his body was growing weaker

his faith remained

strong.

Johnie Wayne Donald
Happy Father's Day Dad!

Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers this weekend!

Blessings,

Katie

The song, The Leader Of The Band, by Dan Fogelberg has always been

my favorite song for my dad. My mother says that even tho my brother

looks the most like dad that I am the most like him.

He would rather be doing it than merely talking about it!

He was a free spirit both to the delight and impatience of my mother.

I adored him ~ he was my hero!

~*AHhhhhh SuMMeR~*~!

Dear Friends ~

Summer is ...

Laying in the grass with a good friend..

Styling in your sunglasses!

Reading a good book!

Dancing with friends...

Trips to Leola's..



Eating popsicles on the porch and sharing the jokes
on the sticks..




Being with a Dear Friend on her Happy Day!

Wishing friends a Happy Retirement!

and wondering how you will make it through some

school days without them there

Having a free day to go to the bookstore

to read and drink iced coffee...

Hula Hooping ..

Enjoying the days ~

because all too soon ~

Summer will be past!

Here's wishing you a wonderful beginning of summer! Please write and tell me what your favorite activities are during the summer! For more school pictures please visit my 101 Happys blog and to see what I'm creating this summer ~ visit Ragamuffin Gal's Studio blog.

*~I Am Blessed~*

From great friends to work with ~
(80's Day at our school)
To friends who treat you like family ~


A wonderful Swap Partner Patti and the treasures she sent to me ~



And neighbors who grow beautiful flowers ~


I Am Blessed


A charming folksie Tea Cozy won
from the OWOH event~


A lovely Marie doll from OWOH

I am blessed!
Thank you everyone!
Love Katie

My kindest regards to my swap partner Patti at Creative Cottage Dreamer,

my friend Jan from Summer Sundays and her lovely family! My new found

friends from the One World ~ One Heart Give Away!

*^* Butterfly Palace & 80's Day *^*

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*~ Dear Friends ~*

*

What a FuN WeEk this one has been!

Our class took a field trip to

The Butterfly Palace!
*

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We saw some amazing colorful and

beautiful creatures there!

* *
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~*~
Then we had our 80's Day on Friday
where we saw some amazingly colorful teachers!
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We dressed up to promote our

80's themed dance

that night!

It was a fun way to end the school week!

Happy Weekend!!!

Blessings,

Katie

For more pictures of the Butterfly Palace and 80's Day at Thomas

please visit my classroom blog - 101 Happys

*~Things To Do When It's Cold, Snowy, & Icy ~*

Dearest Friends

This week we experienced ice, snow, and freezing temperatures!

It presented the very happy challenge of what to do

with three unexpected days of unplanned time.

So here are some pictures of things I did this week!

Please feel free to leave me a comment

of a suggestion that you like to do

when you have an unexpected

free day ~ I would love

to hear your responses!

My dearest friend, Sally, had a birthday and I had fun
spending extra time creating an altered book
for her in place of a Birthday Card.
A peak inside ~ I wrote an Acrostic Poem
with the letters of her name.

We had a party at a friend's house to celebrate!

The guys ~ Hong, Don, Mark, Tom

The girls, Vera, Sally, me, & Amy

Sally and I ~ a friendship of 25+ years
I decorated the blue door with a more

Valentine theme

I loved creating paper dolls using

the new paper doll parts collage sheets from

Paper Whimsey. I got carried away putting them together

and then on tags from a K & Company tag pad.

We also went to see the movie ~ New In Town

and we spent a lot of time snuggling and reading in

front of the fire. And I had fun catching up with some

Blog friends ~ it was a Wonderful week!

Blessings,

Katie

Don't forget to enter my OWOH give away by leaving a comment

on the OWOH Post below. You do not have to be participating in this event

to be eligible for this give away.