Family Reunion

We had our annual Family Reunion this weekend.

The extra kid is my niece's son, Anthony.

Alicia Dee and her mother, Frieda
My dad, Alicia Dee, Frieda, my mom and Aunt Pat.
Uncle Steve, Jimmy and Tom (Jeannette was home recooping from a knee replacement.)
Adam and Anthony checking out the water.
Kids collecting BIG rocks that make BIG splashes.

For many years, family reunions have been held at Tonganoxie Lake. The shelter house there holds many special memories, including many memories of us gathered around the fire on a particularly cold reunion weekend. After we've made several trips through the food line, we would walk down to the lake. Before long, we're all hunched over, looking for the "perfect" skipping rock. Next would come the contest to see who could skip a rock the farthest. I can think of at least four generations that have passed on this legacy to the next generation, including mine.

Times are changing, though. We've traded in the shelter house at Tongie for my parent's shelter at their subdivision. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate a real toilet over the stinky hole in the ground that Tongie Lake provides. And running water is a nice-ity, too. But, sometimes I wonder what memories my kids are missing...

We Deserve It Dividend

I got this Email today. I think this makes much more sense than anything I've heard so far. I sure wish they'd do it...

***
I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.

To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%.Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.Repay college loans - what a great boost to new gradsPut away money for college – it’ll be there. Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs. Buy a new car - create jobs. Invest in the market - capital drives growth. Pay for your parent’s medical insurance - health care improves.

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 (vote buy) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult US Citizen 18+!

As for AIG ? Liquidate it.Sell off its parts.Let American General go back to being American General.Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up. Here’s my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn’t.Sure it’s a crazy idea that can “never work.”But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party?!?!

How do you spell Economic Boom?I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion We Deserve It Dividend more than the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC .And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,Birk T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic...

***

Makes just as much sense as any other plan I've heard. :-)

Selah Scores Twice!

Since her first season playing soccer, Selah has surprised us with how easily she's taken to the soccer field. She just seems to have a natural ability of knowing where the ball is and how to break away from the pack. Her last game was no different. These pictures are a bit blurry, because I was so excited (and a bit nervous).

Here she is breaking away from the mob that normally surrounds the ball. (If you're smiling, then you've attended a few elementary soccer games.)

She's the one right in front of the coach, getting ready to kick the ball in. Her teammate, Hannah, actually kicked a second earlier than Selah, though, and scored the goal. Go Team!

Her first goal of the game. You go, girl!
Goal 2 - The poor Goalie didn't stand a chance. :)

Me, having fun with the photo program...

Selah, the Soccer Star!

Selah has two friends from church on her team - Hannah (back) and Kalynn

Our puppy...

It just dawned on me that I haven't posted anything about Noel. She's been part of the family longer than Lesa - almost 11 years. She can often be seen in the bay window as we leave the house for one of our many adventures. It's almost as if she's saying, "I'll keep an eye on things while you're gone."

A few weeks ago, Noel became sick. We're still not really sure what was wrong, but it was quite a while before she made the climb back up to her window seat. Thankfully, she seems to be back to her normal self, although she does take longer to climb up and down the steps. Course, it's taking me longer, too! I took pics for a wedding last weekend, and my body has been paying for it all week!

It's funny how grandmas can take an everyday object like a hat and turn it into an afternoon of fun. The extra girl is Kaitlynn, my nephew Chris' daughter. My mom took all five kids for the afternoon to celebrate Kaitlynn's birthday. She took Kaitlynn shopping to choose her birthday present, and somehow our kids ended up with a new Webkin. I'm really not sure how they convinced Grandma of that...

When we go to Grandma and Grandpa Meyer's house, the kids always want to ride in the boat. For some reason kids find if thrilling to go out to the middle of the pond and then back to the "dock" again. It's not like they're even fishing. I guess I've forgotten what it's like to be a kid.

The Girls made his day...

Mike had to go out of town for a couple of days, and apparently this makes me rank right up there with dirt. Oh, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say I'm about even with the fish or the new caterpillar to which we're currently providing free room and board.

It all started when Selah realized Mike wouldn't be here for her first soccer game. Now mind you, it's not the first game she's ever played. We're talking about the first game of the fall season, so it's not quite as monumental on our parental list of accomplishments. But, apparently it is huge in the mind of an 8 year old. She cried on the way home from practice and stopped long enough to eat dinner and watch Camp Rock. But it all started back up when it was time to go to bed. I thought I had squelched her tears with my wonderful words of wisdom about how Daddy would love to be here and how he has come to almost every other game...oh, and don't forget about mentioning the other dads out there who don't have anything to do with their children, let alone their activities. Great stuff, right? We prayed and all was well until about five minutes later when she came down the steps bawling. She said that she and Lesa missed Daddy. I asked her if Lesa was crying, too. Yep...

So, what else could we do? We called Daddy, which of course made his day. By the end of the conversation, which lasted a whole 45 seconds, everyone was calm again and ready to sleep. As I finished talking to Mike, I asked him, "So you like the fact they were crying for you, don't you?" "Well, sure. It feels good to be missed."

Now, I don't want you to think I always feel like chopped liver. In fact it was just earlier today that Selah made the comment, "Mom, you do lots of stuff for us." I can't really remember what sparked such a brilliant thought, but it did cause me to stop for a second and rejoice in the fact that not all goes unnoticed. But the moment quickly passed and I went on cleaning up orange juice off the floor. :)

A Right of Passage...

It's a right of passage, really, when you finally lose your two top teeth. With it comes month after month of talking with a lisp, not to mention the awkward smiles for the camera. It's almost like we have to learn how to do everything all over again - eating, smiling, talking. And the best part? The daily checks in the mirror to see if the permanent teeth have moved any, almost as if we expect them to magically appear overnight.

Well, Adam has officially joined the ranks, and what better way to preserve this moment in history than with his first picture (of many to come) with his awkward, toothless grin.

You can't help but smile, can you?

BTW - Ade, this entry was for you! Finally you have something new to read about the Tildens. :)

Monday - Duck | On the Road Again

We had tickets to Ride the Ducks at 11:15, so after breakfast we headed over to The Landing, a newer area right off of the Downtown on the east side of Branson. After shopping for a couple of hours, we went for our Duck ride. If you've never ridden the ducks, it's an experience like no other. One minute you're driving along and the next minute you've driven right into the water with a big SPLASH! Our driver was "Captain Jed," hence the Beverly Hillbillies song playing as we entered the bus/boat/amphibious vehicle. He was a hoot. He had a song to go along with almost everything he said. I'm not sure if that was his special touch or if they're all doing that now. Either way, it was quite entertaining.

Oh, the quackers!

Kids steering the boat

Another Duck in the water.

After the ducks it was time to hit the road. We planned to be in Springfield by 1:30 and figured maybe the lunch crowd would be thinning out so we tried Lambert's again. 2 hour wait! We kept driving...ended up at Olive Garden. Made good time coming home. End of Day 3.

Sunday - Silver Dollar City | Swimming

We got up and went to Silver Dollar City on Sunday. The traffic in was a bear and we had to wait a bit before it was our turn to ride a trolley up to the main entrance, but they really do have it all planned fairly well. Although there were a lot of people, it wasn't too bad. We didn't ride any of the bigger rides - because the kids didn't want to - so we spent most of the day looking at the shops and riding more kid rides. Mom and I did splurge and have a yummy succotash for lunch - skillet fried vegies, chicken or ham, and potatoes. Delicious!

Cowgirl Phyllis

Cowgirl Lesa

Good to the last drop!

This cobweb was growing around the petting zoo area.

It was so unique, we just had to get a picture.


After we had our fill of SDC, the kids really wanted to swim, so while we did that, Mom went across the street to the Tanger Outlet Mall and shopped.

We reconvened around dinner time and ate at Ruby Tuesdays. We were too scared to try any of the local cuisine, in case it wasn't any good. So, we played it safe. End of Day Two.

Saturday - Noah | Silver Dollar City

After breakfast we went to the Sight and Sound Theatre to purchase tickets for Noah: The Musical. We left and came back for the 1 p.m. show. It was great timing, because as we were leaving, the traffic coming in for the next show was lined up out the long drive and all the way along Shepherd of the Hills Expwy. What a mess!

The Theatre...

This is a miniature of what the theatre looked like inside. We had pretty good seats, about five rows back on the left side. The ark is about three stories high. Rather impressive.

Waiting to be seated...

Huge screen - about the size of three movie theater screens put together.

A view of the ark. All my other pics turned out blurry because we couldn't use flash.

The show was wonderful! They wove the thread of Christ all the way through the account of Noah until the end, when the gospel of Christ was given. Makes you look at the account of Noah in a whole new light.

We left the theatre and planned to stop at our hotel to change clothes before heading to Silver Dollar City, but we made a wrong turn and didn't want to deal with the parking lot of traffic, so we just headed to SDC anyway. If you go after 3 you can use your passes the next day, too. (Thanks, Tessa, for the tip!) It was wonderful! The kids had practically all the kiddie rides to themselves - almost no waiting.

Tea Cups

Roller Coaster

Kira and I on the coaster

Huge, monumental moment - Adam on a roller coaster!

We closed the place down, fought the traffic out of there and then found a Wendy's for dinner. All day long, Kira had been asking, "Can we go swim?" So, after dinner the kids swam for about 45 minutes and then we headed back to our room. End of Day One.

Trip to Branson, Mo.

While Mike was on a guy trip visiting four ballparks in as many days, my mom and I decided at the last minute to take the kids to Branson for the weekend. We don't normally travel on Labor Day weekend, so neither of us knew what to expect. Except for the traffic when we were leaving KC on Friday afternoon, it really wasn't too bad. The traffic in Branson seemed its normal "parking lot"-self but we managed to use the alternate routes as often as we could.

On our way to Branson, we tried to stop at Lambert's Cafe in Springfield to eat dinner. I called ahead when we were about an hour away to see if we could put in a reservation or call-ahead seating, but they don't do either. That meant we'd be eating dinner around 8:30, so we ended up eating at the Taco Bell in Mt. Vernon, Mo.

We arrived in Branson around 9 on Friday night, so we just unloaded at our hotel and got ourselves settled in. We had two beds plus a pull out couch, so we all had a decent place to sleep. Each night, the kids would drop off to sleep, one-by-one, with Kira always the first one to succumb and Adam usually not far behind.

Each morning we ate at the hotel's continental breakfast, which was pretty pathetic. The kids thought it was cool getting to eat donuts every morning, but Mom and I were hard-pressed to find any protein in the place. Next time, I think we'll see if the Hampton is available...