Go Go Flash Mob

Today we walked over to the Springfield ArtsFest with some friends and watched the Springfield Dance Alliance's performance. A cool part of the show was that the last piece was a flash mob. We rehearsed our steps beforehand and knew the musical cue to jump out of our seats and join in on the dancing. Dan was the cameraman for the event and Annie was just too darn shy to get in on the action. My friend Erin and I are in the front row - I'm wearing bright pink. Such a fun activity - I've always wanted to be part of a flash mob!

Video of Flash Mob

Garden Update

Another fun perk of having my parents in town was all the gardening tips we got from them while they were here. Mom helped me prune the rosebushes and pick out beautiful hanging flowers for the front garden area. As you may recall in October I planted some bulbs - they came up beautifully as promised:

Dan and Annie in Front of the Japanese Maple and Tulips

Hanging Baskets and Daffodils between Pruned Rose Bushes

Annie was enjoying the flowers so much at our house and around the neighborhood that she begged us to take her to the Nathaniel Greene Botanical gardens so she could see more blossoms. Being the little ham that she is she insisted we take (several) pictures of her among the gorgeous spring colors:

Out of Town Visitors

This past Friday my parents came to Springfield for a visit! We were so happy to have them and had such fun playing hearts, touring a local brewery, hiking, attending a dance concert, going on a wine tasting, taking trips to the dog park, farmer's market, Branson, and more!

Annie was SO excited when, after some small confusion of our address, my parents arrived at our house. She whimpered and whined when Mom stepped out of the Mazda then continued to run around the house happily wagging her tail and barking the first 5 or so minutes they were here.

Annie and Friends

 One morning Annie even surprised Mom in bed with a sweet little wake up kiss :-).

While we were on our hike at the nature center we saw deer (which is par for the course there) and we also saw three, large, male turkeys and a turkey hen - Dad got so excited he even chased into the woods trying to get a closer view of one.

Dad, Mary, Mom on a Hike

Mom wanted to see Annie in action at the dog park so one, sunny, afternoon off we went to meet up with canine friends. Mom commented that it was just like an amusement park in that your dog is measured to see if they go to the small dog or big dog side.

Annie Goes to the Small Dog Run

Annie is Greeted by some Friends

On my day off we went down to Branson and explored the little city shopping, lunching, watching a water fountain show and tasting Missouri wines. We opted out of a time share tour to score ourselves free show tickets to the Comedy Jamboree. We had lots of fun but let's just say that Missouri isn't exactly renowned for their wines.

Welcome to Branson

Mom and Dad in front of the Dancing Fountains

The wine tasting was hosted by Stone Hill Winery - a winery started by a German family. Mom and Dad got in the spirit of things by putting on some traditional German attire.

Mom and Dad in their German Attire

Ha Ha Tonka State Park

Just in case you think that all we Livesays do is watch basketball Annie told me that we should write about our day trip this past weekend up to Ha Ha Tonka State Park. Ha Ha Tonka is located on the Lake of the Ozarks and features the ruins of a turn of the 20th century castle built high atop the bluffs by a prominent Kansas City businessman.

Castle Ruins - All that remain after a Devastating Fire

Annie and Dan enjoy Exploring the Ruins

 The park also features natural bridges, sinkholes, a spring, caves and over 15 miles of beautiful hiking trails.

Annie and Dan overlooking the Lake of the Ozarks

Mary and Annie looking down into a Sinkhole

  There were some pretty dramatic bluff views and an intricate boardwalk system on the bluffs that wound down to the water below.

View from the Castle Ruin Bluffs

 We explored a small island that featured a balancing rock, rapids and a cave (Annie was very curious about the cave).

Balancing Rock

Annie Wanted IN the Cave

Mary and Annie Under a Natural Bridge

Go Drury Panthers! This is How we DU it!

The Drury Panthers won the Division II National Championship in basketball today! Annie was so nervous about watching the game that she insisted she had to watch at home alone and wouldn't be able to handle being out in a crowd at the bar so we went off to a Drury watching party at a local watering hole without her.

After trailing 17 points the Panthers came back to win an exciting game against Metro State 74-73! What a comeback - the bar was packed and it was a tremendous win for Drury.

Elaine and Mary with our Drury Pom Poms

Celebrating our National Champions

Go Blue!

Last night Michigan won an exciting Final Four game against Syracuse to advance to the National Championship game on Monday night. Annie's a huge Michigan fan and got her gear on before the game.

Annie is a True Blue Fan

She is one lucky pup to have two of her favorite teams, Michigan and Drury, in the National Championship games for basketball for their respective divisions. Drury plays this afternoon and we'll be cheering them on!

Post Game Celebration

Happy Spring from Missouri!

Here in Springfield we have been enjoying a very cold spring so far with lots of snow which is quite unusual for the area - some of my co-workers say we must have brought some Michigan weather with me when we moved down here!

Annie's Ready for Spring

Mary and Annie Preparing for a walk on the 2nd Day of Spring