Fall Parties in the Ozarks

Do you celebrate Halloween? Or is it a Fall Party that you enjoy? I am conflicted. I attend church regularly and do not agree that we are to celebrate ghosts and goblins. However,  I dressed up every single year of my childhood and my parents decorated the house in spider webs. They played scary music and tried to scare the kids of our neighborhood. Halloween was fun and I never felt ashamed to embrace it, nor do I have any negative memories of the "holiday".

That being said, I am a mother now with two precious boys that go to church. We had a really difficult time picking out costumes this year. See, my 8 year old wanted to be a "Scream" ghost and I wouldn't let him do it. I thought it was too scary and actually came to the realization that Halloween is really strange. What is the point of dressing up scary? Is it a devilish activity? Anyway, he ended up choosing to be a basketball player and my 2 year old chose to be a police officer. Those seem to be good choices of people to celebrate, right? Now we have to decide what activities the boys will participate in.....

On Saturday, we decided to drive up to Springfield to attend the TAME Pets and Pumpkins celebration. They put on this Fall Party to raise awareness and money for the local animal shelter. It was totally geared towards kids and pets. As Chief Purser of the Titanic Museum Attraction, I enjoy these types of fundraisers because at the museum we support the local animal shelters too. In fact, our Titanic mascots, Molly and Carter, the two loveable King Charles Spaniels that parade around the Branson, Mo. museum each day from 9am-5pm have a similar mission. They not only pay tribute to the dogs that were onboard the Titanic, but they also raise money for the humane society and they teach children and adults how to properly care for a pet.

 Old downtown Commercial Street in Springfield was filled with people and pets. We saw dogs, cats, and even a goat!!! all dressed up in costumes. (Notice the boys' costumes. Once the 8 year old got dressed in a basketball outfit, the 2 year old had to follow suit!) There was a giant bouncy slide that the kids enjoyed over and over again. Krispy Kreme had a booth where you could take a plain doughnut, dunk it in chocolate, and then cover it in sprinkles. YUMMY! We even got to roast marshmallows on a fire pit. The event offered many interactive booths for kids to enjoy.

But, the best part of our experience was when we saw Jaynee, our first class Titanic maid at this TAME event! It is always a pleasure to run into her and you will never believe what she was doing when we walked up. She was meeting a dog attendee at the event that was dressed just like her! Jaynee, you know you are a star when even local pets dress as you do. What a compliment! And, it is such a pleasure to realize that there are other Titanic Fans out there that want to help us remember and celebrate the lives of the passengers of the R.M.S. Titanic. 

Jaynee, the biggest animal lover that I know of, was there to help educate pet lovers on proper care for pets and to encourage our Springfield neighbors to come down to Branson, Mo. and meet Molly and Carter. Guests enjoyed meeting her and showing off their pets, who all wanted to "bond" with Jaynee.

We had a great time! This event's turnout was huge. TAME must have done some great marketing to receive such a big crowd of pet lovers. We will definitely plan to attend next years' Pets and Pumpkins event. Maybe the Titanic Museum gift shop will start carrying Jaynee costumes for dogs? They have a great dog section offering Titanic dog merchandise, compliments of Molly and Carter. Pet lovers always enjoy shopping the Titanic gift shop for Titanic doggy merchandise. If you haven't visited the Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, Mo., you should plan to come before Christmas. You will find some really great Christmas ideas and I heard that Santa and His Reindeer will be coming back this year. Check it out...http://www.titanicbranson.com

Titanic Sponsors Branson PM MOPS

I have been a member of MOPS, or Mothers of Preschoolers since my oldest was 2. He is now 8, so I guess that means I have been in MOPS for 6 years in several different towns. This year and last, I have been a member of the Branson, Mo. PM MOPS organization. http://bransonmops.com/index.htm Branson PM MOPS meets the 2nd Tuesday of every month in the evenings from 6:00-8:30 at First Baptist Church in Branson, MO. Childcare is provided through our MOPPETS program, where children will be taught age appropraite curriculum, have snack, play with other children their age and get tender loving care from the childcare workers. In the meantime, we fellowship with other moms, listen to a speaker, create a craft and enjoy dinner (without cleaning up messes). My youngest is a Kindergartner and MOPS will allow mothers to stay in the organization if your children are up to Kindergarten age. I decided for my last year of MOPS, I would really try to step it up and make a difference within the organization.

This fall, the Titanic Museum Attraction in Branson, Mo. agreed to sponsor our program. http://titanicbranson.com This is so exciting because through their sponsorship, we are able to provide child care to our children while we are in our meetings, we provide diapers and gifts to expecting MOMS, and we are able to minister to the local women's shelters in our area. To honor the Titanic for their sponsorship, we invited them to our October meeting this past Tuesday night.


You know the 1st Class Maid Jaynee, that you have seen on billboards, television, and at the museum? She came dressed in her 1st Class Maid outfit. We all enjoyed her so much. She went into all of the children's classrooms and gave them bookmarks with Molly and Carter on them and taught the children to bow and curtsie. I was amazed when a little girl came up to her and said, "It's me Hannah. Do you remember?" Jaynee didn't skip a beat! She said, Of coarse I remember you. I met you at the public library. You have a cat that had kittens. How are you?" The little girl was beaming and I was so impressed that Jaynee, who travels throughout Missouri and Tennessee speaking with new children every week, remembered one little girl in Branson, Mo!      

Not only did Jaynee interact with the children, she also was invited to talk to us MOMS in our meeting. She spoke of the Mothers that were onboard the Titanic and how their protective instinct must have been on overdrive during that fateful night. She also had a drawing and gave away a family pass to the Titanic Musuem Attraction. This was a huge hit with the MOPS moms! We were honored that Jaynee and the Titanic Museum Attraction would take time out to acknowledge our group. I think we will plan a MOPS group to the museum sometime during their Christmas Event!

Every year, the Titanic Museum Attraction has been visited by Santa and His Reindeer. This Christmas entourage is coming back this year and it is such a great opportunity for MOMS to bring their children to the museum and take holiday photos with Santa and REAL Reindeer! http://titanicbranson.com/titanic_news.php#santa The entire museum will be decorated in holiday flair. The Grand Staircase, the centerpiece for this outstanding museum, will be adorned "to the nines" with Christmas trees, lights, and garland. I can't wait to take my family to see it.

Titanic's 3rd Annual Woodcarving Event, a Huge Success!

This past weekend, my husband and I took the boys to Titanic's 3rd Annual Woodcarving event. We went last year too, so the boys were excited to see some new animal carvings. First of all, October weather in Branson, Mo. is perfect. It was warm and sunny on Saturday; ideal for this outdoor event. When we arrived, men and women from ALL OVER the COUNTRY were actively carving very LARGE stumps of wood with chain saws and chisels. There were wood chips flying.

I enjoyed seeing the creativity. It is so neat to see an artist look at a giant stump and be inspired to turn it into a bear with detailed features. The carvers used torches to burn sections of the wood, which I thought was a very neat technique that gave depth and definition to their pieces.

Jaynee, Titanic's 1st Class Maid Personality from the television commercials, billboards, and print was present at the event. It is always a pleasure to see her. As you can see from the video, she picked out her favorite woodcarving, but it was too big and heavy for Jaynee to move on her own. Molly and Carter made an appearance to greet guests, and of coarse were bum rushed by all of the children. They were cute and well behaved as usual.

In my opinion, the most exciting part of this event was the auction held at 2pm each day. On Saturday, the auction started with a bear in a log. So cute. I couldn't believe how cheap these wood carvings were selling for. There were some GREAT deals happening. I wanted to bid on the Sea Turtles that were absolutely gorgeous, but I don't have any place to display them right now. Next year!

As each item sold, the LOGHOGGERS TEAM was kind enough to load the piece into the buyers car/truck. These works of art are super heavy, so that was a nice service. Anyway, we enjoyed it and are planning to purchase a big item next year.

Homeschool Days at the Titanic Museum Attraction

Hi friends.

Did you know that the Titanic Museum Attraction has an education program for students? They offer a scavenger hunt that you can download from the website http://www.titanicattraction.com/titanic-education-guide.php to bring with you on your "Titanic Search for Knowledge" student adventure.

I have had quite a few requests in the last year for information on Titanic's Homeschool program. Now is your chance to take your homeschool groups to the Titanic Museum Attraction. The entire month of October 2010, the Titanic is offering a special group rate of $7, which includes tax. They do have select dates for this program, so reserve your group quickly. For further inquiries, please call 800-381-7670.

It has been almost 100 years since the tragedy struck. It is more than just the account of perhaps the most memorable maritime catastrophe of the 20th century. Titanic is a lasting symbol of the great age of immigration that brought the hopes and dreams of many people to our shores.

 The Titanic Museum Attraction wants to promote the awareness and knowledge of the world's diverse cultures by recreating actual rooms of the Titanic and by displaying actual objects that bring to life individuals and events that have had a significant impact on human history. It is their desire to present the Titanic story in a historically accurate and reverent manner and to inspire further study and research into this event.
 

 Throughout the school year, you can link the Titanic experience to your curriculum and reinforce your students' skills and help them develop proficiencies in areas beyond history.

The Results are in....Titanic's Chili Cookoff-A Huge Success

The competition was fierce and the weather was beautiful this past Saturday at the 1st Annual Titanic Firehouse Chili Cookoff in Branson, Mo. When we arrived, we could smell the chili cooking. Of course, we had to stop at a fire truck for pictures. Branson's team had polished up one of their trucks for display at the event. It was great to see so many fire fighters from all over Southwest Missouri and Northern Arkansas joining together for such a great cause.

By 10:30am, each firehouse competitor had already assembled their concoctions and now the giant pots of chili were simmering until judging time at 2:00pm. Speaking of judges, the Titanic Museum had quite the line up of experts....Ron Kittleman, official in-house chili professional for 99 HIT FM
KADI was one of the judges (see above).  And it was an honor to meet Judge #2, American Culinary Federation and Executive Chef Nathan Read. Chef Nathan is the head chef of Level 2 Steak House. If you've been there, then you know how qualified he is to judge anything food related! Last, but certainly not least, was Garrett Anderson. He had won a Titanic Museum Attraction facebook contest to become one of the judges and was a previous chili cookoff winner himself.

As guests, we were able to go to each firehouse booth and sample their chili recipes. There was a people's choice award, so we got to decide which booth's chili was our favorite. It was so difficult. I was impressed because every chili recipe was completely different! The boys enjoyed meeting Sparky the fire dog and going through a fire safety trailer for kids. They also enjoyed eating and there was plenty of options. The Lions Club had a food trailer there selling frito pie, nachos, cheeseburgers, etc; everything kid friendly. My favorite chili was that of Valley Park Fire District in Fenton, Mo. They were raising money for the Boys and Girls Club and their chili was outstanding. I found out later that they put pumpkin in their chili. How unusual, but it worked!  I got a kick out of their t-shirts.

We were fortunate enough to see Jaynee, 1st Class Maid of the Titanic and taste her chili. Delicious. It had curry in it and was on the sweeter side. Very unusual, but we all loved it. She knows everything about the Titanic. She and a "Coal Shoveler"  educated the crowd on what it was like to keep the fires going on the mighty Titanic. I was amazed at the prize monies too. This was a big time event. Jaynee explained that the monies raised from the People's Choice Award, would go to the S.O.S. program, "Save Our Strays," that Molly and Carter started in honor of the Dogs that were onboard the Titanic. I believe they raised almost $500 at this event.

Hunter saw his Kindergarten teacher at the event so he was "stoked". Her husband is a fire fighter for the Branson fire department. I took a picture of them on a 1960's??? fire truck that was on display.

 Around 2pm, the judges were presented with ALL of the wonderful chili recipes to try. They took their jobs very seriously as they judged each competitors' chili based on taste, consistency, smell, color, etc.

The winners were as follows:
1st place winner $3,000 (going to St. Louis Burn Camp) -Strafford Fire Department

2nd Place Winner $2,000 & Best Booth Award $100 (going to Boys and Girls Club) -Valley Park Fire District in Fenton, Mo.

3rd Place Winner $1,000 (going to MDA) -Branson Fire & Rescue

People's Choice Award $100 Mountain View Fire Department
Participation Award -Southern Stone County Fire Protection Department Auxilary

And as you can see from some of these pictures, Molly and Carter were present. This is always a hit for my boys. These King Charles Spaniels are part of a tribute to the dogs that were onboard the Titanic. I think they were really enjoying the weather. They hung out so that we could all pet them and take pictures.

All in all, we had a great time at the 1st Annual Titanic Firehouse Chili cookoff. Our bellies were full when we finally decided to head home. It is so nice to be a part of a community that cares and is willing to sacrifice their time to raise money for charity. A Special Thank You to the Titanic Museum Attraction and all of the Southwest Missouri and Northern Arkansas Firefighter Competitors! http://www.titanicattraction.com