State High School BBQ Competition

Smoke was in the air for the 2025 State High School BBQ Competition!

Barrett rode down with his team on Friday during the day.  I left as soon as I got off work Friday and drove out late that evening.  Barrett and his team stayed at the Hidden Falls Inn, while I stayed at the Quality Inn in Marble Falls.  There weren't any rooms left at Barrett's Inn (school districts from all over the state were here in this small town), so I stayed down the road.  Saturday, Barrett and his team arrived in Granite Shoals at 4 a.m. to get their smokers fired up!  There were 112 teams competing this year.  I arrived a little later, after my free hotel breakfast and a stop by a coffee shop.

I enjoyed watching Barrett prepare and smoke his chicken.  It was a long day of smoking, and I had to get back on the road for home after all of the meat was turned in to the judges.

He got 7th place in the state in the smoked chicken category!  We are so proud of him!

Braces

Today, Kaleb got braces!

Easter

This morning we watched our church's online sermon.  It was peaceful as we dug into God's word and worshipped, tucked into his beautiful creation on Easter morning.

We spent the day at the campground, went for a hike, and then waited for storms to pass before going into town for fresh pie.

Blake and Barrett went to church and spent the afternoon with Jim and Duby.

For what I received, I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.  1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Sight & Sound Theatre

Today we visited the Sight & Sound Theatre.

With original music inspired by the Psalms, DAVID was a state-of-the-art theatrical experience. One of the most legendary Bible stories came to life with spectacular special effects, massive sets, and live animals in this original stage production. 

We thoroughly enjoyed the production!  We can't say enough wonderful things about our experience.

Afterwards, we went to 7 Brew for a treat.  We've been wanting to try it and were excited to see one here in Branson.

We went back to the campground to spend the afternoon.  We went to Billy Gail's Cafe for dinner.  It's home of the 14" Sweet Creme Vanilla Pancakes.

We spent the evening gathered around the campfire.

Branson Ridge

Since we had a 4-day weekend, we went up to Missouri to spend some quiet time tucked away in the Ozark Mountains.  We stayed at Branson Ridge RV Resort.

Blake and Barrett had to work, so they stayed home with Quinlan, while the rest of us went for the long weekend.

Family Easter Service

The Wednesday evening before Easter was a special time as our church family gathered for the Lord's Supper and an intimate Easter service.  I love that our family of six was captured in this photograph together in the balcony during this special time.

Senior Prom

Barrett and his friends had a great time at Senior Prom and the Shenaniganz afterparty.

Another Win

Brynn and Ella got another win at the doubles tournament!

While in Texas

We loved having Yay Yay in town for a long weekend.  I didn't get pictures of all the fun we had.  We surprised Auntie at work with Crumbl, we ate some of Yay Yay's favorite Texas foods, and we shopped at her favorite Texas stores.  We went to church and then celebrated Gram's birthday.  She got to visit some of her friends, and we drank a lot of coffee in between it all!  It's always hard to say goodbye!  Until next time...

Birthday Celebration

Brynn had a fun evening celebrating Maddie's birthday.

Rockwall County Youth Show

Barrett showed his trailer at our local Youth Show.

We were happy that Gram, Papa, Zoey, and Shay Shay got to come!

Shay Shay arrived at the airport early this morning, so it worked out that she was here for it.

While he didn't win the show, he got a blue ribbon for his craftmanship on the trailer.

It was a fun time!  This is his last show, so now his trailer will be put into service.