Grateful Friday

Blogging time and opportunity are elusive but I will try to record some things.  Santa Fe was beautiful.  So many towns look like each other but Santa Fe has its own thing going for it.  The weather was bright and sunny but chiiiiiilly.

We walked around looking at sights and went into a beautiful cathedral.

Also, I bought some turquoise and silver earrings.

Then we headed to Oklahoma City.

Indian reservations and high desert changed to cattle country.  It’s a lovely and varied country out there.

The next morning we went to the Oklahoma City National Memorial.  It is sad and maybe a lot for Mark but I also think in our culture of violent video games and body count movies, it is good to appreciate what the horrors of actual violence are.  Some things are worth remembering and heroes are worth celebrating.

In the afternoon we went to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.  My mom—who has logged plenty of time there—just calls it The Hall.  It is where the Tradional Cowboy Artist Association (of which my dad is a member) has their annual exhibit and sale.  We knew that the museum had purchased some of my dad’s work in the past but my parents didn’t think it was on display.

Well it was!

Not every day you see some of your grandpa's work in a museum.

That night we headed to Ponca City.  I don't know what I was expecting but it was a lovely little town.  

Wednesday we met Katie and her girls in Pawhuska.

I've read the Pioneer Woman't blog for awhile and it was fun to go to Pawhuska and see the Mercantile.

It was even more fun to have lunch and spend time with these lovely ladies.

Charlotte 

Katie and Olivia--I wish I had a better picture of Katie but this is pretty representative of her taking care of her girls.

Ruby

We visited a few stores and went to the swinging bridge.

It was freaky and as predicted by his cousins, Mark ran across it.

We visited a museum devoted to Pawhuska history.  They boast of having the first ever American Boy Scout troop, so the kids memorialized that achievement with this picture:

In other news, if you need a gallon can of vanilla pudding, you can pick one up at Pawhuska Hometown Foods.

No, Pawhuska.  Thank YOU.

We spent that evening and yesterday with Tabor and Katie and girls.  I read the girls a story and they led me in "Primary Yoga."  

They hid eggs so Mark and I had an Easter egg hunt and we ate delicious food prepared by Katie.

Tabor asked Adam and Mark to help him with an adventure.  He was moving three calves to another pen (which is what they call corrals there).  Tabor said he needed big strong boys to help him and Adam and Mark signed right up.  He roped the calves and they were each going to "lead" one down the way.  I thought it seemed like a disaster waiting to happen but they actually did it.  (Katie and I opened the gate, actually we opened two gates because we got the wrong one the first time.)

Yesterday Adam and Mark and I went on a feeding expedition with Tabor.  It had rained all night and the fields were supremely muddy.

Imagine us slipping and sliding and drifting sideways in the mud in an enormous truck pulling a heavy trailer.

It was a wild ride.

Initially I had cheekily asked Tabor if he was ever tempted to clean his truck but then I understood.

Cleaning is futile.

We even got a big splotch of mud right in the middle of the windshield.

Also, the cattle didn't seem to mind the dirty truck.  They came running.

I snapped a selfie of me with my little brother. My face looks a bit distorted, but you get the idea.  We were together in an astonishingly dirty truck in deep mud.

I'm so glad we got to see them and spend a little time, however short.

It's always nice to be around someone who knows your story.