The Bunch Say Goodbye to Grandma and Head to Pawhuska, OK

The museum of my people.....a few generations removed.

 My Cherokee grandmother was laid to rest in small ceremony, consisting of more family than I have ever met, in an old section on Denton next to where her beloved husband was buried  35 years before her.  It was surreal. It was sad because she was gone, but also happy because relatives who only see each other at funerals were able to catch up. My grandma's younger sister looked EXACTLY like her. I wish my family was as close as my husband's family is, but sadly they are not. I hadn't seen my grandma in years and seeing her sister made me sad. I am not sure why my family chose to not celebrate with family (or really hug either), but knowing what I know now and looking back I wish they had. I wish I could go back and tell my grandparents (all of them) how great they are and how much I loved them.  The first few years of married life took some getting use to. My husband's family loves to hug and it took some time for me to feel comfortable with it. I now realize 2 things: 1.) I love to hug hello and goodbye (who knew)  and 2.) my husband's family is very dear to me and I love them as my own. His grandparents filled the missing role of my grandparents (granted both my grandfathers died when I was very young, but still his grandparents filled that role). We spend holidays and birthdays together and I love it. It makes those days extra special. I know if something were to happen and I needed help that they would be there in a heartbeat. I pray my kids grow up to realize the importance of family and appreciate all that comes with it. Have my in laws and I had disagreements? Sure, my father in law and I butt heads sometimes, but we still love and care for each other and move on. I hope even after the kids grow up and move away that these traditions still continue.

A is the closet serving. She made all 5 points!

L is on the far left in her stance to get the ball.

T won 2nd place this year in the Pine Car Derby.

The babies are growing.

They look big here but next to the fat girls they are only a third the size.

Maybe it was the nostalgia from my grandmother's funeral, but we went to visit the Cherokee Heritage Museum in Oklahoma and to visit the Pioneer Woman's Mercantile. Of course, both those things can't be right next to each other so we stayed in Claremore( at Casino no less). This put us about an hour from each one. Our first stop was the Mercantile. We arrived in Pawhuska at the Mercantile at about 9:00 am on a Monday. The line to get in was already half way around the building. I couldn't believe how busy it was! We waited about 30 minutes for a table and it took about an hour for us to eat. In that time, the line had wrapped completely around the building.  L brought Ree's newest cookbook with her, hoping she might get it signed. Halfway through breakfast Ladd appeared. No one else seemed to notice, but L did. She grabbed her book and ran over to see if he would sign his picture. He was so nice and did! On a side note, he is WAY taller than he seems on the show. L was so happy. I was extremely grateful to him, though after our spectacle everyone seemed to realize who he was and a line formed for pictures, which he graciously did. He was still taking pictures an hour later when we left to head to the Lodge at the Drummond Ranch.  The lodge was so BIG and the views were gorgeous. The Lodge is HUGE. It is much bigger in person than on the show and not surprisingly the only thing in her fridge was butter. We got to play with Walter, who seemed to know his spot was on the couch. We also brought back an inch of dirt from the 12 MILE driveway to the Lodge. L and A couldn't have been happier. Thank you Ree for opening the Ranch up and to Ladd for making a little girl completely over the moon.

Our spot at the Will Rogers Downs KOA. That's right, we stayed at a casino! We over looked the horse track and it was the quietest KOA we have ever stayed at!

Made it there early in order to get tickets to visit the Lodge.  This was our ticket and the line outside waiting to be seated for breakfast.

30 minutes later and we were in out of the cold and wind. Happy Days!

Cute menu's.

L noticed Ladd right away and grabbed her book before anyone else realized what was going on. Oh, the line that formed afterwards.

Pure happiness! Thank you Ladd!

An hour later breakfast finally arrived. I still can't believe how busy they are on a random Monday morning!

Upstairs at the bakery. He's smiling because we are about to leave for the Lodge.

Crazy busy and a line that is now wrapped around the building!

Made it to the Lodge.

Chillin on Ree's porch.

Breathtaking views. The land is theirs for as far you can see.

Yep, I used Ree's potty.  No selfie here.

Props she uses for her shows.

Yep, it figures. Only butter in the fridge.

Oh wait, here is more butter. Can't have enough butter.

L lovin on Walter on Ree's couch.

L is totally in her element

Maisy sat so quietly until the horses on the track got close and then this is what I captured. Beautiful isn't it?  I might have dislocated my shoulder on this shot. 

T expressing his displeasure at visiting the pioneer women all day. Oh, kids.

My youngest son, who was completely unimpressed with the Ranch trip, was extremely excited about the trip to the Cherokee Museum. He was ready to learn about my people (insert laughter here).  My great grandmother was a full blooded Cherokee Indian, though I do not yet know from which of the 7 clans she was from. I think it was probably the wild potato clan. Why you ask? because it sounds the stupidest and that is generally how my life rolls. I hope to find out for certain soon. This museum was set up like a living history museum. They had a Cherokee Indian as tour guide and he led us around a 1710 village where we met other tribe members who would explain what the were doing. For example, they would show us how to make arrows, bows, play stick ball, or any other number of  things that needed to be done on a daily basis. It was about an hour tour and we all found it very fascinating. My son even bought a blow dart gun and some darts. The girls expressed some anxiety about this, but the guide assured us that they were not strong enough to cause any "real damage". D and I did explain that if T shoots his darts at anything other than the target we will take his gun away. I expect it to be gone in about a week.

I told him he should look sad, but he was too excited.

Dog that the kids found outside of the museum, I repeatedly told them we would NOT be bringing it home!

We are learning the rules for stick ball.

Making arrowheads here.

Having a shooting lesson.

Lunch at the local Mexican restaurant. It was really yummy!

12 mile gravel drive to the Lodge. We came back with some of it.

My daughter hates traveling on her birthday. This year we made it back the day before! Not that she has big plans since her party is this weekend, but she (like the other kids) likes calling the shots on her special day. It is the ONLY time I allow them to get donuts for breakfast. I can't believe my youngest daughter is 12. It goes by so fast. At least we have lots of great memories from all our travels. The kids favorite to tell is about the time D almost drove off a mountain in Marfa. They credit me for saving their lives, but honestly I think the little guard rail may have slowed us down enough to stop! We have also seen all kinds of interesting things. A always says "This was fun we should come back". If we go back everywhere she wants to go back to, we will never see anything new. I am glad they enjoy the trips so much (notice I didn't say the driving. They hate that part!). I am pretty sure none of them will ever camp again though. They definitely do not enjoy walking to the showers in the cold.

L loves to make her own cake! She did great and I love not doing it. Yay!

She can be nice! I have proof.

Playing British Baking Show Bingo. They made it up themselves.