Dad and his grandson, SuperPizzaBoy in Idaho last year.
I think that this is his high school graduation pic.
He and his roommate pretending to study. I like the Vargas print on the wall. I don’t know whose teddy bear that is.
Happy Father’s Day Gramps!
The 2011 Pinto World Championships are being held in Tulsa this year. It consists of over 450 events and has over 7000 entries. It is really a big deal for the Tulsa economy.
(Do you think this kid is an Okie?)
This year SuperPizzaBoy participated in the event called “Challenged Rider Lead Line” at the show. It is for riders who have special needs and participate in a Therapeutic Riding program. SPB has been riding with the Bit by Bit program based out of Rogers State University.
We were very proud and appreciative that SPB was selected to be one of the riders. We were there with our video camera.
The riders rode into the arena one by one. Each horse is led and in addition there are two sidewalkers. There is a big emphasis on safety. The lead and sidewalkers are all volunteers. They are very dedicated. They have to be as during a 30 minute therapy session they get a pretty good workout going around and around the arena with the riders.
We got a big thrill when SPB came around to our side of the arena.
We had moved from where we were sitting and you can tell that he was looking for us. When he saw Sweetie he broke into a huge grin.
The finished their circuit and lined up. The judges went from rider to rider chatting them up a little bit. The announcer gave a little bio for each rider.
The judges talked to every one of the 15 or 16 riders and then conferred.
Everybody was trying to figure out what they were conferring about.
They decided to award all the riders a World Championship Belt Buckle.
The horses that the kids rode and the belt buckles were provided by Ford Farms of Whitesboro, Texas.
The judges and one of the owners went to each of the riders and gave them their belt buckles.
And then the riders left out of the arena.
Many thanks to the staff and volunteers of Bit by Bit, the Pinto Horse Association of America, Ford Farms, and the Judges. We are very grateful for the experience they provided our son and the other kids who participated. We appreciate you very much.
One of the churches in downtown Tulsa is expanding.
They have two cranes on site. I’m the chief sidewalk inspector. I love construction and cranes and stuff like that. Here is what they are working on.
Somehow, it looks like they are building the new addition up in the air.
But they are not!
The preparations have been going on for some time.
The Yogi’s, Nana, and a few friends went to the Boots, BBQ, and Boogie fund raiser for Bit by Bit at Cain’s Ballroom. The legendary music hall just north of downtown Tulsa.
They had a hard core Country Western Band for the Boogie part, and the dancing part. That’s where the boots come in you know.
The place just drips history,
Many names from the distant past played there.
The music is loud!!!
Country Music isn’t my favorite but I’m still of the “If it is too loud, then you are too old.” school. No offense!
Nice, uh, t shirts for sale.
As you can tell, everybody had a good time.
We had storms last night. I’m not generally a macro guy but I liked the look of the raindrops on Sweetie’s flowers.
Knock Out Roses
Sweetie says that Knock Out is two words. Google is all over the place with about 40% one word, 40% two words, and the rest hyphenated.
Rose of Sharon
The Rose of Sharon is not actually a rose. I get so confused by gardening. I just do what I’m told and everything seems to work out.
Our son, SuperPizzaBoy, attended Camp Grey Squirrel this week. Camp Grey Squirrel is Oklahoma’s first resident camp for children with autism. It is located at the Methodist Boys Ranch near Gore, Oklahoma in the Cookson Hills near Lake Tenkiller. Sweetie and I wanted him to have a good time at the camp and this is the first time he had been gone from family for more than an overnight stay with friends.
We walked in the door and we both could tell from the look on his face that he had a wonderful time. I have to admit that it brought tears to both of us. He was really happy.
We could tell that the campers and staff had bonded very well. They were a happy group.
Key to the success of the camp were the buddies that each camper had. The buddies were teenagers from Four Winds Church in Conway, Arkansas. Kudo’s to Four Winds Church, and to the buddies, is what the Yogi’s have to say. Here is SPB’s buddy, J from Four Winds Church.
The buddies help the campers stay organized and on task and help them as needed. They are all volunteers overseen by adults. The buddies even paid their own expenses. They were really a blessing to all the campers and the parents of the campers. We are very thankful for J, her fellow buddies, and the adults that accompanied the buddies.
The Camp is not a religious camp per se and no religious instruction or presented. The young people from Four Winds provided a powerful witness to their faith.
Of course, we peppered SPB what he did and he was long on adjectives and short on information, “It was great.”
Fortunately, he took his camera along and even participated in a photography class. So the following are SPB’s pics.
The above is not at the camp but is a pond near the swimming pool they used.
And of course a picture of dorky old dad.
He made lots of self portraits,
He and his friend found a dead bird so they buried it. SPB told me that it was bloggable.
The swimming pool,
No modern day tweenager is ever very far away from Legos.
The camp was electronics free, thank goodness!!
They went horseback riding. He tells me that he took this pic during his photography class. I kind of like it. But I’m biased.
Not a half bad reflections shot.
This is what it is all about.
We are big fans of Camp Grey Squirrel. He is going again later this summer. If you know somebody who might be interested send them the link to the web site.
Well Church Camp came to an end yesterday. I wanted to say goodbye to all my new and old friends but I guess that they were still passed out contemplating everything they had learned at Church Camp this year. So I just packed up my stuff and left. First though I had to pick up some souvenirs of this year’s Church Camp. So I went to my favorite souvenir shop.
A sight like this almost makes me want to cry. Look at all the Fat Tire beer and other New Belgium Brewing Company products. I love the stuff and we can’t get it in Oklahoma.
I called the brewery once and asked what the deal was. They said that they require their wholesalers to keep the beer refrigerated and under Oklahoma State law you cannot put conditions like that on wholesalers. Also, you can’t just pick a wholesaler to sell your stuff exclusively. If you offer your products to one, you have to offer your products to all wholesalers. So, since they are very concerned about the quality of their product they just don’t sell it in Oklahoma.
I don’t know about you but I am so proud of our Oklahoma legislators and regulators. They are working hard for our Oklahoma liquor wholesalers. The liquor wholesalers and retailers in Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, and New Mexico and bootleggers everywhere stand in solidarity of their position.
Enough of that, how about a recap of Church Camp 2011. How about a Wordle? It’s hard to read so click on it to enlarge.
I love Texas but it was nice to get home to Oklahoma. I stopped at the “Welcome Center” to use the facilities.
It is always nice to be back.
