Another Great Day with the Burmans!

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad!  We love you!  Teri and Scott we also want to wish you a Happy 18th Anniversary as well!

  

We had such a nice day hanging out with the Burmans.  We started the day by going to the Lutheran Church that Jim and Betsy were married in and Howard and Billye have been members of for many, many years.  All 12 of us sat in the front row.  Although it was a bit more traditional than what we are used to we really enjoyed it.  After church we headed back to Howard the Billye's house for a delicious lunch.  They ordered Dink's BBQ.  It was really amazing.  We had brisket, ribs, sausage, baked beans, potato salad and coleslaw. After all that yummy food we ate a delicious strawberry dessert Billye had prepared.  I forgot to mention that Billye also made us her homemade margaritas.    It was a feast fit for a king.  We have had so much fun just sitting around and talking to all the Burmans.  Billye and Howard have really made us feel like one of the family.  Jim is blessed to have such great parents.  After lunch we took the kids for a swim at the near by country club that Howard and Billye are members.  The kids had a blast playing water basketball and going up and down the slide.  We went back to the house and spent the rest of the evening chatting and playing games.  We learned how to play the Burman special game of marble cards.  It was a great game and even though the cheating boys won we still had fun. (Editorial comment from Dave... "the boys did not cheat.")  We left for the RV around 11pm and took Parker with us for a sleep over.  

Thought of the Day:  Good friends are a key to a happy life.  We are so blessed to have such great friends.  I really do feel that they were a gift from God and we really need to thank Him for them daily.  They have not only helped us through the tough times in our lives they have also been the reason we have had so many good times.  I know I say this a lot but we really do love all of you (our friends and family)!!

Bartlesville with the Burmans

It was so nice hanging out with our great friends the Burmans!  We have missed them (and all of you) so much!  They came and picked us up at our campground and we all went to Woolaroc.  Woolaroc was established in 1925 as the ranch retreat of oilman Frank Phillips.  The ranch is a 3,700 acre wildlife preserve where you can see buffalo, elk and longhorn cattle.  There was also a really cool museum that my father (HI DAD) would have loved.  It has a collection of western art and artifacts, Native American stuff and one of the finest collections of Colt firearms in the world (my dad loves colt firearms).  The most interesting thing about Woolaroc was the history of how it was established.  Frank Phillips (Phillips 66) built the ranch and lodge as a place to entertain his friends which included local business men, but more interesting was his friendship with the local Native American tribe leaders, particularly his close friends Bacon Rind and Fred Lookout from the Osage Nation.   Even more interesting then that was he like to rub elbows with local outlaws, bank robbers and train robbers.  This was actually very smart.  You see Frank was the wealthiest man in town but his cattle were never rustled, his bank was never robbed and he always got all the financing he needed for his business.  Every year Frank would throw a huge party where he would invite all of his friends including the outlaws and Indians and they would stay for a few days.  The funny thing was that Frank had made a deal with the law (who was probably also at the party) that the outlaws could not be arrested during the party.

When we were there they had a Kid Fest going on and the kids had a blast shooting an authentic powder loaded rifle, throwing axes, climbing ropes, making Indian hats , beaded jewelry and watching a Civil War cannon firing reinactment.  The best part though was just hanging out with our friends.  It was a great time for everyone.  

After the Woolaroc we drove to Sonic for a treat and then headed to Jim's parents, Billye and Howard's house.  We had such a nice time chatting with them.  They are so sweet and even invited us to join them to go to a party at their neighbors house.  The party was really fun.  It was Mexican themed and had free flowing margaritas, a Mexican buffet and a mariachi band.  After the party we headed back to Billye and Howard's house and we sat under the gazebo and chatted while the kids played crochet and caught fireflies.  It was the perfect end to the perfect day!

I don't have time to post my pics yet so check back tonight for the rest of the pics and the thought of the day!