Grandpa turns 90

This week my grandpa did what few people accomplish.  He turned 90, and he is in pretty good shape.  Few medications, and no walker.  He goes to exercise class everyday and has taken a walk every day for the last 25 years.
He had many cards that people had sent him.  A fruit basket came from his nieces and nephew in Oregon that he was quite proud of.
I think one of his best birthday presents was learning that his daughter was moving back to Pratt.  She bought a house just a few blocks away from his apartment.
This is the same daughter that was born the day he was walking home from Oklahoma after being discharged from World War II.  Can you imagine our troops being discharged and walking home?
After the war he started his farming career.  Building many of the existing terraces in the county is one of his lasting contributions to this world.
He also built a grain elevator and had a seed wheat business.  Many of the land owners he farmed for, my dad also farms for them, or their children.
It took some courage, but he went on a few overseas missions trips.  He told me that he looked out the window of the plane and he felt like God made him a promise not to worry, that he would return home.  Often times he still gets together with his Gideon group and still distributes bibles.
I think he is pretty happy these days because several of his lifelong friends are living at the some residence center, so they look out and take care of each other.

Alta Ross a lifelong friend and my grandpa, Anfred Smith visiting at his birthday party.

Vacation time

Well we are in the final push before school starts back up.  The kids are politely reminding us of all of the things we wanted to get to this summer.
On Friday we went to a halter horse showmanship clinic.  They also got to ride a little bit too.  I think both girls took home a few pointers.
We finally got packed up and left for South Dakota. Luke and I had been there B.K.  You know, before kids.  And et me tell you I had forgotten just how far it is up there.  It's a wonder Weston made it.  I think sleeping part of the way helped.  But we did get one 4-H record book done on the way.  Now we need to do Allie's.
In the darkness we made it to our destination.  We stayed at a nice mountain resort in Keystone.  They had a very wonderful breakfast and even a s'more pit for the kids to enjoy in the evenings.  In the morning we could see the side of Mount Rushmore.
In Keystone there was all kinds of "tourist trap" type places.  This worked out well for Allie, since she loves rocks.  She added a few pieces to her collection. Rose quartz, a large geode and some mica were just a few of the pieces.
Mount Rushmore was hot and packed with people, but the view was of course spectacular.  I am not fully sure if the kids realize what a national treasure this national park is.  We looked around and took some pictures by the outdoor theatre.  Then we took a path that lead us even closer to the monument.  One of the guides was Native American and he presented a short talk about the sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his relation ship with the local Native Americans.
We rode a train through the mountain pass, which was ok but not a standout for me.
Then we headed out to the Badlands National park.  We saw mountain goats and buffalo  in the park.  The size of the Badlands is hard to comprehend.  But they are certainly spectacular to visit.  We also made a quick pass at Wall Drug.

Texas the Musical

Last week we headed to the Panhandle of Texas to Amarillo.  My mom took us to a musical. It was the fiftieth anniversary of the musical Texas.  The musical is performed in the background of the beautiful Palo Duro Canyon.
The show was full of dancing and singing.  Horses and other animals were part of the production. The girls enjoyed the show, however Weston didn't make it though the whole show, he fell asleep.
We headed back to Kansas and in Texas the speed limit was 75.  Then we reached the Panhandle of Oklahoma and it was 55. But just for a few miles, it as a construction zone.  I was very glad it didn't last the whole way through Oklahoma.

Birthday party for Lane

From time to time we try to change a few things at the paper.  We try to keep our readers happy, and also gain new ones.  We have been trying to put together community news each week. I would like to encourage anyone to call the office or visit our website if they have any upcoming events they would like us to print.
I also changed the pictures of our writers.  Now they look like sketches, hopefully giving them a unique look for the paper.
This weekend we went to my little nephew's birthday party.  He turned three and seemed to enjoy about every minute of his party.  He was having so much fun I think he would have loaded up with his cousins and fallen asleep on the way home.
We had a good time, there was plenty of chocolate cake and lots of garden tomatoes. Then we went out and rode his mom's horse, Cash, around.

Fair Week
Wow, this week has flown by and we managed to survive the Pratt County Fair.
First off I would like to address a mistake I made in last weeks paper.  The flow of the classifieds got disrupted.  I know it made the paper hard to read, hopefully I can keep the flow of the classifieds without any interruptions this week.
Monday and Tuesday were horse events. The girls had some good runs, and not so good runs.  We also did judging for indoor exhibits such as foods, photography and crafts.
Wednesday we brought the market animals to the fair. We also worked in the food booth.
Thursday the girls started the day with pigs, flowed by lambs, and then finally the bucket calf show. Allie won one of her pig classes.
On Friday the girls showed their heifers. Thankfully the beef show got over quicker than expected.
Saturday I was building monitor, and then we got the lambs, and pigs ready for the livestock auction.
Sunday we attended cowboy church, cleaned up the fairgrounds and headed home.  The camper is put back in the shed.  Now it's time to tackle laundry.
This week was so hot.  Several storms went around us and finally it rained Saturday night. The girls finished the week with lots of blues, reds, a few whites, purples and reserve grand champion ribbons.
Allie has started her thank you notes. Addie will need to work on her notes tomorrow.
County fairs are only successful because of the many volunteers that give their time. Thank you.