Day 5 Abilene (APS)

This morning Hall, Jack and I woke up early and got to spend some extra time with the Basdens.  We had a great time catching up while Jack and Bryce had a ball playing and Brinkley tried hard to keep up!  When our girls woke up, we had a enjoyed breakfast, complete with cinnamon buns and a candle to celebrate my birthday - a day early!  

After loading up, we set out for Abilene to visit our friends, the Grants.  When we arrived, we went to meet Sid at his office and then went and enjoyed lunch at Bogie’s. After lunch we went to Frontier Texas, a museum that told the story of how the West evolved over the years and how the people adapted to the wild West.  This was a wonderful museum that relates to the social studies curriculum that I teach so I took lots of pictures that will be great to add to my keynotes next year!  When we finished at the museum, Sid had gotten word that Pam and the kids had headed to the ranch so we did the same.  Once off of the main road, Sid told us that MC would have a good opportunity to drive if she was interested and she jumped on the chance!  After arriving at the ranch, we had a great time catching up with Pam and Sidney while Cason and Jack got right to their roping lesson.  Sid made sure that Jack was prepared with his very own lasso, knife AND cowboy hat! Jack was in HEAVEN!   Once it cooled off a bit, we all headed out into the pasture to “round up” some calves so Jack could put his skills to good use.  Hall, Jack, MC and Lil had the opportunity to ride the 4-wheelers while Pam, Sidney and I took the less dusty route via the truck!  This was such a neat experience we will never forget!  Cason’s lessons paid off, and Jack was able to rope his first calf after a few attempts!  MC decided that she would try her hand too, and she was able to catch one as well.  Lillian and I enjoyed watching all of the action from the top of the fence.   A storm began to blow in so we headed back to the house.  When we got back, we found Taylor had arrived home after winning his golf tournament at Horseshoe Bay!  Emily was the only Grant that we didn’t get to catch up with but she is spending the summer in College Station working before heading back to school in the fall.  Sid and Pam made a wonderful meal and the storm cooled things off a bit so Cason and Jack headed back out to shoot the .22 and hunt rabbits.  After a wonderful evening with friends, Pam, Sidney, Cason and Taylor headed back to Abilene as they all had things to do early in the am, so Sid stayed at the ranch with us.  What an amazing day with amazing people!  Cason wins the prize for being SO patient and kind to Jack and Sid and Pam, we are grateful for your hospitality and friendship!