Friday, August 6, 2010

The Greatest Show on Earth......

Something you might not know about me is that I was raised in a small town in Oklahoma. The town was Hugo Oklahoma where the current population is 5,536. I am pretty sure that it was even less when I was little. :)he most exciting thing in our town was the cemetery. No, I am not joking you. We were able to claim the fame that the amazing Lane Frost and Freckles Brown (famous rodeo bull riders) were buried there. Not only was our cemetery legendary because of the infamous bull riders but also because of the amazing head stones of the circus performers that were laid to rest there. This cemetery was not far from my home. My friends and I would hop on our bikes and ride down the dirt road leading to the cemetery and then we would explore. It was amazing. At the time I didn’t realize how lucky I was to live in such a wonderful town. Not only did it have a cemetery but it also had a roller rink, movie theater that played one movie at a time, cows everywhere, creeks perfect for fishing, the best dive of a hamburger place hands down (I made Jason go when I took him back there), dirt roads to get lost on, and they even got a Super Wal-Mart shortly after we left. I mean come on a Super Wal-Mart… this put us on the map!! Wink! I have to say that the best part about good ole’ Hugo was that the Circus would camp out there in the winters. I made some wonderful friends that had parents with the coolest jobs EVER!! I didn’t even realize that it was unusual to stay the night with your friend and have to wake up and help her feed the elephants in the morning. Yes, it was pretty awesome. I hated leaving. The hardest part about moving to California was leaving behind all of the wonderful lifelong friends I had made. That and the fact that my Granny told me that California was of the Devil. Yes, there is a good old fashioned southern woman for you! Wink!!


I am very grateful for technology and the ability to reconnect with friends no matter how far away they are. I was able to reconnect with Libby, one of my best friends growing up. I love seeing her as a mother with two beautiful boys. I love seeing that she has followed in her beautiful mother’s footsteps and now rides the elephants herself. I was so excited when she asked if we would like to go the Circus out here and offered to give us tickets!!! The only bad part is that her tour is on the east coast so we did not get to see her. :) She made sure that we had an AMAZING time at the circus!!!!


When It started I got chills and maybe even a little tear in my eye.. wink!
I was beyond excited to share the circus with my kids.
I ALWAYS looked forward to it coming back to town when I was little.
I wasn't sure how Bubba would do....
I knew he would either love it or hate it.
Well, guess what folks... he is his Mommy's son and Loved it!
Don't get me wrong, he had is moments.
BUT for Bubba he did amazing!!!!
It did not disappoint one bit!!!!
The entire show was amazing!!!!
Regan sat there just staring in awe the entire time!!
My favorite part has always been the elephants!
I think Mommy got some cool points with Regan when I told her that my friend rides the elephants like this gal up here! wink!!
This is baby elephant Barack.
He was born on the night of the ignouration hence the name.
He was pretty darn cute.
My favorite part was that his Mommy came out with him and did not leave his side.
She held onto him as they entered and exited.
It was beautiful!
After the show Libby had arranged for us to meet up with her friend Joey.
He gave Regan a painting that Kelly Ann the elephant painted.
He would have taken us to meet and pet them BUT orange county has some silly law that would not let us do it. :(
We got as close as we could and enjoyed every second of it!
Then he took us "backstage" so that the kids could meet the trapeze artists.
They LOVED that and felt so special!!!
This is our fun group!!
It was a perfect day and I am so grateful to Libby for doing this for my family.
I am so excited that I was able to share something so wonderful from my childhood with my children.
I have no idea how I will ever be able to repay the favor BUT I have a feeling it will start with our next trip to Disneyland and LOTS of Dumbos... big surprise her little one LOVES elephants! wink!
Thank you so much!!!!!

1 comment:

Jen F said...

What an awesome post!