Fourth of July in Pawhuska Was a Sweet and Happy Day! Here Are All the Pics!

I didn't get to walk around town and meet visitors on the Fourth last year...because we didn't really have visitors on the Fourth last year! Even though we didn't have our full-blown festival this year, the turnout was great and it was so fun to be among so many kind people again. Some were from hours away, some just from the next town over...and I loved being able to visit and say hi.

Children of all ages, and most of them were donning red, white, and blue. They were running around, eating snow cones, enjoying life...and call me sappy and sentimental, but for me it was just what the doctor ordered. Fourth of July, like Halloween, is more fun with kids around, and I was so glad we had so many young visitors this year!

I repeat: I'm not in a hurry for grandchildren! But I'm happy to cuddle any babies that you feel like handing to me here and there. (This is my good friend Tiffany Poe's baby, Solomon! I hadn't gotten to meet him yet, and he was as scrumptious as I expected him to be.)

Our incredibly awesome staff at the Merc set up big grills to serve street food starting at 4:00 pm. These burgers were absolutely irresistible, and there was nothing fancy about them! Just Angus beef grilled over Oklahoma pecan wood, a toasted brioche bun, lettuce, and tomato! Oh, and homemade pickles, too. Yum!

To be specific: Wood-grilled quarter pound hot dogs (or bratwurst!) topped with anything from chili to cheese sauce to sauerkraut to grilled onions. And the toasted rolls they're served on...my gosh! I am ready for July 4, 2022, just so I can have one of these dogs.

Oh dear. These were my weakness. Visitors could choose between beef barbacoa or chicken tinga, and they were served topped with pico de gallo (and salsas on the side). I chose both, and there wasn't a morsel left. The corn tortillas were perfection! Tacos make the world a better place, that's all I'm trying to say.

These are Ladd's famous steak bites, cooked in butter and seasoned with lemon pepper...and they are almost too good to be believed. And they are no respecter of age: I saw older adults and young kids wolf them down the whole time I was walking around...oh, and I had myself an order, too. They are a splurge item! Like, totally!

He dug out our Fourth of July shirt from 2018 and dove right into the fun! I saw him talking with visitors of all ages—Dr Pepper can in hand, of course. He's out of his neck brace for good now, and right now he's working on flexibility—it's a little stiff, but getting better! Oh, and he's totally riding his horse and lifting weights like nothing happened. It was so good to see him feelin' good. (And lookin' good!)

Sometimes at events or parties like this, we get separated and become two ships passing each other in the night. 😂 But we glued ourselves together somehow and it was fun meeting visitors together—and taking pics together! Turns out that after all the craziness and busy-ness of the past few years, we kinda love hanging together.

Recognize the necklace on the right? Yep, it's the Heart of the Ocean from Titanic! I was awed by its beauty! And okay, maybe it was a replica...but it was a darn gorgeous one. The fun back story is that these girls had met Leonardo Dicaprio recently...so the necklace was a tribute to Jack. 😊 Made me smile! I think they were disappointed that I wasn't Kate Winslet, but I tried to be as entertaining as I could.

Charlie's Sweet Shop was serving sweets galore...I promise there is ice cream under there. 😂 This particular sundae is really not a part of my recent fitness and wellness plan...but everything in moderation, right?

Two months into marriage, the newlyweds are doing just great. Mauricio has attended our annual celebration for the past few years, and even if Alex ever wanted to skip it...I don't think he'd let her. Since they were in town, they stayed on to film a few episodes of my cooking show this week, so they had a busy few days in Oklahoma before heading back to Dallas yesterday!

My mom and her husband, Doug, headed this way to watch the fireworks on the Boarding House balcony, and it was the first time she'd ever come to our Pawhuska celebration. They probably woke up with ringing in their ears due to the fireworks...but they'll probably be back next year because I have seen firsthand how habit-forming the fireworks can be.