Lucky... I think so

I've decided that I'm a pretty lucky girl.  

Not lucky in a "bet on that horse, because I'm lucky" kind of way, but an "I'm sure glad that God has got me on the path that I'm on" kind of way. 

Anyway, this year Father's Day fell on June 20th, which is my mom's birthday.  How lucky am I to get to celebrate both of them on the same day?!  So, Jac and I headed up the road to Enid to hang out with my family for the day.  The road trip began with a tradition that started when I was in college - singing along to "Life is a Highway" - LOUD.  There may or may not be dancing involved.  Jacob only had the Rascal Flatts version on his iPhone.  I very much prefer the original by Tom Cochrane. 

Mom & Dad

I had my mom's birthday gift in hand ready to give to her as soon as I walked in the door.  Maybe it's a little selfish but it was a photo book and video from our wedding.  I ordered the book several months before her birthday and I knew she'd love it, so I couldn't wait to give it to her.  I was right, she loved it. 

After swimming with the fam and eating burgers grilled by my brother, we went to visit my dad who was working all day at the grain elevator at ILO.  Yeah, it's a place.

Now, Jacob is a city boy so he's very green when it comes to harvest.  My dad did his dad duties and explained all of the inner workings of the grain elevator then offered to take him up to the top of the bins.  He has NEVER taken me up there!  He really likes his son-in-law.  Of course, he was happy to take us all to the top.  

Me at the top, sister on the ground

Going to the top = riding this teeny, tiny, one-person, "open" elevator or climbing the ladder that goes from ground level to the top, which is 300+ feet high.  My smart father suggested we take the elevator two at a time b/c you could obviously not get anywhere quickly in this thing.  It basically felt like we were hugging each other while surrounded by chicken wire. 

My bro & sis in the elevator

We got to the top and let my dad explain the spiderleg-esque tubes coming down from the top of the elevator & how the grain is transported to the top, how it is separated, and how it gets into its respective bin. 

Dad explains it all!

We inadvertently planned our trip out there at the perfect time, so when we walked out side we were met by a beautiful Oklahoma sunset.  Can't beat it.  

My dad pointed out some landmarks that were around 20 miles from where we were.  AMAZING!  My iPhone camera got a workout.  

Fresh cut wheat fields

My brother - who can be ridiculous crazy sometimes - reached down through the top of the bin to get a handful of grain from one of the bins that were full.  Erik, Jac and I attempted to chew it long enough to make gum out of it, but we all gave up.  I was so disappointed that I tried again.  When it turned liquidy and was running down my chin, I was done. 


So, time to come down... here's where the fun starts.  Again, we took our turns on the elevator two-by-two.  Jacob and I were the last two to go before my dad.  We're just chugging along and we are getting closer to the bottom so I yelled for my mom to take control so she could stop us at the right spot.  we.just.stopped.  No movement.  Up?  Down?  Nope.  I yelled up to my dad but he was not near the elevator, evidently.  Jacob and I saw the cables moving as we pushed the down button but nothing was happening.  All of a sudden there was a LOUD BOOM and we were free falling.  I screamed like a girl.  Jacob said he wasn't sure I was serious about it because he had never heard me scream like that!  Oh and don't worry, I gave a follow up scream once we stopped.  That one sounded strangely like a girl from a bad horror flick.  My mom started screaming to my brother as she was "holding us up with the cable". She gave credit to adrenaline... hmm... 


Well, I bailed on the elevator.  I decided to climb the rest of the way down via the ladder.  No one was hurt, but we were covered head to toe with wheat dust.  And we were shaky and had heartbeats that sounded like a summer storm was approaching - well, I did anyway!

Approximately 7 minutes later my dad stepped off the elevator and was oblivious to the drama that had just unfolded.  As my mom and I are talking over each other to tell the story, he says "Oh yeah, the sparks your mom saw were probably just the emergency brake.  There's no possible way that the elevator would fall all they way to the bottom."  Really dad?  All that drama for nothing?!  I refuse to believe it!  Of course, my dad hugged and said he was glad we were okay.  We survived the evening with nothing more than dirty clothes and some allergies.  

Father's day w/ my dad!

The rest of the evening seemed uneventful.  Watched wedding video - mom cried.  Drove home in a storm of bugs.  Seriously sounded like it was raining.  OH OKLAHOMA!

We survived the elevator!

That's a nugget --B