On July 1st we went to my very first rodeo. The kids were already seasoned, having gone with my mom last year, and they let me know all the fun things to expect. The weather was perfect. Before we got there, we decided that we better get 'all cowboy-ed up!' You just can't go to a rodeo looking like a townie! You've got to look like a townie trying to look like a cowboy.

Aren't they cute?


Then came the mandatory (free...yeah!) pony rides.




We then picked up some unhealthy, yet also mandatory, junk food and settled down for the show to start.
It was fun, but a little more scary than I thought it would be. Two cowboys got hurt when they were thrown off their bucking horses. One just landed wrong but the other one was hurt pretty bad. The horse came back and landed on his stomach, twice. He had to be carried off but they said he was alright. There was another near miss when another rider was thrown over the top of his horse, right in front of him. Just at the same moment when he landed, the horse managed to buck himself right over his head. What a dangerous sport! The bull riding went quick, but with less damage to the riders. They all moved so quickly that it was hard for my little camera to focus on them.

They also had barrel races, calf roping and a parade of the cowgirl princesses from around the county.
Oh. And did I mention the kid's favorite part? The rodeo clown. (They kept calling him the 'radio clown') At one point he dressed up in this ridiculous costume and the kids couldn't stop laughing. He even managed to do a funky dance and ride a horse wearing it.
We all had so much fun. I think we'll have to go back next year. Both Alaina and Ethan decided that they have to be a cowboy and a cowgirl when they grown up. Alaina's hat has become a new must for most outdoor activities and Ethan declared that his new cowboy belt was going to be an 'everyday belt!' True to his declaration, he has worn his belt everyday. He's also always making sure that his shirt is tucked in so it doesn't cover the cool shiny buckle. Austin, however, had no desire to join the cowboy craze. He said he'd rather stick to being a lego-engineer. He did, amazingly enough, manage to stay awake for the entire rodeo, which was quite the feat for my sleeper. He even made it for five minutes into the car ride home. Unfortunately, we live 7 minutes away and so he was sound asleep before we got home.