Rodeo

All ready for the rodeo! Kaitlyn had been looking forward to it for days - since Grandma Alene took her to the western store and got her an entire cowgirl outfit and Kaitlyn couldn't wait to wear it. She was also looking forward to eating cotton candy :)

Cowgirl Kate

Cowboy Ty

The rodeo runs 4 nights, but we decided to go on Thursday (July 3rd) because our neighbor was singing the national anthem (good job Camille!). We picked up tickets for Gma Alene, Wyatt, and for Rick (Sam's boss) and his family. When we found out my aunt Lenore and her two boys would be spending the week here as well, Mom managed to get them tickets too - though not right next to us. So there was a decent sized group of us there and it felt like a nice party. The family all had dinner at our house before the rodeo (I smoked ribs - with Sam's help - for the first time!).

Our seats were over the bucking chutes, on the second to top row. From the top row you could see the horses and bulls below and that's where Tyler wanted to spend the whole rodeo - watching the animals from as close to the top of the fence as he could get. We did get him to sit down once the rodeo started and kept him there with bribes (licorice!) when he got restless. But toward the end he just HAD to get back there to see the animals again and deserted his dad's lap for Amy (Rick's daughter that was sitting behind us - who we had only met that night. Very uncharacteristic for Ty to go to someone he doesn't know) and he watched the bull riding and the fireworks with her.

Kaitlyn had a blast! Once she got her cotton candy (she started asking for it the minute we sat down) she could concentrate on enjoying the rodeo. She cheered with the crowd and had a great time. The above photo is Katy trying to get them to toss her one of the Tshirts they were giving away. And both the kids were mesmerized by the fireworks
All in all it was a great rodeo and a great way to start our 4th of July celebrations.