The Trip Post I Forgot To Publish

Remember all those vacation posts I wrote in July? And how I said I was finished? I forgot the most important one! I forgot to write all about the hometown rodeo--which I absolutely cannot believe. In fact, the whole POINT of us going home to CO was for the rodeo! We have been going for the last 14? 15? years, and it is by far one of my favorite family traditions. We have sort of a family history of cowboys, ranchers, and farmers, so we are all kind of western cowboy folk at heart (umm, I grew up working at the ranch with my dad, so...) This year, my aunt was able to come too!

The last few 2 years that I have taken Kara, it has been an excuse to dress her up in cowgirl gear. I bought her some little pink cowgirl boots this year, and she looked adorable! Next year, I am getting myself a pair of cowgirl boots, and Kara and I will wear hats (I look pretty dang good in hats). On a side note, I remember asking my dad for a pair of cowgirl boots for several years while I was growing up, and he would never, ever buy them for me... something about them being too expensive or whatever.

For the past 12 years or so, my dad has given the Rodeo Queen her award saddle on behalf of the Sheriff's Association. So basically, my dad is kind of like a celebrity! In our eyes, at least. I love seeing all the contestants in their sparkly western gear... It is one of my favorite parts of the rodeo! I secretly wish I could be a Rodeo Queen contestant just so I could dress up like Western Royalty. What you can't see in these pictures is how sparkly their shirts were.

There he is--the really tall man in uniform holding the saddle. Isn't he cool?!

There he is, giving away the saddle. Do you see him???

In case you couldn't see him above, my dad is the little blue speck behind the girl in red with the white hat. See him? :)

One of our favorite events to watch is the barrel racing. It is so much fun!

 And Kara, of course, loves the horses (and the cows, which she "moos" at). When we move back, we might have to put her in rodeo lessons! Although, I'd really prefer she be a swimmer ;) One little boy/participant was kind enough to let Kara pet his horse! It was so nice of him!

 

Kara was somewhat fascinated with this little boy...

The local 4H club sells hot dogs and hamburgers, as well as chips, drinks, etc., so we always treat ourselves to some burgers and a soda (usually Diet Coke--my family's drink of choice). Unfortunately, Kara picked up a fondness for Diet Coke from Nana and "Bapa," which you will probably be able to tell in the following pictures.

 

I finally got my sister to bribe her with a Sprite instead of Coke.

We finally decided it was time to go when the bugs started eating us alive. Until next year!

Another Trip Post... Almost Finished

 Friday night before we left, we all went out to the ranch for some shootin' practice. Those Diet Coke cans had it coming, I tell you! We all had a turn, but I think I was the best ;) (Ok, ok, that's stretching it... Really, really stretching it).

First, the men  had to show us how it was done. Literally:

My aunt was a pretty good shot. I didn't really see how my sister and my mom did, because by that time, we were preoccupied with becoming mosquito dinner.

And then I killed a sunflower plant. It was accidental, I swear! (Would that be floraslaughter?) I am a pretty bad shot.

My dad, sister, and I wandered around the ranch remembering old days and trying to find an old owl that roosts in the barn. Those are memories for another post, but right before we started wandering around, I took pictures of some of the flowers out there, and I found these two little lady bugs on one. They look like they were mating, but I think it is still PG enough to put up on the blog.

 (btw, do you like my dad's "Merry Christmas" t-shirt he is wearing in July?)

I think the evening was perfect.

My Latest Favorite

This is my latest favorite photo. I took it last night--we had the best day (and evening) of almost the whole trip. This picture is just a little preview of some posts to come in the next few days:

Every Princess Knows...

 ...That she needs a fuzzy pink crown.

The other night after the wedding reception (which I will blog about later, maybe today), Kara found a dress-up crown and insisted on putting it on. She was so proud after she was able to get it on her head and proudly wore it for us all to see. Until I pulled my camera out, that is, and then she tried to take it off! Sometimes she is a little stinker!