Snake River Stampede 2009

The Snake River Stampede Rodeo is done for the year but not before we had a chance to join in the fun! We attended three evening performances in a row, no small feat with two small kids. Of course my mother in law, the kids, and myself only made it through saddle bronc each night before we headed home which is about halfway through the performance. Bareback and saddle bronc are my favorite events so I'm glad I get a chance to see them. We also got to see the steer wrestling and team roping in addition to the first round of chuck wagon racing. And of course we saw the Stampeders at the start of each performance, the highlight of Grace's evening. We miss tie down (my least favorite event), barrel racing, and the bulls. I like to watch the bulls but since very few cowboys seem to actually ride for all 8 seconds it's not worth keeping the kids up until past 11pm. Oh well.

I realized that the last time I saw a rodeo in it's entirety was June 2005, a month before I gave birth to Grace. Oh I've been to lots of rodeos and even stayed through their conclusion, but I always miss part of it by standing in line at the port o potties, walking behind the grand stands with a toddler who can't sit still one more minute, or nursing babies as discreetly as possible next to hot dog vendors stands. That's on top of the general fun of keeping children under the age of four entertained for three hours in the hot sun on metal bleachers/stadium seats that they don't weigh enough to keep down. I'm actually glad that my children have had a chance to enjoy rodeos from such a young age but I'm looking forward to the day that we can sit through an entire rodeo from start to finish without a meltdown or crisis of some sort. Of course that would mean my children are grown up and I'm not ready for that to happen yet. So maybe I don't mind missing out on an event or two or even the sticky cotton candy fingers. No, I don't think I mind it one bit.

Here's a picture of the Stampeders. They do their horse routine in the dark with Christmas lights to decorate the horses and riders. It never fails to impress, especially if you're Grace! She waves hello to them the whole time they perform.

Ethan sitting with Opa during a break in the action.

Grace managed to sneak a turn on Opa's lap too.

Totally scored a nice picture of David! Mostly because he was smiling at someone else and didn't notice the camera aimed in his direction. Otherwise he would have been cross-eyed.

Ethan watching the horses.