One of our favorite summer traditions is the Ute Stampede Rodeo. Luke has been asking me for a few weeks when it is time to go to the "radio", so he was super excited when I told him it was finally time for the Stampede. The kids could hardly contain their excitement.
The beginning of the rodeo is my very favorite so we are always hustling to get there on time. They began by honoring the firefighters that are currently fighting so many wildfires throughout the state. From there it was the classic of "Proud to be an American" while a paratrooper came in with the flag. In theory it seems a little cheesy and not like something I would get so excited about, but I love it. Once the flag lands, they do the national anthem and from there, the rodeo events get started.
In all the years we have gone to the rodeo, you would think we would know more about the events, the scoring, and how it all works. But really, we just go for the time with family, the atmosphere and the snowcones. Luke and Ruby love being with cousins and were in heaven the entire night.
Twinning is winning!
There's a real shot of girl power!
Pizza and pop for dinner...you see why they love the rodeo.
The kids love it when Miss Marlene can come
Really she's my Aunt Marlene, but the kids are stuck on Miss Marlene
Even better if she brings Emily.
The horses and cowboys are fun to watch, but really we all wait through every event just to get to the end when we can see the motorcycles. These two guys have performed at the rodeo the last few years and I love them and hate watching all at the same time. They do jumps, and tricks and flips, and we all spent most of their show holding our breath, but it is just so cool to watch. This year when it got over all Luke could say was "that was awesome"! Yes Luke, it was.
I can't resist an opportunity to post my favorite rodeo pic.
After a late night at the rodeo, we let the kids sleep in, Tim and I were able to work out, and then we headed up to Lagoon. We haven't been for a month or more and the kids have been asking to go - Friday fit in our schedule so we made the plans. It would have been a perfect idea except for the small detail of the weather. Fortunately, Lagoon has a lot of shade, and a fairly big water park, but it was still just hot. The day had way more humidity than normal and at one point I think we were all sure we were going to suffocate (maybe that was just me), but somehow, we still had a great time. The kids got to go to the water park for the first time, Luke went on Bambura 9 times, and Ruby finally talked us into the giant ferris wheel.
After we finished at Lagoon, we went and met Tim's parents to have dinner and celebrate Grandpa Whitesides' 79th birthday. We ate at Costa Vida, then walked to a yogurt shop for dessert. Luke was really intent on making sure we had ice cream with Grandpa for his birthday and by the time we were through, everyone was very happy, but oh so tired.
1 comment:
I love seeing all the pictures and fun that we have had for the past few weeks. I'm happy someone takes pictures and tells us about them, so we don't forget. Thanks for sharing. :)
Post a Comment