I Shoulda Been a Cowgirl

The rodeo is in town this week. Our first order of business: cowgirl up. Etsy to the rescue again! I found the most adorable outfit perfect for a prissy girl posing as a tough cowgirl. Funny thing is, by the end of the night I do believe she decided that she loved horses, cattle and cowboys. This wasn't Hal's first rodeo....she took in some bull riding at the ripe ol' age of six weeks. Since we have been dealing with a cranky streak of behavior we were half dreading how she would be at the rodeo. Although it was very steamy outside we plopped down in our seats in the shade. Thank Papa for the front row seats!

We spotted great aunt Alta and great uncle David in the stands as we were finding out seats and returned to where they were sitting a bit later to say hi and take in the first event.....some mutton bustin'. Riley and Aunt Kylie already have visions of Hallie riding one of those sheep someday in the future. Hal was happy as could be sitting on Alta's lap and watching the sheep while we made "baaaaaa" sounds at her.

After our chat we headed back down to our seats to settle in. Nanny and Papa entertained the babe until the action began....

She watched with intent and curiousity as the horses rode by and the cowboys waved. We couldn't get enough of her silly nervous excited laugh each time she'd spot a horse.....

"Mom, can I be a professional cowgirl when I grow up?"

"Come on over here so I can pet him!"

She was livin' on the edge and leaning over the rail to get a closer view. She must've seen a really cute cowboy because her bink fell out of her mouth and landed in the dirt below. We had backups of course...but she wanted that bink. She stared over the rail sadly staring at it as if she could bring it back to her just by looking intently at it.....

"Here binky, binky...."

I spy a quieting device down below

The nice rodeo clown came close enough for Papa to ask him to return it to us. The clown was full of jokes all night and he had one for us: "you probably don't wanna follow the five second rule on that one." Lol. Here come the longhorns! Hal watched in awe as they all so calmly sauntered across the arena. Purty, purty creatures right there.....

Aunt Ky spotted us and came to get some Hallie lovin'. Luckily Hal was still happy about the horsies and shared some smiles....

Two cute cowgirls

After some calf ropin' and some snack eatin' she was ready for some sleepin' and coolin' off....

"Get me to the waterin' hole asap!"

"I'm soooooo tired"

Nanny and Hal took an early exit and headed to our house to put Hal to bed. Something tells me she wasn't too heartbroken about leaving the rodeo early. I'm sure Hal had vivid dreams of horses that night while Riley, Papa and I enjoyed some peaceful time watching bull riding. Peaceful and bull riding don't really go in the same sentence, do they?

I learned several things at the rodeo. 1) A rodeo is a physical therapist's worst nightmare as far as injuries go. Oh my, these people have no clue how much pain they are going to be in come 50 years old...I'm sure I'll be seeing them soon. 2) It is just gross to stand with your child beside you while smoking and drinking the top beer of the two you are holding stacked in your hand. 3) Rap music mixed with bull riding almost makes you want to get on and try it out. 4) Not only does my daughter want to be a cowgirl, but so do I now. And it's no secret that Riley already is a cowboy. :)

Our fun wasn't over that night. Nope, we loaded up Saturday morning and headed downtown for the parade on main street.

Sweet, sweet smile

We found great grandma Ida and set up camp in the shade. Nanny joined soon after and kept Hal gal well-entertained.....

"WHEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Hallie made her way out to greet Papa as he drove by.....

 I can just imagine Hallie at the rodeo next year as a two-year-old. Oh what fun!!! She's gonna need some boots for sure.....and maybe a cowgirl hat?