The "Daddy of 'em All"!

Brad and I were blessed and fortunate enough to be invited by our friends, the Karbans, to see the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo yesterday.  It was amazing and SO much fun!  I absolutely loved it!  The Rodeo was 3 hours of high energy, high impact excitement.  There was never a lull or dull moment.  In addition to all the arena events, the USAF Thunderbirds were flying their airplanes overhead, doing all sorts of tricks.  

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so you will have to forgive the bad quality of my cell phone pictures....

We got to see Bull Riding, Bronc Riding, Steer Wrestling, Barrel Racing and several other events.  There was a cute race called the "Dinner Bell Derby Mare and Colt Race" where the baby colts were at one end of the track and they had to race to their moms who were at the other end.  It was so cute.

They ended the Rodeo with the "Wrangler Wild Horse Race" where a bunch of teams of 3 people were given a random wild horse and they had to get a saddle on them, mount them, and ride them all the way around the track.  Some of those horses where very wild and did not want anything to do with that saddle or the people. The funniest incidents were when a team would get on the horse and it would run the wrong way on the track and they couldn't get him turned in the correct direction.  Quite entertaining.  

Overall, my favorite events to watch were the Bull Riding and Bareback Riding.

Of course, being at a fair, we indulged in several fair foods.  Brad got a huge turkey leg, which I think might be his favorite fair/carnival food.  I got a corndog and we all shared a funnel cake.  We also had several other snacks throughout.  The Karbans were so happy to give Brad his first Rodeo experience, so they were excited to spoil him, just like one of their kids.  

So, to really make Brad fit in, they bought him his first real cowboy hat.  Doesn't he look handsome and rugged?

The Karbans also bought us this beautiful picture.  We got to pick out the letters, there were several pictures for each letter using different objects to make that letter.  I love the country/western motif.  I wish I was a cowgirl.  Do you think it's too late to become one?  Perhaps for me, but the kids still have a chance.  Now, I just need to find the perfect spot to hang it.  I am not the best decorator, so it might take awhile.

There were a few other attractions to see outside the fair, including an old Western town with stores called Wild Horse Gulch, an Indian Village with live performances, and a Chuckwagon Cookoff.  The participants at the Indian Village and the Chuckwagon Cookoff all set up tee-pees and sleep in those during the their time at the fair.

Here's Brad and our friends (Scott and Dawn) in some old coffins.  Don't worry, they're not really dead.  Brad chose to do the creepy "I'm dead and staring right at you" pose, while the Karbans went for the somewhat less creepy and more common, "We're limp and dead" pose.  Scott needs a bigger coffin, but thankfully, not yet.

I can see why Cheyenne Frontier Days is called the "Daddy of 'em All", it was awesome!  A fun experience and more importantly, time with some fabulous people who were generous to us in so many ways.  I hope we can go again next year!