Rodeo

A major piece of our 4th of July is the local Rodeo. The kids wandered a bit more this year and Lia got this picture with one of the pretty queens. She was delighted to meet royalty. 

We attend on family night as the kids are asked to sing the National Anthem from year to year and get in free. Some are more into that than others. It's a good tradition though one we grow from. 

I spent an evening taking tickets with Addie. There was a nice rain storm during part of the evening and were rewarded with not only a cooler time but two rainbows. The guard in the picture was just hanging out doing his job visiting with us to pass the long evening. Neither of us could see any of the rodeo action. This summer has been so unique with almost weekly rainstorms and cooling of the weather. I am so thankful for that and have counted it a tender mercy from God. 

Before we left for another night of rodeo work we found all the fair pigs wandering around. They loved the shade and tall grass. We were all thankful they are curious and had been worked with. They went back to their pens pretty easily. Within ten minutes all 7 were re-caged. 

After bathing- pig smell is distinct and strong, we headed to the rodeo to sell sno-cones for the 4-H club fundraiser. The girls did so well with this. Millie was the money lady, Livy and Afton shaved ice and pumped flavors and I mostly watched or filled in a for short amounts of time while they did a few other things to stretch their legs. 

After working the entire evening making sno-cones it was time to clean the rodeo grounds. Because of an ongoing investigation and severe misunderstanding leading to a lack of trust the normal organizer was not there. We helped Addie and fellow FFA members clean and gather redeemable pop cans each night. You can see how thrilled Afton and Millie were to get to work late. 

Millie was much happier to spend the evening with her dear friend Avery. These two are ambitious hard workers who make a lot happen. We are so thankful for good friends for each of our kids. 

And the beautiful gift from my neighbor that grew and grew all summer long. Her son and husband started each of these plants from seed. Those seeds are almost microscopic and require a toothpick head to grab them then put them in the waiting soil. I have so enjoyed these flowers on each of  my trips to the clothesline through the long summer days. We are thankful for the many opportunities we have to learn and grow