Annual Ranch Rodeo...and much better photos than last year!

You guys probably have been wonderin' if I've died or fallen off the edge of the Earth. Close...I was substitute teaching at the preschool last week. You probably wouldn't think working with a class full of 4 year olds would be so taxing that I couldn't even blog a bit this past week. You are right. I LOVE subbing at the preschool. Those little monkeys love to share....their germs. I came home this week with one of the worst head colds I can remember. I could barely remember my kids names much less be with it enough to blog. 

But, I'm back now and I have photos of share of the Annual Ranch Rodeo Finals held in Dodge City over Labor Day weekend. You can read about my introduction to Ranch Rodeos last year in this post. 

There wasn't too much different this year than last. The four events were; Branding, Sort and Load, Doctoring and Wild Cow Milking. But this year I had a whole year of photo experience under my belt and a zoom lens! I was so happy with how some of these photos came out....definitely better than last year! 

Mountain Man and his buddy Jake from Oklahoma came up to the rodeo this year, it sure was nice to see family! We even got to see Mountain Man's buddies compete this year. 

Young...

...and old. There were all types of cowboys out there working. 

Even a couple of women, and they sure weren't slouches! 

Branding

Aren't those pink shirts nice? This was one of my favorite teams to watch, they worked so well together. 

Halfway through the rodeo the kids were able to get out in the arena and have a little fun. First there was the pool noodle race. My boys in the stripes DOMINATED!!! 

Yahoo wasn't to be outdone and worked hard too! 

But the event that my boys had been waiting for was the boot scramble. Every Rodeo I've been to has held a boot scramble for the kids. First they take off their boots or shoes ( better have some bleach at home Mom...look at those socks!)

They dump the boots in the middle of the arena...

...and the kids race to find their boots, put them on, and race back to the starting line. Yip was aggravated that he was beat by a girl that was only wearing flip flops. He was quite adamant that she cheated because it was a "BOOT SCRAMBLE" not a "SANDAL SCRAMBLE". 

Wild Cow Milking. Aren't you happy you don't have to get your milk like this everyday? 

Yep, that's a LADY throwing down that steer! and boy, did she mean business. 

I sure wouldn't want to cross her! 

Ranch Rodeos are one of my favorite things about Kansas. There just aren't too many places to go experience anything like it. 

Marker Monday - Chorin' with Connie

We have a friend who lives about 5 miles out of town that raises bucket calves that are born on the feed lots out here. Cowboys can't be bothered with a bunch of newborns on a feed lot so our friend Connie weans them and then sells them at the sale barn. 

 A few times this summer the kids and I have headed out to her place early in the mornings to help chore. 

I grew up on a little 40 acre farm doing chores every morning, summer and winter, and though I grumbled a lot about chores when I was a kid I sure miss them now. I wish my kids were farm kids. 

They enjoy helping and they are good hard workers. And I think it's good for them to get out and see animals up close and messy, not just at the zoo or a county fair. 

I'm sure Connie could get her chores done quicker without us around but she sure is gracious by letting my kids have this great experience. 

Calf #47 is a sucker and my kids love sticking their fingers in his mouth! 

It's good too for them to learn not to act scared of large animals. Most of the time there is more to fear from smaller animals...even cattle. 

I'd call myself an accidental town girl. I love living in the country and I sure miss it, mess and all that it can be. Ah well, who knows what's in my future. Maybe I'll get out to the country again someday. Till then thank goodness for Connie who is willing to share her messy chores with us! 

The Cow Game Road Trip!

A friend passed on this game to me that we played the whole road trip to Indiana and back. I can't believe how long it kept us all occupied and boy was it fun!  

The Cow-Culator. Divide the people in your car into two teams; left and right. Decide when your game will end (miles/hours). 

Count the cows you see on your side of the car. 

That means if you pass a field of cows (or a feed lot!) count fast! Each cow is worth one point. 

If you pass a cemetary on your side of the car, the opposing team has to yell "Your cows are buried!" and you lose all your points. To prevent this your team, the one with the cemetery on their side of the car should yell "Cemetery!" first to keep all their points. 

Windmills and white horses are worth 50 points each. 

And a peg legged man is worth 500 points! 

We had so much fun with this game, especially through Kansas which is of course filled with cows and windmills. The game got really fun when we tried to distract the other team so they didn't see the cows. Or when we started arguing about just what constitutes as a cow? Does it have to be real or can in be a photo on a billboard? What about a peg legged man? Can we count the one on the movie playing in the back seat? (How to Train Your Dragon, Peter Pan, what others?) And just how much white has to be on a horse to make it a "white horse"? DR, who drove almost the whole way, was REALLY competitive! He saw every stinking cemetery and I lost every time! I think there came a point when DR and I were playing and the kids weren't! This was the best car game I've ever played.