Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

We cruised down the state highway with the A/C on full blast and the Beetles telling us that life will go on.  Destination?  Canton, Kansas.  Population 790.  That happens to be 270 more people than live in our town.  We were minus one tonight as Jason had to work late.  I could feel the excitement build as the 4 of us drove down main street looking for the county fair.  Our cowboy boots were on and we were ready for some fun. 

We saw the tractor pull, the kids showing goats and getting ribbons, the rabbits and of course the cows (see previous post to understand my cow issue).  There was free food.  Who has free food these days?  This is the second large event in Kansas that has fed us for free and that says something - besides that I am cheap and love free stuff.  We ate watermelon that dripped down our fronts and shredded beef sandwiches from a cow that had been grazing in a pasture as we drove in.  Well, maybe not that fresh, but it was a really good sandwich.

 

Watching the kids experience the rodeo for the first time was fantastic.  I found it to be a little like a UFC fight.  You don't really want to watch but you can't help get excited.  Ella has a love for horses (feel free to contribute to her savings for one, or to my savings for vet bills) so I knew she would be entranced.  Sam pointed with two fingers - like the letter "k" in sign language- and spoke with great excitement in his language.  Owen just watched with wide eyes.  They screamed with excitement when the first cowboy wrestled a cow to the ground.  It made my cow fear seem really dumb. I will not be doing that anytime soon.  Note that the cowboy in the next photo is jumping off of a running horse (those scare me too, I think more than cows) and jumping on to a running cow.  What is wrong with these people? 

The shining moment was during the calf roping.  The first 6 cowboys missed the calves.  Apparently, this is very unusual and they talked about how there was "bad karma" in the ring.  I looked at Ella and realized exactly what was going on.  She was praying and talking to each calf before it was released saying, "Run fast so they won't catch you".  The next cowboy roped the calf so fast, we didn't know what had happened.  And as the crowd cheered, a wail came out of my little Ella, followed by sobs.  She felt so bad for the calf.  I'm not sure if I felt worse for the calf or my daughter.  We watched as they untied the calf and it walked away.  Ella's sobs slowed and she asked, "Do you think its Mommy is watching?  Do you think she will check on it to make sure it is o.k.?" 

Despite the sobbing, in the words of the kids, "It was the best night EVER".  They said that on the way back from the water park a few weeks ago too.  It was a really great night.