Chelan Rodeo!

We took the slow boat downlake after saying goodbye to Grandma Bucky and Jo and her family. It was crowded on the boat and the kids ended up befriending an actor/woodworker from Michigan who was sitting behind us. Meanwhile, my cousin Adrienne left the "Dustbuster" (Grandma Bucky's car) at the boat dock and so the kids and I got in and drove straight to the Chelan Rodeo! Cousin Keith was parking cars at the Rodeo, so we helped us to a parking spot and we went in.

Our choice spots by the chutes while we were waiting for the rodeo to start

We arrived at 6:45pm and the show started at 7:30pm so we had plenty of time to watch everyone warming up. Tryfan and Rhiannon were especially excited about seeing the McMillan Family Trickriders, but they weren't due to come on the stage until close the end of the show.

There were plenty of Rodeo Princesses and Rodeo Queens, and this one was our favorite because of her cool green outfit

 We loved watching everyone warm up together and then the night kicked off with a big parade of horses and flags.

Opening parade with the Chelan hills in the background.

Everyone stood up to sing the national anthem, and this lady rode her horse really fast around the arena while standing and smiling and holding the American flag.

 It was a really great night, with so many different acts and performances. The Skagit Rein Riders Rodeo Drill Team were really good - amazing, actually. And everyone gasped when a horse and rider went down and pulled another horse and rider down. It looked terrible! But both girls got straight back up and onto their horses and the whole team finished their performance with only a slight blip in the rhythm. That was really incredible. I wish I'd taken a video of their ride because it was amazing to watch.

Then R & T got to have a go on a real bull ! Ride 'em, cow kids!

We saw our friend Mistaya and her fiance Jake who were working as EMTs at the rodeo. It was pretty exciting to hang out with them for a bit, but then we had to leave and the sour expressions came onto the kids' faces.

 The show finished at 11:30pm and we followed Keith on his motorcycle back to his/ Adrienne's house to spend the night. Yeehaw it was a fun night at the rodeo though!