A Picture of the Queen

One thing Nicole did well during Border Days was talk to the little kids.

Glenn had a brilliant idea to have a bunch of pictures printed at Costco so she could sign them and hand them out to the kiddos.  The idea was well-received.  We ran into a lady in the bank that said her husband's little brother was drooling over one of her pictures during the rodeo!

 I'm hoping he was a little boy, but who knows.....

 And who can resist taking a picture with the queen herself?

Not this little one. :)

After the rodeo, a band was playing and all the kids ran around in the arena.  Nicole and her trusty sidekick, Ellea, got out the photos and were very popular.  It's pretty fun to be the queen!

Border Days 2015, Day Three

Because Nicole's horse wasn't enjoying the parades at Border Days (and by default, neither was Nicole), we decided to let my old horse give it a go.  Dakota's been in a couple parades, but it was years ago.

He did great wearing all the trappings of royalty, but he wasn't a big fan of the big white arrows painted on the road.  About halfway through the parade route he decided they weren't going to eat him afterall.  We were hoping for a little better, but we were grateful to get through the final parade.

The plan was to take Dakota home after the parade and bring Nicole's horse over for the rodeo.  But, unfortunately, Jasper didn't like being left behind and managed to injure himself.  He somehow stabbed a hole in his side in a place not conducive to wearing a saddle. :(  It was a major wrinkle to our day, but our queen hardly batted an eye.  Dakota was treated to a ride back to Grangeville and Nicole spent an hour in the arena preparing him for the fun of buzzing the arena.

And away he went.  He was fantastic all day.  I'm sure he was good and sore from working so hard, but he did great.

It was good for him to earn his keep for once.  I bet he enjoyed it.

He even had the honor of being involved in the crowning of next year's queen.

Which brought a lump to my throat only because it reminded me of twelve months ago when my girl experienced the same excitement.  What a year!

Border Days 2015, Day Two, also known as Happy 4th of July!

Day two of Border Days started with Nicole helping with the Street Sports fun in the morning.  That meant she held the finish line for the foot races and helped hand out eggs for the egg toss.  Grangeville doesn't mess around with these things.  They often have over 1000 participants in the egg toss.  That's a lot of protein!

Following the street sports was parade number two.  Still not fun for Nicole's horse, but they got through it.  Then it was time for the annual Royalty Luncheon when all the visiting royalty are invited to come together for a meal.  There weren't as many guests as usual because of a parade in another nearby town, but it all went well.  One more thing crossed off the list.

Then time for another rodeo.  It was killer hot and it was an early rodeo at 2pm.  Wearing a polyester shirt and leather chaps is not the best wardrobe for 95+ degree heat, but this cowgirl was a trooper and did just fine.

She especially enjoyed the break she had when she got to come sit in the shade of the bleachers with us regular folk.  Her sweet cousin Taylor took a picture with her of their "matching" flag shirts.  And they had fun cheering on the barrel racers together.  "Go, go, go!"

Border Days 2015, Day One

It's official......  Nicole's reign as Queen of Border Days is over.  It was a great 12 months but we're all a little relieved it's over.  After three full days of parades and rodeos and other miscellaneous activities over the 4th of July weekend, we are all quite exhausted.  The kids and I are all recuperating today.  Sadly, Glenn had to go back to the real world.  Poor guy.

The first activity on day one (July 3rd) was the slack rodeo (extra rodeo contestants who don't fit into the regularly scheduled rodeo times).  Nicole and her princess had to be in the arena to put the calves away after each event.  I love this picture of these two watching together.

Then it was time for the parade.  This girl was lucky to have great help all weekend.  Her sister is a great little assistant and has gained a ton of horse experience.  She's never been super horse crazy, but she seems a lot more confident.

Sadly, we discovered that Nicole's horse, Jasper, is not a big fan of parades.  I thought after a year of doing this, he'd mellow out, but it's all just too much for him.  We got through it, but not sure he'll ever be in another parade. :)

Thankfully, he was great for the rodeos.  It was super hot every day, but we did our best to stay hydrated and not melt into a puddle of sweat.

Excuse me.  I think I'll go take a nap now.

Standing on a Log

When we went to the river to celebrate Hal's birthday, I saw this cool log along the beach.  Another photo op for my rapidly growing up children.  They're such good sports about pictures, these kids.

And so good about helping one another.  I am very grateful that my kids get along so well (usually).  Someone told us recently that she and her siblings are about the same age difference and they greatly disliked one another growing up.  That would make me sad.  We are lucky in so many ways.

I'll try to remember that next time they're arguing and/or generally driving me crazy!

My Goof Balls

I was taking a picture of these beautiful sisters last week and had this strange photo bomber show up in the background.

 Then she was joined by another goof ball!  They're my goof balls, though and I sure like them! :)