THE ute stampede

talk to anyone in nephi, and chances are they will tell you that their favorite time of the year is during the ute stampede.

it is a BIG deal here.

we didn't go last year because we were still finalizing all of the details with our house, but believe me, we got a lot of guff for not going.

so, we made it a goal this year to go. plus, neither of us had ever been to a rodeo so we were able to kill two birds with one stone!

the evening began with the horse parade...which max loved. he has an obsession with horses so i don't think he took his eyes off the parade once. except when flying taffy + otter pops came his way. then he was diving into the streets like the rest of the kids.

our ward was in charge of concessions at the rodeo, so danny left the parade a little early to go and sell hamburgers + treats + drinks, etc... after the parade was over, the kids and i walked over to the rodeo grounds. it was crazzzinesss.

around 7:45 we found our seats, and at 8 the rodeo began. i guess i didn't really know what to expect...but i didn't expect to be scared for their lives!!! the "horse bucking" was the first event {p.s. we don't know rodeo terminology fyi...} and i really thought the first guy was dead. i was worried the whole time for them. remind me why that is supposed to be entertaining?!? i still have yet to figure that out...

besides the bucking, the rest of the rodeo was pretty mellow. some cowboys roped baby calves, girls rode around the arena in their sequined rodeo attire {don't get that either...} and the "wild child" jumped over a semi on his motorcycle. we did however, get completely spoiled since our ward was in charge of all the food. we were able to eat as many hamburgers, snow cones, red vine ropes, and drinks as we wanted. {this kind of back-fired later though...}

we thought the rodeo would be over by 9:30...but it was still going strong when we left. max + avery were completely exhausted, so we made the walk home. when i put max down he was acting a little strange but i thought he was just tired.

until i heard him at five a.m. saying "water, water." in a little tired, raspy voice. :( usually when i hear him during the middle of the night, he's asleep again in a few minutes. but this time, i thought i should peek in on him...and when i opened the door it smelled like throw-up. all that rodeo food didn't sit well in his tummy apparently...

we were supposed to leave for capitol reef that morning, but we waited until the late afternoon to make sure he wasn't really sick. luckily, he pulled through and our next adventure began!