Buddy and The Rodeo

This morning the kids somehow saw a frog behind the trailer’s wheel . . . so the hunt was on, which resulted in Buddy being captured.  Buddy kept the kids busy for most of the morning as they looked for flies and crickets to feed him.  I am saying him, but it could have been a her . . . there were no distinguishable body parts to make it clear to me, so I am going with a him based on the name the kids gave him.  As the kids roamed around the campground looking for things to put in Buddy’s habitat (which was a bucket with a badminton racket taped to the top of it) they met up with another boy who also had a frog.  

The search was on for more frogs, which resulted in a total of four frogs.  The kids really enjoyed playing with and taking care of the frogs, which resulted in talks about taking them home.  Michelle talked them out of it, but of course Josh wanted to make a deal.  He is all about the “deal” right now, even though we usually don’t give into his deals.  Josh’s deal was that if they released the frogs, they could get a pet when they got home.  Emma was an easy sell as we had already promised her that we would get her knew fish.  Jamie wanted a frog since that is what his most recent experience was and because his uncle had a frog once.  Josh on the other hand wanted something that he could train to do tricks.  He thought about getting a parrot to teach it to speak, then he thought about getting a guinea pig/hamster to teach it how to jump through hoops, but then he settled on getting a chipmunk so that he could teach it to sing and dance.  Letting the frogs go to return to their natural environment was a little tough on Emma as she cried a little and told us that she did not want to leave the next day.  I wish them all luck in getting their pet when we get home!

The plan for today was to head to a small rodeo in the township of Consul, which was about an hour away from Maple Creek.  There seemed to be only one main road in the town that brought you to a place that seemed like a slower pace to the everyday rush that we are accustomed to.  The rodeo consisted of bronco riding, bull riding, roping and a couple of other events.  The kids enjoyed all of the events, but particularly liked the trick riding. 

Yee Haw!!!

It was really cool to see a different lifestyle being celebrated than what we are used to seeing in our hometown.  Most of the kids were wearing cowboy hats and cowboy boots and dressed in typical western outfits.  You could tell that it was a way of life for these families.  The coolest thing that I saw was when we arrived, there were about five or six kids chasing each other around with ropes trying to lasso each other.  Watching these kids run around playing this game was no different than watching my kids play road hockey with their friends.  Different experiences, different lifestyles, different games, but similar in fun and enjoyment . . . kids being kids.  Emma loved feeding the cows and horses hay while they were in their corrals.  At first she would walk nervously towards the animals and throw the hay into the pens . . . it was interesting because the cows and horses were just as nervous about Emma as she was of them.  Seeing these huge animals back away from this pint-sized girl was quite entertaining.  As Emma became more confident with them, so did they . . . they realized that this little girl was not there to hurt them, but to feed them.  Within about 15 minutes she was feeding the animals from her hand . . . she thought the cows’ tongues were hysterical, as she would imitate them after they took the hay from her hands. 

Emma loved feeding the cows and horses hay.

I am glad that we got to see a different side of Canada . . . small town, rural Saskatchewan, taking in a local rodeo, parachuting in and exposing the kids to a different type of entertainment and lifestyle than their own.

Hello Cow

A prairie zamboni!!

We have been seeing these hay rolls all over the prairies and Jamie wanted to take a picture beside one of them.

Emma enjoyed helping Papa packing up the trailer.

Emma helping Papa change the tire.

Emma jacking up the trailer and lowering it again.

Fort Walsh

We went into Fort Walsh for the day where we got to travel back in time to an era where life was simpler, yet wild at the same time.  Upon arrival to the Fort, Michelle and the kids made a beeline for the craft cabins while I took some time to read up on the history of the site before proceeding into the rest of the fort.  Well, that was a big mistake because for the next 40 minutes I tried to track them down in the seven or so buildings.  I could not figure out where they were as I wandered in and out of the buildings completely confused, as this place was not that big.  I decided that I would exit the fort and head across the field to a couple of buildings that I could see in the distance.  Sure enough there they were making bead necklaces in one of the cabins.  By this point I was an expert in all of the other buildings in the fort since I wandered in and out of them so many times!

The one thing about Michelle is that she is great about scheduling our time when we are at places like this.  She had us going from one location to another to take in all that was going on such as: making ice cream, feeding a calf, seeing the blacksmith, going on a carriage ride, watching Metis dancers, viewing an indoor planetarium, and watching the reenactments that were going on.  We always get the most bang for our buck, even if our feet are killing us.

Emma loved feeding Paul Brown the baby calf.

Josh loved the challenge of the old style games.

Let me out!!!!

We want our mommy!!

Hello Miss Mary.  Thanks for helping us make our ice cream.

One of Josh's favourite things to do

During one of the reenactments, they had one enemy soldier hiding in the tall weeds across from these soldiers.  Jamie thought they had bad aim because "they took like a hundred shots" and they didn't hit him!

The boys thought that the battle was very slow because of the time it took to reload.

I think some of them were a part of the original battle or squirmish. 

I told Josh that I would give him a $100 if he yelled out, "I see the enemy" and run out onto the battle scene
 and tackle the one soldier!

Maple Creek Here We Come!?!?

Well, we are packed up ready to leave with the kids in the truck as we await Papa and Grammy to pull out of the site, when as they get rolling there is a big BANG!!!!  I am thinking to myself that this is not a good sign and sure enough the springs holding the front tires on the trailer are broken.  We are not leaving anywhere fast!  Papa gets on the phone and calls up a repair shop called, get this, Spring Service!  Really?  I guess if you want people to know what you fix you might as well tell them up front.  So, we drove very slowly and carefully following behind the Cyclone to the shop.  The mechanic who came out was great, he said that he is booked up for weeks in advance, but he would slide us in right away.  I think it was Papa and Grammy’s plan of getting all of the kids out of the truck and into the service station that might have helped us along.  So, we had a few hours to kill in Regina, so we had to make some alternative plans.  I think the kids thought this slow down on our travel day was the greatest as we took them to Chuck e Cheese for some games and fun.

Josh cashed in and hit the 100 ticket bonus!

Jamie's go to game when it comes to tickets.  He has figured out how to get the 50 tickets.

When we ran out of tokens and the kids picked out their treats for the car ride, we decided that this would be a good time to check off another one of our Summer Bucket list ideas.  So we headed off to A + W for some Rootbeer floats.  When I asked at the counter if there was a kid’s size, she said no, which was a plus for the kids as they saw the size of the cup they were getting.  They were in awe as they were watching the lady pour the floats from almost behind the counter.

Oh yaaa!

Good to the last drop!  Surprisingly these were very filling.

By the time we finished our Rootbeer floats, the trailer was ready to be picked up so that we could be on our way to Maple Creek, which was about 4 ½ hours away.

Which one do I follow?  This is a first!

Emma!!!  What do you think you are doing?  NO SLEEPING!

 Upon arriving in Maple Creek, I knew we were in a small town once again when I came across this crosswalk sign.

The town is a little like Radiator Springs (yes, I am referencing Cars a Disney Pixar Movie) as the town was probably quite busy as the highway used to snake its way right through it bringing with it customers and tourists.   But now the Trans Canada Highway bypasses Maple Creek sending most people around this quaint little town.  There are still some shops along the main road, but there are some empty storefronts as well.

Queen City Exhibition

I think the kids thought that this was going to be a great day when the first thing that they did was hug a vending machine that would spit out a free can of Coke.  One thing that we try to avoid as much as possible is giving the kids pop.  We know that they will get pop at parties, some play dates and special occasions, so we chalked this up as a special occasion and let them have their pop. 

First on the agenda was watching the Super Dog Show . . . Emma was in dog bliss as she sat there watching the dogs race through the agility course, go through tunnels, and jump over the bars.  Her favourite dog was named Hakita of course.  “I liked him because he was big and he was named Hakita!” 

I think the dogs some how hypnotized her!

Emma did not talk too much throughout the show.  The dogs kept her at the edge of her seat
for most of the show.

On our way to the next show, I just happened to get stopped by the mini donut food cart, where by some magical force I was hypnotized by the sweet smell of oil, sugar and cinnamon and bought two bags.  When Emma saw what I had in my hands, she came running over to get her tasty treat. 

My favourite treat at the fair!

Next on our list of things to see was the Craz E Stunts, a bike and roller blading stunt team that used ramps to do some amazing tricks.  This was the boys favourite show . . . of course . . . with the many high risk tricks.  Tail whips, backflips and bar spins were just some of the tricks these guys did. 

We (and when I say we, I mean Michelle) saw an opportunity for the kids to do a pedal tractor pull competition in one of the buildings.  So we got there early to register and happen to catch the start of a magic show put on by The Freddy Fusion.  He did some cool illusions and was quite funny.  At one point in the show he asked for a volunteer from the audience and Jamie’s hand shot straight up.  Jamie was chosen to go up on stage and help out the Magician.  I thought it was perfect that he asked Jamie if he could put his two fingers together and hold them there and of course Jamie said yes.  The magician attached a toilet paper roll to his fingers, which made all of us laugh (especially Emma).  He then said, “no wait”, took the toilet paper off of his fingers and then said, “actually I like it this way”, and switched the roll around.  Jamie’s face was priceless as he giggled away on stage.

At on point Jamie was TP’d by the magician as he used a blower to dispense the roll.

We then got to see Britains Got Talent speed painter David Sharp.  He painted this Iron Man in two songs.

 Off to the tractor pull.  Basically, as the kids pedaled down the course the weight began to move towards them adding more weight the further they went.  The age of the competition ranged from 5 years old to 12 years old.  Emma started us off by pulling 45 lbs, which is more than her weight.  Great job Bean!  

Jamie pulled 75 lbs in the first round, 125 lbs, 225 lbs, and then finally 325 lbs in the fourth round!  Who knew that those little legs could push so much weight.  Jamie finished fourth. 

Josh started off at 100 lbs, 150 lbs, 225 lbs, 325 lbs, and in his final attempt he was up to 400 lbs!  Josh amazingly pulled the 400 lbs sled about 10 feet down the course.  Josh finished in second place!

What more can you ask for than a day of entertainment, food from the fair, and of course some after dinner treats!

Josh and I went back for some more mini donuts!

One thing about Saskatchewan is that they love their Roughriders . . . there is Rider Gear everywhere!  Shirts, hats, licence plates, RV Mats, everything and anything Riders!!  So, we took a risk and got out of the car . . . one of my good friends who is a Riders Fan said that we could of got arrested for this . . . joking of course, I think!

LET'S GO LIONS!!