We got our girl back! She was without her cell phone all week long, because we obeyed the camp instructions that clearly said "No cell phones." It turned out, however, that they were allowed. Dang it! I would have felt a lot better hearing how she was doing during the week, but thankfully, Brady has friends everywhere, including Rodeo Bible Camp, and he was able to check on Brailey for me with Joe and Marti Meling. They are amazing people, and we are so lucky to know them! Braley had the time of her life, so there was no need to worry, anyway, although that's what parents do, right? She made a very good friend who just happens to live in our area, and that was worth it's weight in gold. They were together when we pulled up, putting each other's back number on for the rodeo.
You can see the big tents they stayed in in the background below. Unfortunately, some of the girls who did have their phones kept Brailey awake with their texting and Snapchatting all night long, but after a few days of recuperation at home, she is feeling rested and ready to tackle the world. And she loved every second in spite of the sleep issues, so really, I guess it didn't matter. When she met Bri, the girl above talking to her, they were talking about a horse they knew that had a bad cut on it's neck. Bri told Brailey one of her dad's friends had a horse that looked like it had had a knife swiped across it's neck. Brailey said, "Yeah, my Uncle Dugan just had that happen to one of his horses, too." And Bri said, "You know DUGAN?! That's the horse I'm talking about!" Dugan is like a brother to Brady - they rodeoed together back in their day and when I first moved to the valley, we rented a house from him. Dugan was the first friend of Brady's that I met, and I love him as much as Brady does. What can we say? It is a small world! Even better, Dugan came to the rodeo with Bri's dad, so we got to see him! And his horse is doing great after suffering that horrendous cut, by the way. But seriously, what an amazingly small world!
Big Daddy and Brother Britt getting everything hooked up and ready to roll out.
This was Mater's first rodeo, and he acted like he has done it a million times. He was absolutely perfect for Brailey all week long. Brailey could not love him more! This was their first Grand Entry. So much fun! You can see Mater was really worked up about it below. Not!
These two were inseparable! Brailey doesn't like having to wear a helmet, but there were more kids with helmets than without. Her friend Bri actually suffered a concussion from riding, and it wasn't even a bad spill. As long as we have a say about it, Brailey will wear a helmet. It is nice that her new friend has like-minded parents.
She not only had a great week, but a great rodeo, too. She met her goal and had a clean run! With 100 kids, it took all day long, and they each only did one event. The next day, we had planned a lesson with Patsy so Grandma Diggy, who happened to be in town, could see Brailey ride, but it ended up being super hot, so we opted not to do it. I think it was a very good decision. As you can see below, Mater was extremely tired. It was a stressful week for him to be away from home with new activities every day. He handled it like a boss, so he deserved a day off. And Brailey needed some down time, too. She and Grandma Diggy visited all day long, which I will share about in a new blog post tomorrow. Stay tuned!
