Not the Traditional Superbowl Sunday

Well, I have to admit...I did not even watch the game nor was I even home.....I know! It's the first but when you have kids and a nephew that love horses as much as you do...you'd do the same!

I had a scary but rewarding day with tons of excitement no superbowl could ever replace!

Scary Part I had to haul three horses (load and unload) by myself for the first time ever. I was very lucky that Jeff gave me some quick 5 minute lessons before I left and great advice from my dear friend and horse pro, Amy Tucker, just go nice & easy and slow down in time to stop. The first stop I had to make, well...lets just say I may have rolled through the stop sign slightly before stopping completely. I didn't injure any horses just my pride....the other 5 stop signs or so and two red lights were plenty to break me in and now I'm a pro....well....close enough that I am ready to do it again next Sunday!

Kids for Christ - this is our first year to experience Rodeo Life with our kids. I cannot imagine a better organization with a great Christian message and family fun! They took a group picture of all the kids a few weeks ago and was available for the kids to sign. I think they'll hand these out in the awards ceremony end of this month! We found out Brooke has earned enough points to get an award.

My first and most proud moment was taking Blaine on his first barrel race on our 11 year old horse, Henry. Henry is a great horse for my kids because he will follow me around like a puppy dog and he did just that...all the way around the barrel pattern. We even jogged home and that was Blaine's favorite part, he told me later he was ready to go again (10 times) . I nearly fainted.

My nephew, Caden, was able to join us too! He called me “Aunt Jana” most of the day, makes him seem so grown up. He rode our horse Henry most of the day and the real funny part was he didn't want to “park” by the fence w/ everyone else. He wants to be smack in the middle of the area so he can see everyone. I even caught him having a conversation with a young teenager “horse taking”. I entered him in the Flag Race. This was Caden’s first time to participate in the Rodeo too! I think I told him when we were about to enter the arena that “Aunt Jana is going to run and you just keep kicking Henry and hold on"! Henry followed me around the barrel and Caden grabbed the ribbon just as I slowed down and never stopped kicking! At the end of the day we found out we got 1st place. I was so proud!

Brooke had one of her best days too! She placed in all her events and we cannot wait to see what she does next! Here's a video of her with friend, Gracie! They were the only ones in their age group to enter the RESCUE RACE together. The crowd was just cheering them on. (this was taken w/ my cell phone so it's blurry but seeing her jump on the back of our horse, J.J., is just priceless! Way to go girls!