Stock Show

We went to the stock show in mid-January with some family and friends and had a great time. Usually stock show weather in Denver means cold and snowy, but the weather was great! This was a first for Ashleigh, being around all the animals that she reads about in her books. The petting zoo was definitely a hit, and she also loved the small animals (rabbits, chickens, ducks). She was quite scared of the larger animals as you can walk right behind unfenced in cows and bulls (she doesn't know it yet, but their nose rings are attached to the posts in an inhumane way, so no worries about them getting loose either). She got to use a lot of her new words - horse, moo, duck, and bunny - and made the connection between animals in the books and animals in real life. It's fun to see them grow and learn.

We also took Ashleigh to her first rodeo in the afternoon, which made her pretty restless by the end of a busy day without a nap, but she stayed awake through it all and enjoyed it. They had all the traditional cattle roping and wrestling, as well as the bucking broncos and bulls. Those bull-rider guys are crazy! One even got gored by the bull in the head and taken away in a stretcher as the bull even hooked his helmet off.

These are my good friends Laurie and Zach who also went with us. I've known Laurie about 16 years now - definitely the longest friendship I've ever had, through various boyfriends and life's ups and downs... thanks for being such a great friend!