Howdy howdy howdy!

You either love it or you hate it. I don’t know too many people who are indifferent to the Calgary Stampede. We love it, although I would agree that this year had several things that could have been done better. But I love this city we live in, and I love that we all pull out our western wear once a year and walk around with cowboy hats and giant belt buckles. I love that there are hay bales all over the place, and every store window has an awesome cartoon window painting. I love that you don’t have to pay for a single breakfast in 10 days, and that country music is the norm, not the exception. I love that with your admission you get to see amazing artists for free – like Martina McBride and One Republic. I love corn dogs and mini donuts, bingo and whack-a-mole. I love the Calgary Stampede – The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
(For those non-Calgarians reading this, you can see what the heck I’m talking about here. That is if you haven’t already heard of it from one of the midway rides breaking apart and sending 6 people to hospital last week. And yes, in Canada we say “to hospital” not “to the hospital”. We’re kooky like that.)

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Before we headed out, I had to get some snaps of the girls in their cowgirl duds.

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Various Stampede activities, all taken with my iphone because I always forget my point and shoot. They look like poop because it is late and I have no desire to even begin to try to fix them. If you cross your eyes and squint, they look better. Try it.

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We had crazy fun down on the grounds. Ride, after ride, after ride. And deep-fried Oreos. Go ahead, scroll back up to look at them. I'll wait.

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My girls are so very different. Charlotte is not even 4 and a huge daredevil, wanting to go on EVERY ride. Emma, who is 7, was a bit scared of most of them, but did get a kick out of learning how to juggle. Oh, and then we had a pulled pork parfait. And it was delicious. The end.