The Gonvick Rodeo

Jenny picked some onions from their garden to go with our hamburger supper at Pine Lake.

Said Addie, “Come look at my bedroom, Grandma.”

“And come look under my bed, Grandma.”

“Look at the pail that Mommy and I decorated.”

Said Gunnar, “Come look at my bedroom, Grandma.”

“Look at all my big equipment, Grandma.”

The Gonvick Parade started at 12 noon on Saturday and the kids were ready to chase candy.

They were only shy for a moment.  Addie’s the biggest scooper dooper in the street.

Every parade has a fire truck.   Notice the dark clouds getting darker.

Small town America.

Addie took two pictures with her Mommy’s camera.  It was getting colder and windier.

Just a little while later it poured at Pine Lake and we thought we were going to blow away.

A diversion in the park.

Addie is as brave as her Mommy.

Gunnar is strong like his daddy.

This is where the kids might go to school.

It doesn’t look like a country school but it is.

Then we went to 10 a.m. Cowboy Church at the rodeo grounds near Gonvick. 

As you can see, it was a beautiful Sunday morning.

Everyone faced the front and the rodeo band except one little person.

Once there was a girl with a curl right in the middle of her forehead . . .

This is a lotta bull!

Yes, we’re still in the middle of Cowboy Church.  It lasted over an hour.  Amazing Grace!

The rodeo started at 2 o’clock that afternoon with the Star Spangled Banner.

That’s one of Christopher’s cousins riding the horse and carrying the flag; the little one are his kids.

Some of Chris’ relatives were also in the audience.  His aunt took this picture.

Roping calves, riding bulls, and barrel racing were some of the events.

It’s called Mutton Busting.

Jenny helped Addie climb onto the sheep and said, “Hang on tight!!”

I couldn’t get a better picture of Mutton Busting because the sheep didn’t travel down the field.

After the sheep threw her, Addie smiled and skipped off the field with only one shoe.

These ponies are easier — and nicer — to ride than sheep.

Hang on, Gunnar!  Remember, you are only three years old.

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Small horses for a large crowd.

Addie took a picture with her Mommy’s camera.

The lake had whitecaps all afternoon.  It’s a good thing we took the pontoon out when we first arrived.

Addie, and also Gunnar, made cakes and frosted them too.  That’s Jenny’s oven when she was little.

It was a relaxing evening, as you can tell, and we didn’t even care that it was storming outside.

Grandma Vi treated us to breakfast Sunday morning at the Gully Café, just down the hall from her apt.

Some of these pictures (of me) are from Jenny.

Addie and Gunnar found somebody their own size.

Then it was time for kids to chase the calf and win a prize by untying the bow around its neck.

Addie ran and ran ….

… sometimes in the wrong direction … see the calf, little sweetie?

A big 11-year old boy untied the bow and won the prize.

Gunnar and Addie love Alicia, a boy cat with a girl’s name.

We arrived at daughter Jenny’s place up near Gonvick the afternoon of Friday, July 11th, and enjoyed the warm sunny day.  Christopher was working up in North Dakota and we missed him but didn’t let any grass grow under our feet.

See Addie’s green bows

on her braids

After the rodeo we said goodbye to Jenny and her little ones.  It sure was a good weekend.  We were back in Victoria that Sunday night by 9:30 p.m.

Love, Grandma, and Grandpa, too.