Calgary Stampede!

We all love dressing up Western and heading to the Stampede each July. Dad, mom, Amanda, Alison, Charlotte and I all got up and headed out first thing in the morning. Walking from the parking lot to the gates you could already tell how excited dad was to be going. A kid in candy store was how I think we described him.

We went on rides, saw shows, went to the petting zoo and enjoyed the deliciously unhealthy food. I ended up leaving at around 2:00ish to put Char down for a nap and the rest of them stayed past 8:00. That's 10 hours of stampeding! Haha I laughed pretty hard when I heard that.

Amanda worked at the Stampede this year in the BMO's kids' zone and it was so fun to frequently stop by her little tent for a break. She learned how to do some pretty cool circus tricks.

Of course Dad needed to try the tricks...

Alison customize requested her face paint and it turned out amazing. Periodically throughout the day she would ask me if the sparkles were still on her face. She looked so cute all day.

It was so fun to take Charlotte on the rides. The second we walked towards the Carousel she was basically trying to jump out of my arms to get on. She also loved the marching band that walked right by us while she was on my shoulders. My mom tried to snap a shot of her dancing along. I should've been the one taking pictures of her though because she looked so cute and I didn't get one picture of her! My bad.

Amanda sporting her men's XL T-Shirt with her "Amanada" name tag

Below are the few photos from the time I got to go with Dave. We had such a fun time although our feelings were confirmed about amusement park rides - not scary but we both get sick so easily from them these days.

Those steak sandwiches were $9 each. Worst $9 I ever spent. Don't worry we made up for it with mini donuts and dippin dots.

I had just finished saying to Dave that I always see people I know at the Stampede. About a minute later we ran into Lisa and Austin. She looked so great I had to get a picture with her. We didn't have the husbands pose for a picture though because Austin was so clearly better dressed up in Western gear than Dave.

Can't wait until next year!