Busy Saturday

After being pestered asked to guest blog multiple times - it's Daddy's time to take a turn.

Now that Erin has started working, she has to work all day every other Saturday, so Daddy is in charge for the entire day.  This Saturday, Erin also made plans for a supper "meeting" with her friends Hillari and Jess, so it was Daddy in charge from morning until bedtime.

I had promised Punky and Buddy a special surprise for Saturday afternoon if they were good.  After a lazy morning hanging around the living room in our pajamas, it was time to get dressed and ready for our surprise.  This was about the time I realized someone needs to do Punky's hair, and that someone needed to be me.  So I summoned my best hairdresser skills and gave a ponytail a shot.

Not bad for my first try, if I do say so myself!

So tell me more about this surprise thing...

After a classic Derek lunch (Kraft Macaroni and Cheese!), it was time for the surprise - the Hamel Rodeo!  As you've seen before, Buddy is absolutely obsessed with animals and horses in particular.  We made our way onto the grounds (unfortunately we were too late for the pony rides) and found a nice spot on the hill at the arena.

Notice that Buddy had to bring two of his animals from home, horsey and puppy.

Watching the cowboys parade through the arena

Buddy was having a blast pointing at the horses and cows all ready to go right in front of us, and Punky kept asking questions about what was going on.  They loved going down by the fence to stand like the big kids and watch the action.  The kids really liked the calf roping, but I'm sure that had something to do with it happened right in front of us.

It's a good thing Buddy hasn't figured out how to climb fences yet, otherwise he'd have been right down with the cowboys.

I had to play the tough Dad and tell Punky no when she asked about doing the Stick Horse races and the Calf Scramble - I wasn't quite sure I could divide and conquer, and had visions of Punky tripping into a pile of....well, you know, and having to wrangle her and Buddy back out of the arena.  It's a great thing we skipped the calf scramble - this involved about 200 kids chasing 3 small calves to retrieve a ribbon tied to the tails.  Yes, it was exactly as chaotic as it sounds. Maybe next year.

We made it until intermission, at which point Punky told me she had had enough and wanted to go home for a nap.  It's not often she asks to rest, so we packed up, dodged the vendors, and made our way home.

After a long nap, we loaded up and visited Daddy's coworkers house for playing and dinner.  They have a little girl the same age as Punky, and a new baby boy, and also invited some other work friends who have a boy the same age as Punky.  The kids had a great time playing in their awesome fenced-in backyard, while the baby dozed and the adults visited.  Although there was a little drama over who got to drive/ride the Gator and one of the daddy's managed to knock Punky over, the kids had a great time playing together and everyone enjoyed the evening.

They all loved the kid's picnic table (and I think Chloe the dog did too!)

We were pretty excited to find some pirate garb for the ship (aka swingset)

Corn on the cob - to go!

We didn't get home until 10 PM!  Upstairs, pajamas, books, and into bed.  Mommy got home at about 11 PM, and of course Punky had to wake up and rehash the day.  I think Erin was a little bit jealous she missed out, but I'm pretty sure she's excited that her family had such a fun Saturday.  We'll see what the next Daddy Saturday brings!