One of those parents (?)

(His version of "Smile")

I actually almost felt normal the other day, although the category I was in was not exactly "normal" by our typical standards. Sounds odd - let me explain myself.

We decided to take Peyton to the Calgary Stampede on Friday. Not naively either. I think we knew what we were in for, but decided to brave the land where kids drag the parents around for the first couple hours only to be followed by hours where the parents drag the kids around. There is a lot to see and do for big and little, but I think if I was little I would be cooked after 2 hours! The strange thing to me was how many people were there with small children and babies in strollers. This is the afore-mentioned "normal" part - there were so many there that must have thought, "This will be a great experience for my child(ren)!" I have to group myself with them I guess! Anyway, I figured that after about 2 hours Peyton would start to get tired and then we would be counting the minutes until we had to escape before insanity hit. Enter Irresponsibility. We arrived before lunchtime and left at dinnertime. Amazingly, it worked alright. We only ended up carrying Peyton piggyback for about 1 hour off and on! Here is the day in pictures (the explanations are above the pictures).

In theory... this is why I originally wanted to bring Peyton - to see some farm animals up close. (I know I've been living in a big city for too long when I take my child to see farm animals at an affair like this!)

This was the other reason we went, although I wouldn't have admitted it even to myself I think.

Peyton surveying the grounds from the kids' ferris wheel eagerly in the kids' park saying, "I would like to ride................ ."

"Drop of Doom" for kids.

Peyton is in the middle. This was so funny to watch and he LOVED it! He told me I wasn't allowed to ride it, I had to watch instead he said. He screamed every time it dropped and then he stopped. Arghh. Argh. Arghhhhhhhhhhh. Arghhhh. Argh. It sounded like someone was pushing the pause button!

Here it is in video - I figured out how to get the video clip on, but my photo program wouldn't let me rotate it, so you will have to tip your head to watch it! Sorry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49SHGARWtds

We had to add this one for the sake of Peyton's Auntie Nic. We heard this was her fave.

And this one was Daddy's favorite as a kid. You can see it was a hit for the next generation too. (What's crazy is that this ride is still around. It looked old enough to be the same one! Yikes.)

Peyton actually thought his motorcycle was jumping. I feel pretty good about this kind of motorcycle ride!

I think I could handle this one... Peyton rode this slide in the kids' section. He's on the right side (the one you have to squint and pretend to see).

After he exhausted the rides in the kiddie land, he decided he needed bigger and bolder. Much to Mama's chagrin, I actually let him talk me into this ride below. It was about the only one he was tall enough to ride on in the main Midway, and I tried to no avail to talk him out of it (for my sake and his!). It should show you what his little personality is like to see that he ended up riding this!

And this is what everything looked like to me after getting off the above ride! Once was definitely enough for me. Peyton would have continued if he had his way!

This is the adult-sized version of the one he rode in kiddie land. I had to ride with him on a "magic carpet," and the first time we rode it, I had both hands dragging on the sides trying to slow us down while he was yelling, "Faster. Faster!" I let go and thought I was living on the wild side for the next 4 times he insisted that we ride it. The picture doesn't do it justice - it was as high as the ferris wheel, and twice as long as the kids' slide!

Finally, this was the result of a long day! Peyton hit the pillow already sleeping I think. He's snuggled up with the whale he won and with Drew Bear.

What an adventure! It's a good thing the Stampede is only once a year. It's an experience a little (a little, emphasized) like having a baby. You forget what it's really like in between experiences, so you keep going back for more. I'm glad we went, but boy am I glad that's over! I think Peyton probably was too. He was yelling out, "Mommy! Catch me!" in his sleep that night!