Cattle Call, ya'll

The Brawley Cattle Call Rodeo is one of the biggest events, aside from the state fair, to grace the valley each fall. It brings professional riders and racers, broncs and steer, and enough locals to make the Brawley traffic a royal nightmare.

This was the first year that we attended as a family; last year Adrian went with Gabriel and let's just say, the vendors got the best of him. All I know is that he came home with a bag larger than Gabriel full of kettle corn and a large fake machine gun about the same size. If you know us, you know we don't allow guns in the house aside from nerf or water.

It was a special night for a number of reasons. First, I love going to rodeos - I love the atmosphere, watching the riders and enjoying the good food. Secondly, I love spending any night out with my little family. Third and most importantly, being close to Veteran's Day and close to my Tata's birthday and watching those beautiful girls on horses, it brought back some fond memories.

Enough to bring tears to my eyes.

You see, sometimes when you get busy in life and with family and friends and stuff, you forget about the memories you shared with the people you've lost. They kind of get put on the back burner for whatever reason and then BAM. It's like a mack truck hit you right in the face.

 Now, I never went to a rodeo with my Tata, although I'm sure he went to plenty on his own, but he did teach me to ride a horse. He taught me how to throw on a saddle, put a bridle on, bathe and feed a horse...he taught me a lot about responsibility, about kindness, about making mistakes and then owning up to them. He would sit outside his sliding door to his room and watch me. Give me pointers. Talk about life.

Now that I'm grown and have my own kids, I wish times a million zillion that he could be here to snuggle my children. Play Santa for them at Christmas. Yell at them when they're running around his house like crazy people. Tell them stories about bear fights and Indians. 

Although this night was a special time to reminisce about my Tata, I loved spending it with Adrian and the boys. We had a great time while there, ate some chili dogs, drank some hot chocolate and watched all of the cowboys get bucked off the steers.

The first event of the show was the wild mustang rides and Gabriel was NOT amused. As Adrian and I saw there laughing at this silly men trying to get astride these kicking horses, Gabriel looked absolutely horrified. When I asked him if it was funny, he said, "No mom. This is NOT funny at all. They should not be doing that!" He loosened up after that and enjoyed himself, though by about 8:45, both boys were ready to pack up and head home.

Aaaaaaaand out.