On our last trip to Wyoming we were able to spend some time in Thermopolis. We stayed a few days with my dad and his wonderful wife Linda. During our time there Jacob had his 7th birthday! He felt pretty special that he got to be in Wyoming and especially at papa and grandma’s house for his birthday. My sister Mandy and my niece and nephews also came to Thermopolis to celebrate Jacob’s birthday. Since all my boys birthday’s are fairly close together we tend to celebrate them all at one time. So papa and grandma bought a special gift for all 3 of the boys. They all got a real “cowboy rope” as Jacob calls them. They also got a practice steer that they can use to learn how to rope the head and heels. They were so excited to learn how to rope. They had big plans on how they were going to “catch bad guys and cows” with their new ropes. So after having to wait a few days till the weather was better they finally got lesson #1 with papa John!
Here is the view from papa’s front porch. A perfect setting for some roping practice I think.
So the boys gathered around and I settled in with my camera to fully document this fun event.
Step 1. Make sure you have on your western gear. (My son told me this was very important)
I thought they all looked so adorable in their new hats!
I snapped a picture of each of the boys and it just so happened that each picture of them was a perfect image of their personalities.
Jacob. My sweet and perpetually happy son.
Jonah. My rough and tough adventurer son.
Jude. My silly and ornery son. (No that is not a yawn, that is his beastly character bursting out)
Step 2. Grab your ropes and gather around papa. (It also helps to have a champion team roper as your papa for lessons)
I absolutely was overjoyed watching my boys with their papa.
First they learned how to coil their ropes. (A very hard skill for younger kids but they did catch on……eventually.)
I couldn’t resist the urge to take a picture of the cute wrangler buns.
The boys caught on quickly, just like kids tend to do. I was very proud of them. (And papa for being so patient)
After about 25 minutes of coiling and throwing and coiling again, Jude lost interest. He was more interested in playing with the gun and shooting Grandma!
They had a friendly war going on. Then they joined forces and turned on me. Like I said before, ornery.
Those are the hands of a working man. Love it.
Working out the kinks. Literally.
I adore how rough and tender this is at the same time.
Again, it amazes me how quickly kids pick things up. About 35 minutes in Jacob and Jonah started to get it.
It’s all in the wrist.
His first hit! Papa was coming in to get the heels. The boys had gotten a few hits each after just an hour. They were having such a great time.
Papa showed the kids how to set a trap to rope the feet. (Jude was shown first hand) I think I will regret this lesson!
I think papa may regret it too!
They tried and tried but could not bring the giant down!
They boys learned a lot and practiced hard. I hope they have a fond memory of their first lesson with papa. I know I will.
A Large Helping of Life 