July 27th, 2008: CFD Update

We awoke Sunday for the last day of CFD this year, and our friend Julie Rees in Ohio texted to let us know that she thought she saw Nolan's Mutton Bustin' ride on Good Morning America! Kelly looked online and indeed the 5 minute essay on Cheyenne Frontier Days included Nolan's ride!!! As our other video did not turn out, we are really happy to have this video. Watching the rest of the essay on GMA, we also noticed that the whole family (including Kelly's Mom and Dad) were also videoed at the Tuesday parade! What a cool story. We've captured the video and hope to have it uploaded to YouTube soon, but in the meantime check it out at:

http://abcnews.go.com/search?searchtext=Cheyenne%20Frontier%20Days&from=0&to=9&type=video

Then click on the "Wyoming's Rodeo Days" link.

July 24th, 2008: More from Grandma and Grandpa Findeisen Visit

July 21st, 2008: OH MY!!!!

Nolan WON the mutton bustin' competition at Cheyenne Frontier Days Monday night at the Pro Bull Riders Tour "night show" event!!!!!!!! Congratulations Nolan!!!!!!!!

**Please note, you can enlarge the pictures by clicking on the smaller versions here**

The first two pictures are after dinner when Kelly wanted to get a picture of him with his CFD tattoo on his cheek. Our neighbor behind us, Sammie, gave Nolan the tattoo after the night show on Sunday so he could wear it for mutton bustin'.

The sheep came from Colorado State University, and we wonder if the sheep knew that Nolan was probably the only kid there who would want the Rams to beat the Wyoming Cowboys! A good sign for Nolan!!!

The kids all had to gather and get paperwork completed at the Contestants Building (where we were all able to have VIP parking too!).

The kids all received a bandana from Justin Boots for participating.

After a truck ride over to the area beneath the east stands, the kids waited just outside the "ready room" for the bull riders. Several of the bull riders and bull fighters walked out and signed the kids' bandanas.

A few pictures below of Christian, Nolan and Colter waiting. These three play hockey for the Cheyenne Capitals together, and Nolan and Colter are also classmates! (Thanks to Gary Foster for these pictures).

Nolan and Christian discuss strategy in the picture below.

Cool camera angle on the arena big screens looking down into the buckin' chute as Nolan got on-board.

And off he went...

Thanks to Gary Foster for the action shots above too.

Miss Frontier giving Nolan the trophy on the big screen.

And one more wave to the crowd.

After wandering back to the grandstands, and numerous stops for Nolan to accept congratulations from the fans and to pose for pictures (seriously), Kelly took the following picture on her phone.

For winning, Nolan not only received the trophy and belt buckle, but he also receives a pair of Justin Boots!!

Thank you to CFD and Justin for a great evening that Nolan is sure to never forget!!

July 21st, 2008: More presents and an Afternoon and Evening at CFD!

We loaded up and headed off to Cheyenne Frontier Days after the Thunderbirds finished practicing and Travis opened a few more presents from the family Monday afternoon. Nolan had to be checked in for his Mutton Bustin' experience by around 630pm, so that left time for Nolan and Barrett to ride a few rides on the Midway and to get some "carny food" for dinner. Here are several photos from this great afternoon and evening at Frontier Park!

Travis after opening more gifts on his 1st birthday!!

While Scott and Nolan headed over to get Nolan set up for his Mutton Bustin', Kelly, Barrett, Travis, Ben and Sandy walked around the Midway some more. The highlight for Kelly and Barrett was meeting Dave Logan (the voice of the Broncos on 850 KOA and the Broncos Radio Network) and Lois who are the hosts of "The Drive Home" evening radio program on KOA. Below you can see Barrett, Lois and Dave, and Lois and Dave were nice enough to wish Travis a happy first birthday over the air of the 50000 Watt KOA (this was the second time Travis' birthday was mentioned on KOA that day, as Kelly also got the morning show people to mention it at the pancake breakfast downtown!!!).

July 21st, 2008: USAF Thunderbirds Arrive For Practice!

...giddy-up!

After flying at an air show in Washington state Sunday, the USAF Thunderbirds arrived in Cheyenne Monday morning and then completed their practice session over the skies of E. Cheyenne during the afternoon. Once again this year, they are zipping around often directly over our subdivision...much to our delight!!!

Click to enlarge.

Wednesday is Cheyenne Day, which includes the performance of the USAF Thunderbirds which we plan to enjoy again this year from our front yard.

July 21st, 2008: CFD Pancake Breakfast!

After a late night for most of us Sunday night, we awoke and took our time heading to downtown Cheyenne for the first of the three Kiwanis Free Pancake Breakfasts which are a tradition here at Cheyenne Frontier Days. The local newspaper reported Tuesday that right around 9000 people were served breakfast in Depot Plaza between 7 and 9 am Monday morning, and we did our part before Matt, Gwen and Rylan headed north up Interstate 25 back home to Billings, Montana.

July 20th, 2008: Travis' First Birthday Party!

I think we had some 31 people somehow on the main floor of our house for Travis' first birthday party. It was CRAZY, but GREAT time, and everyone seemed to enjoy the Blue Bell Ice Cream and another of Kelly's cake creations!

Above: The birthday boy and his balloons.


Above: A couple of "crowd shots."

Above: Travis and his personal cake before he tried to dive in.



A little frosting here and there. Notice he had to pull on his ear since his pediatrician (and also our friend and the father of one of Nolan's classmates) was present. Travis has this obsession with making Kelly think he has an ear-ache so that he can go see Joe at the Dr.'s office.


The damage.


After his bath, Travis opened some presents and the party came to an end.

Kelly, Nolan, Barrett and our friends Matt and Gwen from Billings then went to the night show at Cheyenne Frontier Days to see Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts (yes, Kelly ended up getting to see the show twice over the weekend!). Ben, Sandy and I stayed home and babysat Travis and Rylan.

July 18-20, 2008: Early Cheyenne Frontier Days Fun!

Cheyenne Frontier Days got underway on Friday, the 18th of July. Our local newspaper said we could go to F.E. Warren Air Force Base to take a base tour, but the information was incorrect. The base did have the Fort Russell Days display open with re-enactors present playing the role of what the base was like in its earliest history. There were also WWII re-enactors and Revolutionary War re-enactors. The latter turned out to be pretty neat for Nolan as he was able to shoot a Kentucky Squirrel muzzle loading rifle, as shown below.

Then on Saturday morning, as we did last year, Nolan, Barrett and I went over to "Broncos Day" at Cheyenne Frontier Days. After waiting in line in the hot July sun last year, this year we arrived early and were the first to enter the little area where the Broncos alumni, cheerleaders and mascot were located. Below is the picture of the boys with a few of the cheerleaders after they met former Broncos Randy Gradishar and Billy Thompson.

Then the boys were able to meet Miles (the mascot) for an autograph and picture, which was a delight.

We stopped at the main entrance area for a nice picture, below, since the gates had just opened and no crowds were really around.

Saturday night, Kelly and I went to the first Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts concert at Frontier Park. We had standing room only down on the track, and met up with some friends and had a great time. Needless to say, Kelly was very excited for Rascal Flatts! Both shows were very good. Below is a few pictures from the night show that I took on my Blackberry. Kelly has some more shots on her phone that we may post later.

Above: Taylor Swift

Above: Rascal Flatts