Little Miracles: No One Rides Alone

Pony Express Events
Mascot Miracles Exceptional Stick Horse Rodeo
"No One Rides Alone"

The day has come! Rodeo time! I love the theme: No one rides alone. It is applicable to life in general, but even more to our little hero! To give a little background, we are part of the Mascot Miracles Foundation. Straight from their webpage: http://mascotmiraclesfoundation.org/

Providing Lasting memories and moments of happiness for our young warriors fighting unthinkable battles.

Founded in 2013, the Mascot Miracles Foundation is a non-profit organization that helps children who have serious illness through professional, college and corporate mascots; by creating and attending events, and parties; and bring smiles to those children in unthinkable situations.
The Mascot Miracles Foundation has professional, college and corporate mascots to help children who have severe or terminal illnesses.

We have been to a few events and have always had a blast. When we got the invitation for the stick horse rodeo, my initial reaction was to say no. We were one of thirty families chosen by lottery for the rodeo and with Kai in a wheelchair and on a ventilator, I just couldn't see how it would work. I didn't respond to the invitation right away, deciding to think about it for a few days. Then they called to verify and set up a time for the photo-shoot. That is where they had me. I couldn't pass up a photo shoot just for Kai. So, I said yes.

At the photo shoot they gave stick horses for the heroes and siblings to decorate and bring to the rodeo. I was hesitant getting one for River since she is so young, but I figured if Kai could do it, so could River. Turns out, River absolutely loves her stick horse and it's a good thing I got one for her as well.

My attempt to get a photo of everyone when we first got there

The day of the rodeo, we got there bright and early. It was a warm, sunny day up until the rodeo, which was when the clouds moved in. No rain, but the clouds were a nice relief from the sun.

From ten am until noon we had lots of fun practicing for the rodeo--barrel racing, a bucking station, and roping a "calf." They also had a horse-drawn wagon, a little train, a petting area for the animals, and pony rides for the kids. River was absolutely in love with riding the pony. She grinned from ear to ear and refused to get down. The guy who was leading the pony was so charmed by her that he let her continue riding. He said that she could ride all day if she wanted--and she definitely would have! Zuri enjoyed the pony ride, but she loved being able to pet the animals more than ride them. It was hard to get her away from them.

Practicing for the event later

From noon to one we ate lunch and passed out and signed photos to other heroes. I thought that was a really great idea because it allowed us to interact and learn more about the other kids in a more lasting way. Zuri signed Kai's photo since he can't do it himself, and she just glowed with the attention. She loved it.

At one was the official beginning of the stick horse rodeo. J's family was coming and we were trying to save them seats. We also wanted pictures/video of the event, so J took Kai and the girls into the arena while I stayed in the stands. I was really torn because I wanted to be down in the arena helping with the kids, but it turned out better that J went because he did some really fun things with Kai in the rodeo that I wouldn't have done.

By the time the stick horse event was over, we were pretty much done. We were hot and sweaty and tired from being out in the sun all day. All three kids did amazingly well. There was virtually no fussiness from Kai. Zuri only complained when we were waiting to get our food. River had only a few meltdowns, and those mostly involved her wanting to continue to ride the pony.

My only complaint was that there were too many people in the area during the events, so I missed some of what was going on. However, when you are dealing with kids and disabilities, you are going to have caregivers and helpers so there are going to be a lot of people.

River ended up coming back into the stands with me--which I think made her happy because her favorite cousin Emery was there, and she had fun playing with her cousins.

After the rodeo, we went with J's family to get some ice cream, but the shop was closed. So we went to another one, and wouldn't you know it, that one was closed too. What are the odds, right? Finally, we just decided to go to Sonic, which actually worked out because we didn't have to haul Kai and his stroller out of the car again.

J, Kai, and River

The wagon

Zuri, River, and me on our first wagon ride

On our next wagon ride we brought J. and Kai along; Kai had fun

Zuri and Merida!

Zuri riding the pony

River riding the pony. She had a blast--the highlight of her month!

Zuri with the animals

Train ride! Zuri is in the white car next to the caboose

Once out of the sun Kai was all smiles

I discovered a new thing Kai is doing with his fingers. He kept putting his index finger in the hole on the side of his chair. It looked like his finger was stuck, but he could get it out easily enough, and whenever I pulled it out, he would put it back in. Silly boy.

The set-up for the stick-horse rodeo event

Kai's announcement and a short bio on him

...with River trailing far behind

Announcing all the heroes

The ride for all the angels

Zuri is off!

Yay! She did it!

J and Kai in the bucking stall. This is where I would have opted out, but J made the stroller like a crazy bull and had fun with it. They also did the barrel racing and I had a couple people come up to me after and say that Kai totally won the barrel racing (even though they weren't scored). Kai had big smiles on his face after the barrel race.