Where The Cowboys Have Gone...

Once upon a time, in a state far far away, we were on vacation.  Well... not really a vacation but a church convention in Indiana.  So it's kind of a vacation, because we don't have to go to work for a week and we got to stay in a hotel with the kids.  (correction - at that time it was just kid). 

So we were in Indiana at a church convention.  It's really almost a family reunion because so many of my family went to those things!  We left the hotel one day intent on taking Ryan and a foster girl of my parents to meet up with my sister and her kids at the Indianapolis zoo. 

On the way we saw a sign.

WARNING!  (<-- that's not the sign... but I'm just saying, don't believe these signs!!!)

PONY RIDES!  $5.00

 

Ryan had never ridden a pony before!  Neither had Leia!   They were both 3.  I was very pregnant at the time.  We decided to let them enjoy a new fun experience.

Robb led the pony with Leia on it and I led Ryan's.  We walked up a path in the center of a soybean field when suddenly Ryan's little Shetland bolted.  It yanked the rope right out of my hands and I think it actually flew over that ditch into the soybeans.  I couldn't keep up because I was in waddling status as a pregnant woman.

Ryan did a high arching back flip from it's bare back and flipped twice in the air before he landed face down in the muddy ditch.  I got to him first and he was sobbing.  As was I.  Two feet over was a gravel road.  We were lucky it was just mud!

We all rushed back to the farmhouse and as I washed up Ryan in the farmers bathroom, Ryan couldn't stop crying, wincing and whining.  I checked him all over and noticed that one arm seemed limp.  The owner of the ponies kept saying "Don't worry!  Kids are so resilient!!  I'm sure he's fine.  There's no need to rush to the hospital!!"  Because I kept saying, "We need to get him to a hospital!"  I'm sure he didn't want to have to pay for it.

Robb reassured him that this was an accident and he was sure Ryan was ok too.  We got the kids in the car and all strapped in.  Ryan still crying and whining.  As we drove out of the lane, we toyed with the idea of still going to the zoo... But Ryan's whiny-ness wasn't letting up.  Then I'm pretty sure he passed out.  Um yeah...  We're going to the hospital RIGHT now!

We found the hospital quickly and rushed into the emergency room.  We got into a room with a doctor pretty quickly.  By this time Ryan was feeling somewhat better and wasn't crying anymore.  He got an x-ray and we found that his left arm was broken. 

While the doctor checked Ryan out, he asked him questions to make sure there wasn't a concussion. 

He asked, "What happened that hurt you?"

Ryan: "I fell off a pony, right Dad?"

**gggrrreeat!**

Then he asked, "What's your sister's name?"

Ryan looked confused and said he didn't know.  We were quick to point out that Leia was not his sister and we hadn't named his unborn sister yet!  So that wasn't really a valid question and Ryan was being serious.

He should have asked what the name of the pony was that he was thrown from because I'm pretty sure it's name was Bucky.

Anyway, he got a sling on his arm for the rest of the weekend until we got back home and the swelling went down, where upon he got a snazzy glow in the dark green hard cast.  It started at his wrist, then bent at the elbow and went a few inches up towards his armpit.  All his friends at daycare signed it.

It still sits in his memory box in the garage, all filthy and tattered.

So anyway... I'll tell you where all the cowboys are!

They're sitting at home playing computer games and watching "My Little Pony" remakes on tv with their children.

Because real ponies are just too scary!