"Rodeo!"

Feet stampeded up and down the hallway. Head popping up from the library book he'd checked out rather than one of Elizabeth's books again, Danny watched his closed door in apprehension and expectantly. Door whipping open, Katie's huge and bright face popped through.

"Danny! Dad says we're having a rodeo today! Come on! We all gotta go out! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

And then the girl was off again.

Rodeo?

Concerned and terrified, Danny switched into a change of barn clothes. Slowly. Taking his time.

Rodeo?

Hands thumped loudly against the door, then was ripped open again.

"Hey! I could have been-"

"I'm not a girl. And you're already changed! Get going, Danny! It's a rodeo day!"

And then Jon was off and gone, feet pounding down the stairs.

"He's ready!" Danny heard the kid announce, followed by Katie whooping out a cheer. "All right!"

Still hesitant, Danny made his way down the stairs. It sounded fun? At least from how Jon and Katie were acting about it. They were yammering on a mile a minute, too fast for Danny to keep up as they both expounded on the last rodeo and the details about a rodeo.

All Danny could gather was it didn't sound like any rodeo he'd ever seen.

Large equipment was moved out from the big machine shed when they made it outside, Jon and Katie sprinting off toward the skidloader Dale was getting out of.

Danny twisted about, taking in the weird configuration of the huge vehicles, the family van and car and truck moved into the mix too.

It almost looked like the world's weirdest and awkward shaped circle. Using farm vehicles, regular vehicles, the buildings, with a few people standing in the larger gaps between. What was going on?

"We're moving some calves and yearlings around."

Danny swiveled his head to spot Elizabeth standing in the gap between house and the big machine shed.

"There's a few calves big enough to go in with the yearlings. Some yearlings we'll move over to the next pen up and I think Dad said there was a couple he wanted to move in with the dry cows. Oh. And something about the steers while we're at it."

"So, a moving day?"

"Pretty much."

"Not a rodeo?" He asked to clarify.

Her mouth quirked up. "That's what we call it. No idea why. Maybe Dad trying to make it sound more exciting? Just...stand within the gaps and stick your arms out wide, waving and shouting when cows go in the wrong direction."

Danny sighed with some relief.

This sounded so much better than what he'd been picturing.

That was, until he was directly faced with suddenly free nearly full size cows running in the wrong direction. Right at him.

Yelping, he waved, shouted, feinted a run back at them, darted to cut them off from escaping the circle, to go the correct direction. Nope. And a couple running full tilt at him? Nope.

He got of the way.

Thankfully, he was placed in front of the big machine shed since the sliding door refused to close completely. It's not like they went anywhere. Or could figure out with lots of assistance that there was only one opening, taking everyone several ridiculously long minutes to get them out. Further cementing in that comment about them being stupid into Danny's brain.

It was ridiculous. Took far too long for everyone and the herd dog to get them out of the building so they could chase them in with the other dry cows.

One of them even gave a rather valiant attempt to shove itself through a small hole near the ground barely large enough for Arly to pass through.

"And I can't believe it got its head through!"

"It was like, this is good!"

"All according to plan."

"I'm just going to lay down and laze about here."

Unbidden, Danny's mouth quirked up as the kids laughingly recounted the event, thinking back to it himself.

He'd been flustered and annoyed and trying so hard to fix it and ask for direction from the rest how to help. But now. Danny pursed his lips, the image of it coming back.

Young cow laying inside the large shed, head jammed through the wall. On the other side, a head stuck out along the ground sideways, tongue reaching out toward a patch of grass to eat some. Like it was normal.

"It certainly looked comfortable."

Heads swiveled to him. And fresh laughter burst out again. Danny's hold broke, cracking up with the Kauffman kids.

Okay. Frustrating, sure. But cows being stupid was pretty hilarious.