Rodeo Time

We were able to make the trip down to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo again this year. We really just went to the Livestock Show, and really not even that. It was just the kid's stuff that we were able to hit. That's where we are at in this season of life! We learned last year to go right away when they open to get a few minutes before all the school groups arrive. And make a beeline to the place we wanted to go...THE TRACTORS! Yes, you saw it last year, but it's a fave, so we were back. We discovered that the tractor wheels are good measuring devices so this is Travis last year...



And here is this year!! I think the tractor tire got smaller because there is no way my boy could have grown that much!! Do you think??

The whole family got involved and we got a group shot for the tractor room in Grandpa Al and Tammy's cabin. They had the screen again with the pictures of a field to look like you are really driving. Justin even knew what to do when he got in the cab: He grabbed the wheel and even tried to honk the horn!

And then we started Justin's measuring wheel pictures, with the "cheese" face of course!

We checked out all the other animals there: rabbits, chickens, goats, cows, turkeys, sheep, pigs, bees, and horses. We saw the new baby animals born only yesterday, we watched the milking demonstration, and we petted a rabbit.




Travis wasn't keen on meeting Elsie, the Borden's cow. He was okay from afar, but getting close was too much.

Justin had the same feelings about the petting area. He did NOT want to get close to any of the animals. They all came looking for food from us, and Justin screamed vehemently that there was nothing to be found here, and they should just move along!

Randy introduced Travis and Justin to longhorn cattle and took the time to begin their indoctrination into the Aggie way of thinking. Poor kids, they're doomed! Travis is a much better Packer Backer than Aggie though, so I might need to take over the Aggie brainwashing.

Then we went outside to the Kid's Country area and went through the Farmer's Market. They give the kids baskets and chicken feed and then they go through this route and feed chickens, plant seeds, harvest crops, and then sell them at market to make money. Then they "buy" a snack in the store with their money. It's all pretend items, but the kids enjoy it. They gathered wooden eggs, and planted plastic chips (think poker) with pictures of vegetables on them, picked plastic oranges from trees, and then "milked" a cow that gave water. They sorted everything into bins at the end and then were able to choose a snack that connected with something in the route: orange juice, fruit snacks, rice krispie treats, etc. Travis enjoyed it, and Justin liked the round items he got to gather like the egg and the orange. Again, another "cheese" face!

And our last stop was the pig races! We learned last year to get there early! They race the pigs for oreo cookies, which Travis loved. I think he would have raced for oreos too! They raced 4 pigs and they divided the stands up to cheer for 1 of the 4 pigs. We were pig number 4 and I think in every race but one our pig came in dead last. I wasn't too devastated. Travis said that this was one of his favorite things about the rodeo.

And what rodeo would be complete without the obligatory fried food?? We hit up the "Fried WHAT?" stand and asked what was the best. She shot back, "Which of your kids do you like the best?" I said, "It depends on the day." Anyway, her point was that it's all good. They had fried cheesecake, key lime pie, oreos, pickles, mushrooms, green beans, twinkies, snickers bars, and on, and on, and on. We settled on fried pickles (a tried and true favorite thanks to a friend who had a fried pickle craving during her pregnancy) and fried oreos (we love oreos, so frying them can't be bad??) Oh. My. Gosh. So good. They put toothpicks in the creme part and froze them. They are then dipped in a funnel cake-like batter and fried. The oreo gets all melty and so it's like creamy melted chocolate in funnel cake. Randy's comment was, "I could get so fat on these things!" It's a good thing they aren't easily accessible on a regular basis. And Travis ate 2 and asked for more. Justin wouldn't even try them. His loss, our gain!

It was a super fun family outing. Both boys did really well and the weather was beautiful. We got to ride the train, which Travis thought was pretty cool. We topped off the day with a visit to Randy's new office. Travis earned $2 helping Randy's co-worker, Melody, unload boxes of paper and refill the copy machine. Then he said that he would be back the next day to pay her money for him doing more work. That would have been Saturday, so she said she wouldn't be there, but it would be good if she could earn money from home!