Rodeo Time

 

We made a trip to the rodeo this past weekend.  This was Alaina's first rodeo experience!  She seemed to have a good time.  Every year is fun and different.  The boys were much less scared of the animals and much more curious.  Travis is learning about mammals in science so this was a great was to check out lots of different mammals.

 

We first went by the birthing area.  We saw a cute little 65-lb baby calf and a huge litter of 10 piglets (2-3 lbs each).  Justin was a little afraid of all the excitement so I held him.

 

Then it was on to the rabbits and guinea pigs.  They voluntarily petted them both!

Watching the chicks hatch is one of the highlights of the experience.  It's fun to see the whole process from egg to live, active chick.  I think they were Alaina's favorite part of the day.  They were curious about her and she was curious right back! 

We went to the petting zoo.  This is normally NOT the boys' favorite, but Travis was interested in their fur (since mammals have fur and we've been talking about its texture).  This is my favorite Justin picture of the day!  Check out the wallaby in the back.  It was hopping circles around the enclosure!  It almost knocked over a few of the smaller kids.  And it almost escaped!  The man did not even notice it sneak past him out the door!  He sure jumped when we all yelled at him.  They only had one person watching everything that was going on and the animals were all very active.  She had quite the tough job!

This was the most adorable little mother/baby moment.  This little goat was curled up right on top of its mother's back.  She was completely content in the midst of all the chaos. 

 

This was the softest llama.  And she was very gentle. 

 

Alaina enjoyed being carried EVERYWHERE!

And we can't go to the rodeo without tractor tire pictures!  Travis was not excited about the pictures, but he gave in.  I am not sure I will be able to convince him next year.   It seemed like they had some smaller tractors this year.  (Of course, the boys are getting bigger...)  When I mentioned it to one of the workers, he said it was budget cuts!  Too sad!

Alaina's first tractor picture!  Gotta love it.

So do farmers have corn boxes instead of sand boxes?

Travis wanted to do the tractor pull again this year.  You can't see, but there is a sled with weight in the back that climbs closer to the tractor as you pedal.  They determine the weight by age.  I think Travis is at a disadvantage since his birthday is right before the rodeo.  20 feet is a "full pull".  He really tried hard!

He got another ribbon just for trying.

It was a beautiful sunny day, but it was chilly. The kids are all getting over colds, so we went through a LOT of tissues!  We had our fried oreos and this year they added oreos dipped in cookie dough batter and then sweet batter and fried.  We didn't get them, but ooh, they sounded good.  Travis got his first taste of funnel cake.  He loved it.  How much powdered sugar so you think those places go through in one day?  It has to be insane.  Poor Justin had three potty accidents leaving him in(wet) shorts and wrapped in Alaina's blanket.  He didn't seem to mind the pink.   It was a full morning of activities and by the time we drove home, everyone was pooped.  Especially mommy and daddy!