Rodeo

The last Friday of Spring Break we headed downtown for our annual trip to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. We dressed up in our best duds, went with our good friends, the Mathays, and a good time was had by all!

We started off watching Tommy participate in the mutton bustin'! Waiting for Tommy to take his turn...

Up next was the petting zoo The goats were fun for the kids. They would eat right out of your hand and one of them even tried to nibble on Shelley's jeans!

The girls opted for pony rides while the boys dove in to the carnival.

Everyone was getting hot so we decided to head inside for a little break and some air conditioning. We saw tons of livestock and even baby piglets that were only 2 days old. Wish I had a picture of them! The kids got to dig in the dirt with worms and plant seeds.

We headed back out to the carnival and had time for one more ride before heading into the rodeo. It was the girl's turn this time while big brothers waited rather patiently.

Believe it or not, all that took about six hours and it was finally time for the actual rodeo! It had been since I was a child, that I had seen the whole rodeo from start to finish and I really wanted the kids to have that experience. So, we dashed over and made it to our seats just in time! We saw the grand entrance complete with fireworks and the national anthem. Olivia wasn't a fan of the loud fireworks but was still in amazement of it all. We saw all the events but one of Jacob's favorites was the calf roping. He loved watching how fast the cowboys were and timing each one. He kept track of who was first second, etc.!

Cotton candy was a MUST! After the rodeo ended, it was time for the Alan Jackson concert! This was the first concert either one of the the kids had been to and I don't think they knew what to expect at first......but they LOVED it! Since it was about 9:30pm by the time he came on, Olivia only made it through the first couple songs before she climbed up into my lap and passed out.

Jacob was still going strong and loving every minute! (ignore my finger)

After 12 hours of being at the rodeo, it was FINALLY time to go home! Despite it being such a long day, it was a great one and I hope the kids have these memories of their first rodeo experience for a long long time! I know I will :)