We're Official

It's a big deal when the Rodeo rolls into Houston. BIG. Cowboy boots and a serious amount of sequins big. This year, we all dove in and spent the day downtown. We saw so many animals, I almost thought we were on a farm. Almost. All the ladies with tiaras attached to their cowboy hats seemed to snap me back to Texas.

We had been on the scene less that 92 seconds when Addie threw her first tantrum. Exhibit A:
I'm pretty sure that as I snapped this picture, Keagan was thinking, "Um. I'm new here, so could you tell me where exactly you can buy a big cowboy boot broach and matching cowboy boot earrings? Technically I'm from Hawaii, and I ain't never seen anything like that."

Addie waiting on the rails for the Muttin' Bustin' to start. My sister tried to get her to enter the race. My city girls had no earthly idea how to bust a muttin until the gate flew open. All their eyes starred in horror as each sheep bolted through the door with a 4 yr. old clinging for life on its back. They stood speechless. They looked at me, then back to the muttin' bustin', then back to me. It was a real cultural experience. We consider ourselves enriched.

What's a rodeo without crazy fun rides? I don't know who loved them more, the babies or my girls. Todd's coworker, Mary, had a bundle of left over ride tickets and offered them to us. I suggested that she be the one to take the tickets and the kids to the rodeo. She merely offered parting words, "I'll pray for you."

Addie exclaimed that this slide was the best part of her day. I'm thinking about having Todd build one in the backyard. He's so handy with tools and all.

Petting Zoo. These goats quickly realized that Addie had food pellets in her hands. They almost climbed on top of her to get at it. We also saw a baby kangaroo and Riley grabbed the llama's hair. Good times.

This picture does not bring enough emotion to what it represents. This has been one of my life-long dreams. I'm not kidding. Pictured here are all deep fried: pickles, oreos, snickers bar and twinkie. Oh. My. Sweet. Heaven. As I laid it all on the table, all my surroundings disappeared and the world grew quiet. It was just me and my fried treats. We each took bites and voted on our favorite. Hands down, my favorite deep fried snickers has now seeped into my veins. I'm a new person.

A Texas Long Horn is seriously the biggest creature I have ever seen. Do you think those horns get heavy?

Sam at the Tractor Exhibit. I reminded her that her dad used to drive one of these at her age. She simply rolled her eyes. I don't know if she doesn't actually believe that Todd could drive a tractor, or if her eyes are so accustomed to rolling that they just do it every 4.3 minutes.

Dirty feet at the end of the day. A good indicator why half the people at the rodeo were wearing cowboy boots.

Giddy up. A good rodeo day. We feel just a bit more like official Texans. Next up--sequined western wear.