It's rodeo season! Rodeos are a big part of why we love Texas as much as we do! The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo kicks off the rodeo season after a long, cold winter (haha). The HLSR takes place at Reliant Park and is a huge and wonderful extravaganza. This year, we got FREE tickets to the livestock show and carnival through my BAMOM group... woo hoo! We had a great time.
We arrived early in the morning to avoid the heat and the crowds. Izzy, of course, spied the John Deere display right off the bat and proceeded to test drive a number of different tractors. She keeps telling her dad that he needs to get a tractor, and Dan keeps reminding her that we'll be visiting Papa's tractors in Montana later on this month (yay!).
The petting zoo was fairly extravagant, with llamas, pot-bellied pigs, fancy chickens, and a fawn rounding out the usual menagerie of goats and sheep.
We wandered through the Agventure, where the girls got to see baby chicks, honeybees in a honeycomb, a cow/pig birthing center, and lots and lots of animals. Abby has a thing for mascots and was thrilled to get some quality time with Ms. Moo, giving her several high fives and two big hugs. Izzy was excited to watch her sister interact, but very purposefully kept a very safe distance.
Outside in Kids Country, we visited Fun on the Farm. They walked through the exhibit two years ago, but I think it was a lot more meaningful for them this year.
They were pretty proud of their hard work, collecting eggs, sowing seeds and picking veggies, milking a cow, shearing a sheep, and picking peaches. In return for their hard work, they got to spend their Agventure bucks at the general store, where they both chose a Rice Krispie Treat. How they knew what tasty goodness awaited them inside that blue shiny wrapper is beyond me, but they did enjoy the fruits of their labors.
It was pretty fun watching Izzy's wheels turn as we explained the process of sheep shearing and the process of wool becoming sweaters and blankets. Her favorite song these days is Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, and I think it took on a whole new meaning this morning.
Pony rides were next, and the girls were EXCITED! There were only four horses, so the line moved very, very slowly, but the girls were remarkably patient and passed the time watching the horses from behind the fence.
The girls demonstrated age-appropriate horsemanship, i.e., stayed on the ponies without incident. They were ALL smiles throughout the ride.
Abby is showing the early makings of a Rodeo Queen, practicing her royal wave each time she passed us by on the ride.
Our BAMOM tickets came with a carnival fun pass, which allowed us to go on a couple of rides. Abby decisively chose the wiggle worm, and Dan and I bravely let the girls go on their first solo carnival ride. They were a little nervous at first, holding tightly to the safety bar...
...but they were all smiles (and waves) each time they rounded the bend. Daredevils.
After a long morning, we ate some (delicious) BBQ and then rode the tram back to our van. A perfect Texas morning.
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