Rodeo Time

March in Houston means Rodeo time. We were so excited this year to have Dan's sister Ali, her husband Ben, and their little boy Alonzo come to visit for a week right during rodeo season. They own livestock and horses and while almost anyone would enjoy the rodeo, we thought it was especially appropriate for them.
We went on opening day (March 2) and the place was empty! It was perfect (although Ali and Ben aren't quite convinced that Houston really is a big city--lots of the places we visited were really quiet).
We had a great time taking the kids around the exhibits at the livestock show during the day and then we went to see the rodeo itself and Alan Jackson perform that night. Megan LOVED the baby chickens (they have these glass enclosed warm pens where you can watch the chicks hatch and dry off) and looking at all the other animals. She was a little timid in the petting zoo though. Thanks Mom for watching the kids (and Ali and Ben for treating us to such a fun double date!).

Megan and Alonzo watching horse cutting (and that doesn't mean horse hair-cuts--it's a horse trying to separate one cow from a herd and keep it separate for a certain amount of time)


Barbecue, anyone?


That's right, Megan passed out walking from the horse arena to the main exhibit hall (where all the kids stuff is). So, I had to WAKE HER UP to let her see it. I was so torn doing this--I try VERY hard not to wake up a sleeping child. But she loved the animals, so it was worth it...and I wasn't putting her to bed that night :)






Oh by the way, Brooke had her first case of hives from Feb. 28 to Mar. 4--and it was a doozy! She looked like that scene from Hitch where his ear gets huge and his eye swells shut--so, so sad. And the best part is, we have no idea what caused them! Thankfully they haven't returned yet (knock on wood).


The day after the rodeo (March 3), Ali and I took the kids to the children's museum here. It was packed with field trip kids and was a little overwhelming for Megan (and thus, crazy for me dragging my timid, near-tears 2 year old from exhibit to exhibit while toting my baby in a front pack). But we bought a season pass and we both liked it more when we went back on a less crowded day.

Megan's favorite part--the grocery store


See, I was there!


Ali and Alonzo