Stock Show and Rodeo

We had the privilege of going to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo on Sunday with my parents. We don't do this every year, but it is always so much fun when we do it!

We started in the exhibitions and the little boys were amazed by the tractors!!


They got to see the inside view from a horse trailer . . .

Playing on the big digger thingy . . .

Next, we headed to the FFA Children's Barnyard. I LOVE this place!!! My favorites are definitely the baby chicks hatching. Here's the fam watching them in the different phases of hatching. There was one yellow and one black that had just barely made it out of their shells ... all wet and trying so hard to stand on their feet. There was another yellow and another black that had been out for a little longer ... so cute and tiny!!

I also love the little ducklings where they have the little pool for them. They're so cute to watch as they try to get a drink and end up sliding down the slide into the water!!

We then went to the barns and came upon these sheep that had just lost their wool!! They looked naked and cold!!

This young lady came up to us and asked us if the boys would like to pet some sheep. Of course they did, so we followed her over to her little pen. She let the boys come right in and put their hands all over the sheep!!


She really wanted Alex to come in too, but he was way too cool to go in and pet the sheep!! One of the best parts of the day was when she said to Alex, "What's the matter??? You CHICKEN????!!!" And then she starts flapping her arms like a chicken right at Alex!! The look on his face was priceless!!! What made it even better is that she's 11 years old!!!

She was a really sweet girl ... lives up near Gainesville ... and was really great with the boys. Even Landry enjoyed it and didn't freak out at all!!!

There weren't many rabbits to speak of but this one made up for it!!! He was the furriest little guy with the longest ears and pink eyes . . . he looked like a real, small version of the Easter Bunny!! So cute!!

Parker tried his hand at roping and did pretty well for his first attempts . . .

Next came the Midway and I can honestly say this is my least favorite part of any experience like this. There is no amount of money that will satisfy the desires this part brings. The games are rigged and the rides are expensive. And when you realize that the toothless man smoking a cig who hasn't had a shower since the beginning of the Stock Show put this whole contraption together, it doesn't bode well!! And it was nice and cold by this point!! Here we are huddled up, trying to stay warm!!!

We walked through the Midway telling the boys to find that ONE thing that would make this whole experience complete for them. After lots of contemplating and debating, the big boys decided on a fun house kind of thing. But this . . . was Landry's dream . . .

As soon as he saw it, he began to talk in his very loud, very excited voice!! OH! MY! GOSH!!! I. WANT. TO. RIDE. THAT. SLIDE. RIGHT. THERE!!!!!!!! Are you sure, I ask?? YES!!! THAT IS SOOOO COOL!!!! Ok ... that's easy! I like a boy who knows what he wants and doesn't waver in his decision! Poppy went to buy tickets and the other boys debated on the merits of one of the fun house options. I again ask Landry, "Do you want to do this one with the boys??" To which he answers, "NO!!! I WANT TO DO THAT SLIDE RIGHT THERE . . . THAT ONE BEHIND YOU!!!" Okie-dokie!! The boys do their fun house and we head over to the slide. We pay the man our tickets and begin to climb what seemed like Mt. Everest!! We get to the top, settle ourselves in right next to each other, get the signal, and GO!!! We slide down together and had, what I thought, was an awesome time!! We get to the bottom and I look over at Landry. He has the saddest, most scared look on this face!! He jumps out of his sack and into my arms and immediately starts crying!! Apparently, it was a little scarier than planned!!

Of course, I had to laugh because it was such a complete and total opposite reaction of what I thought I would see!! He'll probably never get on a slide that big again!!


We had just enough time to go through the petting zoo before the rodeo. This is always fun and the boys, especially the littles, had a great time here!!

I had to capture these two guys (with a little girl's hand!). We decided they must be brothers because they just kept at each other!!

The tears are gone and Landry loves petting animals, especially when separated by a fence!!! (I've definitely got some mad photo skillz!! Not everyone can capture random kids' hands and snap the picture at the exact time the eyes close!!) But the smile is what counts, right??!!

Lots of goats!!

And finally, we made it to the rodeo!! I didn't take any pictures with all the moving and lack of light. But it was, as always, a good show with lots of amazing stunts, tricks, rides, and feats. It is a totally different world but it is always a neat one to visit!!

Much thanks to Mom and Dad for a super fun night!!