Rodeo Houston 2010

The Houston Livestock & Rodeo is the largest rodeo in the world, so you can imagine that it's a big deal around here! Schools have rodeo/"Go Texan" days & weeks. You can sit along the highways and watch the trail riders come into town on their horses & covered wagons. The boot/hat store is crazy busy outfitting people in hats, boots, plaid shirts & giant belt buckles for 3 weeks of rodeo craziness! It's a culture shock to anyone from the North!

The boys have been to the rodeo a few times, but we've never taken them for the entire day. This year was special b/c daddy had special passes for us to do some fun things. CAT lift truck (part of daddy's work) is a sponser of the rodeo, so we got tickets to ride in the Grand Entry (wagons circling Reliant Stadium before the rodeo begins), and we got to sit in the Super Suite (a 2 story suite for his company). We saw TONS of livestock, tried to enjoy the carnival (it was pretty chilly and windy for the ferris wheel), and watched EXTREME bull riding! The boys loved the calf scramble, where teenagers from 4H groups try to catch a calf and then keep it. They also loved Mutton Busting, where 5 & 6 year olds ride a sheep and try to stay on for 8 seconds (most of them falling off within a second or two). The finale was a concert by Selena Gomez (Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place fame) & Justin Bieber. 70,000 SCREAMING girls were there to show their love, and Alex headed right into the suite with Ross where he wouldn't have to hear the deafening noise. Andrew stayed out in the arena with me and watched quietly as his new tween idols performed. It was completely crazy, and our ears were ringing for a long time after. If you've never been to a tween concert---don't. Run far, far away. :)

In general, the boys loved it and can't wait to do it again next year. The tween peformers always sell out the arena, so I'm sure we'll be in for a dose of Jonas Bros or Miley Cirus....yikes! In the meantime, we have a whole year before we have to break out the hats & boots again. We weren't meant to be rodeo people. :)

Ross & the kids on the wagon before the Grand Entry:Andrew with "Howdy" the rodeo mascot: Decked out in our Western gear before we left. The boots didn't last very long before we had to break out the crocs. Boots are NOT comfortable!

On the wagon, waiting to circle the arena (Like my $12 Target hat?):

Checking out some cows at the livestock show:

Uncle Kevin!

Alex & Andrew were so excited to have Uncle Kevin visit on his way home from the Marines! We fed him yummy food (and so bad for us!), took him to the malls, the beach, bowling, the movies, on walks, and to the rodeo. Now that he's gone, they are still running around in their camo hats, pretending to shoot at things.....thanks Uncle Kevin! :) Spare!

Awesome bowling boys:

Galveston!

Spring break 2010--We took the boys to Galveston for the first time in YEARS. In fact, we don't think Alex has ever been! We spend our summers on the beaches in Michigan & Cape Cod, and Galveston doesn't even compare (think brownish water and rocky, hard sand). Plus, it's an hour and a half drive, and until lately, the boys have never wanted to stay at the beach for more than an hour, so the drive wasn't worth the trip. I'm happy to say that this year the boys lasted well into the afternoon on the beach. The water was too chilly to swim in (though, it was probably perfect summer Michigan water), but they had a blast playing in the sand, eating ice cream, and looking for dinosaur bones. :) They can't wait to go again sometime and stay overnight in a hotel and swim when the water is warm enough. It won't be long now.....

Alex testing the water (notice the ships in the distance headed to the Houston ship channel--some cruise ships were setting sail that morning)! A view of the strand--rocky beach, a giant seawall to keep the hurricanes at bay, and a string of restaurants and hotels across the road. The boys got a big kick out of that!

Mom & dad enjoying the sunshine with Alex in pursuit of a "family hug"!

Daddy, Uncle Kevin, & Andrew walking out on the jetty:

Uncle Kevin & the boys at the Rainforest Cafe--right across the street from the beach!

No apologies

I loaded pictures onto my computer yesterday & realized I hadn't done it since Andrew's birthday in December! I am bad! I am a crazy busy, working, carpooling, cleaning, cooking mom. I'm not apologizing....just telling it like it is! :) Anyway, here are some pictures of what you've missed the last few months..

We had the craziest winter EVER! We normally get one or two nights of "freezing" weather. This year we had 13....and it snowed twice. That NEVER happens! The boys had a blast catching snow flakes on their tongues and were sad that it didn't stick enough to make snowmen. :)Both boys had field day last week. It was sunny and 70 degrees and perfect weather. Uncle Kevin & Daddy even got to come and watch!Ross took the boys camping with scouts & left me alone for an entire weekend. It was the first time in 8 1/2 years that I was home alone for more than a few hours, and it was BLISS! The boys saw lots of alligators, ran wild with their friends, and didn't want to come home. Somewhere along the line, Alex learned to strike the "homeboy" position in pictures. We aren't quite sure where he learned THAT from.... Uncle Kevin came to visit on his way home from serving the last 4 years in the Marines. He brought the boys Marine hats, which they've worn constantly, and immediately decided to show us their military moves. I'm not super crazy about this phase. Andrew wants to make his room camouflage. I'm trying to talk him out of it. :) There are many more picts of our weekend with Uncle Kevin, but they'll have to come another day. This mom is too pooped to do any more tonight! :)