Over the years we have discovered that it's a good idea to have a rough theme for our vacations. The theme helps us make decisions on what to see and do. 2010 was "See as many red rocks as possible", 2011 was "Things we haven't done together", 2012 was "Stuff we can't see or do in Utah." This year's theme was pretty simple. It was "Animals." So when Lindsey told us that the Houston Rodeo would be in town at the same time we would be I knew we should go.
At first I thought it would be a rodeo like where you watch cowboys rope cows and stuff. And it did have that - but after doing some Internet research I discovered it was more like a county fair. They even had a petting zoo for the kids. I told the girls that they could pet farm animals and Charlotte immediately started telling me she wanted to "pet a cow."
First we had to get there. Lindsey and I went to bed on Monday night vowing to get up and be on the road by 9:00. It was Spring break and so we wanted to be at the Rodeo early to beat the crowds. However, the change to daylight savings time meant all our kids were sleeping in an hour later than usual - and so we took full advantage of being able to sleep in as well.
Still we were on the road a little after 9:30 which wasn't too bad. John had work so Brandon and I followed Lindsey's car to the rodeo. Our original plan to park at a light rail stop was foiled by Spring Break so we ended up parking on a side street and walking across the parking lot. We were able to bring the triple stroller which we wouldn't have been able to do on light rail (but we would have been dropped off right by the fair) and we saved $12 on parking.
Our walk also took us over the freeway on this cool bridge.
Here is a view of the location of the rodeo. It was outside of Reliant Stadium. Reliant was one of my "favorite" energy companies to work with at Conservice (you know what I'm talking about Kadee).
After another long walk through another parking lot we finally were able to purchase tickets (the kids all got in for free again). Then we walked through the midway and into a large convention building and we were at the petting zoo.
I probably should have told the girls what to expect. This is how it must have been for them. "We went on a long walk, waited in line, went though a gate, and suddenly had three goats as big as us staring us in the face." Lydia immediately started bawling. Brandon had to pick her up and hold her. Charlotte on the other hand jumped up and down in excitement and ran around petting everything in sight. Derrick started grunting really happily and pointing at the animals. When I bent down to let him pet them he would pet them with one finger.
Here is Lydia being reluctant about petting a goat.
Derrick loving the animals.
Charlotte excited about a goat.
Lydia started warming up to the idea of petting the animals.
Charlotte was in heaven. She wasn't scarred at all of the animals. She even bent down and kissed this goat. (And of course I just missed the picture.) This happens to be about the last happy moment Charlotte had at the petting zoo. Right after this picture she tried petting the goats ear. The goat flicked it's ear back and forth really fast and whipped Char's hand pretty hard. She started bawling. I had to pick her up and hold her.
Almost on cue Lydia switched over to being happy about the petting zoo. She was still timid, but she started having a great time. She was really excited to see this "bami," and petted it's tail.
One of the petting zoo workers came over and showed both girls a baby chicken. They liked that. Lydia keeps talking about how she touched it. Charlotte got down and was a little happier, but I don't think she touched anymore animals. After a few more minutes we left the zoo area.
We walked around for a little bit, but the area started getting crowded and I started having an urge to run over annoying people with the stroller. So we went outside and had lunch. We could have sat at some tables but the area they were in was really loud. So we just found a corner.
None of the kids minded.
They liked eating all the fun food we had packed.
I asked Charlotte if she still wanted to pet a cow and she said no. However, it had become important to me that she have the chance to pet one. She had talked about it non-stop for three days. Lindsey told me where all the cows were on display and I took Charlotte to see them while everyone else was still eating. She loved looking at them, but every time I asked her if she wanted to pet one she said no. So finally after walking up and down the rows and rows of cows I convinced her to take a picture with one. This is as close as she would get.
We went back outside and met up with the rest of the family. The place was getting crowded and the kids were getting tired so it was time to go. We had fun walking out through the midway and looking at all the (over priced) rides. I told the girls that one day we would find somewhere cheaper to go on all these rides.
During college I spent a summer working for a company that sold novelty items with a fair. I have a lot of fun memories of being a "Carney." One day I might get around to sharing them all with you. I liked seeing all the rides and other fair things.
We left the fair/rodeo and trekked back across the parking lot. Rocklond had skinned his knees and wanted to ride. He fell asleep and was so out of it he didn't notice that his foot kept dragging on the road. I propped his foot up like this to keep it from dragging. (Oh and you can sort of see the ombre dye job in my hair. I was very happy with the results - noticeable yet subtle.)
Lindsey carried Knoxx the whole way.
My kids all conked out in the stroller.
I was okay walking, but as soon as we got to the jeep and stopped walking all I wanted to do was sit down. My back hurt really bad. I was trying to help Brandon, but I could hardly walk so I wasn't much help. Brandon finally told me to go sit down. He couldn't get the back of the jeep to open so he had to put the jogger in the back of Lindsey's SUV.
The kids woke up when we put them in the jeep. I think Derrick fell back asleep, but as you can see from this picture at one point he was awake and holding hands with Charlotte again.
Back at Lindsey's house Brandon started working on fixing the jeep's back door latch. It had been giving us issues for about 2 months, but this was the first tine that it completely refused to open. He stripped everything down and found that the plastic piece that unlatches the door had eroded away. He fixed it with a picture hanger hook, a nail, and epoxy.
While he fixed that I rested my back while laying in Lindsey's lovesac and watching Wreck in Ralph again with the kids.
In the evening we all went for a walk to the splash pad a few houses down from Lindsey's house. The kids wanted to ride Rocklond's little trucks. I started out thinking "this is so fun, We should get these." By the time we had crawled across the side walk in front of one whole house I was thinking, "we are never buying these!" It's moments like this that make me appreciate the triple stroller. It was impossible for me to help Charlotte and Lydia with their trucks while pushing Derrick in the little stroller. I'm glad Brandon and Lindsey were there to help.
But it was cute to see the girls on the trucks. Maybe we'll get some when they are older and can steer better.
The kids played around with the trucks in the fenced in area of the splash pad. Both girls practised driving, but they didn't really get any better. You should have seen Lydia's face when she realized that she could push a button and make one of the trucks move. She was like, "such power exists?" Charlotte loves Toy Story and can say "Buzz Lightyear" perfectly. She really like the truck that had Buzz on it.
Then we put the trucks on a dry part and turned on the splash pad. (Ha to you Utah people who are still freezing this time of year.) The kids loved running around in the water.
After a while everyone got cold so we headed back home. I gave the kids a bath and got them in their pajamas. We had a little dance party.
The petting zoo may have been scary for the kids, but it had one really great benefit. Both girls have been terrified of Lindsey's dog Gretta ever since January. Poor Gretta has had to be in her cage or outside every time we come to visit. But as soon as they got home from the petting zoo they went right up to Gretta and started petting her. I guess they figured that 1 dog wasn't so bad after all.
We read scriptures with Lindsey and then the kids all went to sleep and fell asleep right away. Brandon and I left Lindsey and John in charge and we went on a "date." It was kind of unexpected so we really didn't have any idea what to do. We ended up getting Frozen Yogurt for the first time. It was really good. Then we went to a Kroger store and bought swim diapers for the kids. My only complaint about the Fort Hood area is that it doesn't have a Kroger. So going to this one was like going home for us. (Yes we are weird.)
We bought ice cream and took it home to share with Lindsey and John. We had a little ice cream party in their room. Brandon and John commiserated about the military, John told us about chasing down a bad guy at work that day, and we all talked about our goals for the next 5 years. (Mine is to make it to a year postpartum without being pregnant again.)
Derrick woke up crying so Brandon and I said good night and went down stairs to take care of him. He was really fussy so I tried everything I could, but eventually I just laid him down on a pillow ('cause Lindsey said that helped Knoxx sleep better) and went to bed. He cried for a while, but eventually fell asleep.
