Rodeo Time!

So, it is time again for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (http://www.hlsr.com/ if you are so inclined to visit).

You may remember a few weeks ago when I posted the Go Texan Day pictures and talked about the trailrides and rodeo.  Well it is in full swing (still) and we went for our annual visit.  Kiki and Owen came in town for spring break and all the kids wanted to go so we took our big group for a close encounter with the animals!

Indoors is the Livestock Show.  They have a great kids area where the kiddos can see animals up close, pet them, feed them and learn all about their life cycle.  There is even a birthing center (ick!), a milking parlor (yum!) and lots of info on how animals provide or become our food (double ick!).  All in all, it is a good time with some learning thrown in. 

My family, however, doesn't just stick to the main venues, we like to go visit the FFA kids with their show animals and get a closer look.  We got lucky because it was longhorn day so we got to see tons of huge horns.  What boy doesn't love that!?!  The kids and their parents are so nice and let you pet them and take pictures with them.  It is fun.

Then after a yummy lunch that can only be described as a heart attack on a stick (or bun - your choice!) we headed outdoors to the carnival.  My kids 'real' favorite place at the rodeo.  Tons of pics follow!

Jill has an immense fascination with all animals.  And no fear.

Josh found a buddy.  This guy truly loved pecking at Josh's finger.  He paced back and forth and just tried to get to Josh.

One of the many longhorns we saw.

 

Jill loved the petting zoo.  Here she checks out a sleeping goat.

 

Here she checks out the chickens.

 

For $2 you can buy feed.  Jill feeds hers to a deer.

 

And a goat.

And a sheep.

And another goat.

And a llama.

And a baby goat (he wasn't sure what it was).

And another goat.  Needless to say she was a big hit with the animals.  I am sure it was a combo of the food and small stature making her an easy mark!

If you make it out to the rodeo be sure not to miss the Footsie Wootsie.  Much cheaper than a carnival ride and at least as fun.  We must have done the dang thing 10 times!

 

Owen does the bungee jump at the carnival.

 

Josh Jumps.

Jake jumps super high.  We couldn't talk any of them into flipping.

 

Jake and Jill on the pirate ship ride.

 

Josh and Owen on the pirate ship ride.

The Hyland Family hits the Rodeo

We took our annual trip to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo this year. The boys love going and always have a good time. This year we had to go without Dad who is swamped at work, but took along some other fun family members, Kiki, Owen, Courtney and GranDeb. Things went very smoothly, but then again having 1 adult per child will do that for you. We rode the ponies, learned about farming, rode a mechanical bull (see video below) and rode carnival rides. What more can you ask for? Oh yeah, I remember, cinnamon rolls! We had those, too! If you haven't had one, you can't even imagine what you are missing!



Courtney and Josh arrive at the Rodeo.




GranDeb and the grandsons pose for a pic.




Johnny Cash, aka Owen, rides Twinkie the pony.




Jill and Mom relax and watch the action.



The whole gang, Kiki, Owen, Courtney, Jill, Jennifer, Josh, GranDeb and Jake.

Jake, Josh and cousin Owen go to the Farm! It was actually a really neat exhibit demonstrating how farmers get the food from the farm to the market. The boys liked it a lot.

Jake planted and harvested tomatoes. Josh was onions, Owen was carrots.

Josh milks the cow.




Jake and Josh take a ride on the Ferris Wheel. I was with Owen, so the boys went alone. As you can see things started out tense.

But then they relaxed and had fun. You can see me and Owen above them. Owen had fun, too. Me? Not so much!