Time Travel: Back to March

Let's take it back a bit, shall we? Let's see, the last time I wrote was in February describing Waylan's birth. Boy, that was a lengthy one. Not much to say about February. It was cold. It snowed. Oh, Bennett did make his first snowman! (I'm looking back at my saved pics now...) Waylan got fat real fast. But he was sleeping through the night by around eight weeks! Just like big brother!



Now onto March! That was a great month. Every March we head down to Texas to hang out with my awesome family and go to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo! That is some good times, y'all. If you've never been to the Houston Rodeo, you are missing out. If you've never been to any rodeo, you are missing out. Being raised in Texas and now living in Oklahoma, this is serious entertainment. Some people live and breathe rodeo. It's what their kids compete in and it's what they spend loads of money on. You know how obsessed people get with team sports? Football, competitive cheerleading, traveling baseball teams. It's something like that. It is just a whole other culture. And I love it! It's got its own lingo, traditions, values, and dress. I have to calm down now because the anthropologist in me is coming out. Seriously though. It's a legit subculture here in America. Look into it!

The boys and I spent a total of two weeks in Houston. The first was all rodeo fun. Then Jeff had to head home for a mission trip to the Dominican Republic the second week. We, of course, had a blast at the rodeo. I think we went three days in a row. They were kind of long with a two-year-old and two-month-old, but we made it. Waylan loves stroller rides. And Bennett LOVED the pony rides. We have horses here, but he had never ridden before. He even made sure that he was wearing his cowboy hat before he got on. Haha! He wouldn't get on without it. I cannot wait until he is old enough to participate in the mutton bustin' - he is going to LOVE it! He already practices by trying to ride our boxer at home. That crazy boy.

The rest of the fun was watching bull riding, calf roping, barrel racing, and eating lots of yummy fair food. You are not allowed to go to the rodeo without eating roasted corn and a two-foot corn dog. I've been going to the rodeo all my life, but this was the first year I really took the time to walk around the shopping area. Holy cow! That place is HUGE! If you have a shopping addiction, enter at your own risk! Luckily for me, I'm poor and had no money to spend, but they sure do have some cool stuff! Jeff said for Christmas he just wants "rodeo money" to spend there next year. I'm game!

And you can't forget the concerts!! With two little minions to take care of, Jeff and I only made it to one out of the days that we went, but it was awesome! If you haven't seen Zac Brown Band in concert, I highly recommend them. They played everything from bluegrass/country to heavy metal songs. They really have a great range of talent and can basically play anything.

The week Jeff was gone on his trip, the boys basically continued to be spoiled by my parents. There was bike rides, a zoo trip, a museum day, and Bennett's first trip to a Chuck E. Cheese's. Yup. Going to my parents is basically like going to Disneyland...

We had such a great time in Houston, but we were glad to get back home after two weeks being gone and glad to see Daddy again after his week-long trip! My mom drove back with me and the boys and the trip was SO MISERABLE!! I think the boys were just exhausted and they were not traveling well at all. After non-stop rain and a few meltdowns (mostly from the kids), we finally just stopped at a hotel to rest and stretch. The kids ate and played, then we headed back out that evening and got home late. Here's to hoping that our next trip to Houston, which is coming up very soon, will be much easier. The boys love car rides, but that one turned into a 16 hour trip! No, thank you.

In our rodeo get-up!

Well, that about sums up March 2015 for us. The other two weeks of that month were nothing compared to the middle two. We just out-did ourselves with those. I'd like to think that we rested and relaxed the other two weeks of that month, but I know it's not true. At least I didn't. I was in the thick of writing my master's thesis.

Jeff playing with some kiddos in the DR.

Join in next time when we travel back to April!!! ;)