Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo 2014

March means rodeo in Houston so the kids and I packed up to spend the day at Reliant Park with five of our cousins. I've never gone during the day with kids but it was a blast. We took in all the sights, smells, and sounds of the event that is Houston rodeo (except the rodeo part!). Outside Reliant Stadium, where the actual rodeo takes place, there is a carnival and exhibits for kids. You can buy a deep-fried anything from various vendors from Oreos to Snickers to Nutella to funnel cake. 

We had a couple of tickets that allowed Clark to get on a ride for free. While we were waiting for all the cousins to arrive he really wanted to ride on the VW bugs car ride. He was very excited to get in and kept asking me and the ride operator, "How do you make it go?!" With each passing minute he was less and less excited, to the point where he almost broke into a cry. When I asked him what was wrong he said he wanted me to ride with him. It must've been a little scary to sit there all by himself. By the time the ride started he was past the point of enjoying it and wouldn't even smile.

From there we moved on to the Fun on the Farm exhibit for kids. Clark planted a tomato, fed some (plastic) hens, posed on a tractor, saw some sheep, and milked a (rubber) cow. He sold all his goods at the farmers' market and was rewarded with some cash to spend at the grocery store. Lana even got some money just for riding along. The kids each got a box of raisins from the store and I think that was Lana's favorite part of the whole day. A big box of raisins all to herself. 

From there we went inside Reliant Center to see some real farm animals but it was a little tricky to navigate strollers around the throngs of school children there on field trips. We did get to see some show cows and zebus up close, though. After all that we took a lunch break then let the kids choose one ride. They all seemed interested in riding the tractors. This time Clark had a friend to ride with and appeared to have the time of his life. Things are way more fun with cousins.

To wrap up our day Aunt Jen bought the boys some cotton candy to share. It was sure a fun day!

Our First Campout

At the end of January we went on our first family camping trip with our cousins to Sam Houston State Park in Hunstville, TX. I had been sick and feeling lousy at best but I didn't want to miss watching my kids camp for the first time. The boys seemed to love everything about the trip: the camp chairs, the fire, the tents, and the rocks and sticks. And what is camping without the S'mores? I made Clark some graham crackers and brought along a bar of his special chocolate so he could experience the iconic camping treat. I'm pretty sure he liked it since he's asked for more several times since the campout.

As is more often the case in my camping memory than not, I had a horrible night's sleep. I was lying next to Clark who was coughing in my ear extensively all night. But the sun came up and we went on a short hike which was truncated due to a 100-mile race being run on the trail where we were headed. oh well. The kids still seemed to have a great time.

Although that may have been one of my least favorite camping experiences--mostly due to being sick--I'm glad I went. a little. I mean, check out this camping hunk. Oh, baby!

On a positive note, I think everyone else enjoyed themselves, we were in great company, there were no bugs, and it was neither too hot nor too cold.

Rodeo Run 2014

Steve ran the Rodeo Run 10k this morning with two of his brothers. It's one of the events that kicks off the month-long rodeo here in H-Town. He ran this race last year and I brought Clark and tiny Lana to cheer him on but he never saw us (twice!) along the race route. And it's not like there are huge cheering crowds...as in I was the only one cheering in one spot. This year I did everything I could to make sure he saw his fan club: we made signage, we all wore fluorescent clothing (and lipstick, in my case), and we were lucky enough to get a bunch of noisemakers from sponsors. And...it worked! He saw us in both locations and even gave us a thumbs up for one of the pictures. Good job to our family runners.

When they weren't watching our racers, Clark and his cousins watched the trail riders clip-clopping down one of the streets downtown. Yee-haw, Houston! Let's get this rodeo started!

Elephant Pajamas

Lana has outgrown all her pajamas so we went shopping for some the other day. The one store we went to didn't have any in her size so I came home and decided to make some. However, the thermal pajama fabric I had in my stash was intended for Clark so I went ahead and made him a pair. Makes sense, right? I made the pattern for these based off a pair he already owns. I let him choose the ribbing color and navy blue won out over baby blue, orange, and gray. Whenever I'm working on a sewing project he always asks, "Is that for me?!" and gets so excited when I say yes. He loves to wear everything I sew for him and I'm enjoying this stage while it lasts! Not to leave Lana out, I ordered some fabric to make her some similar pajamas so she'll get some soon.

Snow Days

A few weeks ago we flew out of Houston to find some snow. Ironically, while we were gone it snowed in Houston. Clark is a snow-loving little boy and year-round talks about and pretends he is in snow. He loves to go to grandma's house and throw snowballs, which is exactly what he did. But not without loads of traveling first! As with our last trip to SLC we flew into Las Vegas--very early, which explains the pajamas--and drove up. We couldn't pass through southern Utah without a visit to Kara's pharmacy...and Chick-fil-A for Steve. My mom graciously offered to take my kids for a day while Steve and I went skiing/snowboarding at the Canyons. The snow was terrible and I had a run-in with some grumpy people but it was the highlight of my year so far. It's been a few years/a couple babies since I've been up to the mountain so it was a wonderful treat.

Steve went snowboarding a second day and didn't fare so well--he suffered a concussion at the end of the day after a collision with one of his buddies knocked him down onto the icy slope. He assures me he's retired from racing now. While he was doing that...the kids, my mom, and my sister checked out City Creek Mall and visited Karlee there at work. Lana was ecstatic to have yet another person who is not me try to hold her. (She eventually warmed up to both of her aunts and even Grandpa.) I also took the kids to visit some of our good friends from Houston that moved to SLC several months ago.

Grandma always has fun toys and this time she got out Monster Mash, a game we played as kids, that Clark now talks about all the time. She had also built us a pretty nice sledding run on the side of her house that we slid down with our cousins. Clark and I went down several times in between snow angels, eating snow, and throwing the crystalline snow.

These boys had so much fun together! We have such good memories from this trip.

These are from our drive back to Vegas. Isn't sibling hand-holding the cutest?