Let's Rodeo

This weekend marked the beginning of the annual San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, which those in the rodeo business tell me is somewhat of a big deal. Judging by the talent and the entertainment it draws each year, they must be right.

This is the third year of the rodeo since we've been here in San Antonio and we've been able to score great tickets each time, including this past Saturday. The rodeo was great and we saw some impressive rides. There were even a few close calls during the bull riding that had us cringing in our seats and looking at the jumbotron with one eye closed. After the competition we declined to stay in our seats for the Alan Jackson concert because, well, our kids were there and it would just be cruel to subject them to that much country music, right?

Actually, we wanted to enjoy the grounds instead, which are sprawling and include all of the things you would expect at the traditional County Fair. We went through the exhibits, the livestock barns, saw the pig races, sampled a lot of food from Texas (including Blue Bell Ice Cream, from nearby Brenham), and visited the petting zoo.

This was Tori's first rodeo, and she hardly ceased making animal sounds the whole time (she didn't always get the specific animal sound right, but we know what she meant). She liked watching the saddle broncs and the bulls, and was in heaven at the petting zoo. She marched around like she owned the place, and seemed genuinely interested in the animals until they paid her any attention. Then she'd try to squirm away, much like she does to us when we try to grab her. Here is a short video of her at the petting zoo. Watch her reaction when she comes face to face with a goat a few times.


And here are a few pictures of her at the petting zoo.


The boys, of course, are old pros by now and enjoyed themselves wherever we were. Joey was particularly fond of the animals and quickly made us nervous with how eagerly he would walk up behind very large animals. The six-foot llamas at the petting zoo were one thing, but the longhorns in the cattle barn were quite another. We kept having flashes of him getting kicked across the barn and landing in a barrel of water or something, but luckily the animals were kind to him.

Here is a picture of him having some quiet time with a goat at the petting zoo.
And hugging a milk cow in the dairy barn.
Here he seems to be thinking "I wonder if I could take this home without anyone knowing..."

Both boys posing with the "milk cow"
And both boys posing with a hog-nosed snake at the reptile exhibit.
Charles cautiously petting a ferocious wallaby at the petting zoo (yes, a wallaby).