The Lee Family: Fort Worth Stock Show

Today, after dropping CK off at the airport for a conference he is attending in Phoenix until Tuesday, the girls and I went to the Fort Worth Stock Show. We have visited on Martin Luther King day for the past few years, but this year it was much too cold out, so instead we went with Stacy and Antonio to the Fort Worth Science Museum that day. Since it would be in the mid-70s, I thought today would be the best day to go.

We arrived at the far side of the grounds and waited a while to park, but actually parked a lot closer than I usually do on the other side of the grounds. We started with a walk through the cattle barn and looked at all the steers and heifers that were being groomed for sale. We then stopped in the arena and watched a few minutes of the angus heifer sale and it brought back a lot of great memories from my 4-H days raising steers. I took a photo of the activities for CK and send it to him and he agreed that it brought back some great memories for him and his 4-H days. By then it was just after noon and the girls were asking if I'd brought snacks so we headed to lunch.

We ended up at the little food stand we bought our food from last year and Sofia stood in line for two lemonades while Olivia and I stood in the next line for a cowboy burrito (steak, cheese, potatoes and sautéed onions in a tortilla) and a grilled steak and cheese sandwich. We actually found a table and chairs to sit at outside that we shared with a couple who were really friendly. Sofia loved her half of the grilled steak and cheese sandwich and Olivia wouldn't eat it, probably because she drank nearly all of her lemonade just before we sat down to eat lunch. Once we were done eating, Olivia said she would eat a corn dog (I was a bit skeptical since she hasn't really had one before), so we stood in line for a corn dog which she proceeded to take one bite of and then dropped it on the ground. It didn't really get dirty, so I told her to eat off the "clean" side which she took one bite of the breading and was done.

We walked across the street to the State Farm exhibit and the girls stood in line to try to rope a metal calf from about 15 feet away. We watched as a few kids tried and couldn't do it and I explained to Sofia and Olivia to watch how the kids used their wrists when they tried to circle the rope and gave them ideas of how best to try to get the rope on the calf's horns. Finally it was Sofia's turn and she got close on the first two tries and then actually got the rope over the calf's horns and head on the third try! It was pretty cool. She got a little rubber sheep with "State Farm" written on it's back. Of course, Olivia really wanted one too. So, she went next and tried twice before collapsing into tears because she roped herself instead of the calf. I directed her away from the area and tried to get her to calm down, which she eventually did but after a lot of sadness. We noticed the mounted police were nearby as were the ladies on their palominos with their red, white and blue sequined outfits who carry the flags at the very beginning of the rodeos. We visited with the police and pet the horses and then went to the ladies and Sofia asked each one of them which flag they carried in the rodeo.

When we arrived to buy our tickets, I asked if there were any available tickets for the rodeo at 2pm, but it was completely sold out as I'd expected. As much as we love the rodeo, I'm not sure the girls would have it in them to sit through the nearly two hours. After visiting the horses, we headed to the petting zoo and pony rides. The lines were amazingly long, so we looked at the petting zoo animals and the girls decided they wanted to ride the carnival rides instead (thankfully). We bought $40 worth the tickets which would be 48 tickets. We started with one of Sofia's favorite rides, the dragon roller coaster. Sofia rode by herself in front of Olivia and I who had to ride together. It was really fun, although the roller coaster was a bit jarring on my back! I must be getting old. Olivia absolutely LOVED it and I tried to get pictures of her when we rode, but was afraid of dropping my cell phone. At the end of the ride, Sofia got off and said it was a little more bumpy and jerky than she remembered it being before. She enjoyed it, but I don't think as much as she has in the past. From there we went to the the Fun House and the girls were able to go together while I waited outside for them. They loved it! After they slid down the slide, we headed to the huge slide. Luckily, Olivia was tall enough to go on it without me because I'm not sure I could stomach going down it. The girls headed up to the top, with Olivia getting stuck on the ramps between the stairs and they soon had a huge backlog of people behind them. They came down the slide and were so happy! They loved it! Sofia said it felt like she was floating on the air the whole way down. Of course, the girls wanted to go down it again and we had enough for them to go down twice more, which they did and loved every second of it.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and actually felt too warm at times. It was great. After the huge slide, we headed out of the carnival rides. Along the way, the girls bought a pink cowgirl hat with sequins and a light-up crown and a bow and set of arrows. As we headed back toward the parking lot, I asked if Olivia wanted to give it another try with roping the calf. She did and we stood in line once again. She tried it and again roped herself and was upset. I felt bad for her but I wanted her to try again and suspected she wouldn't succeed but wanted her to try. So, I spend the walk back to the car trying to comfort her and also tell her how around of her I was of her for trying again. Plus, she was obviously tired and I suspected she would be fast asleep within a minute of getting into her carseat. Somehow she stayed awake the entire ride, probably because Sofia was reading one of the Percy Jackson books out loud to me. It was a really fun day at the Stock Show and we had a great day. The next day I read in the paper that due to the warm weather, it was the highest number of visitors on a single day in the Stock Show's 120 year history! It felt crowded, but not that crowded!

Homemade bread and coffee while watching the sunrise. Perfect start to the day!