Rodeo

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the World's Largest Rodeo around.... this year was the 79th year and they had 2,262,834 people attend. That's a lot of people. The big concerts had about 72,000 people every single night watching. It was pretty awesome. We only went twice this year. Normally we go more than that, but we just weren't feeling it this year. The rodeo the night of Tim McGraw was crazy-cowboys were getting run over by bulls, calves getting squished in the calf scramble (he was alright, just a little winded), and wheels coming off wagons during the chuck wagon race. It was a good night to be a spectator, not a participant. I don't know if y'all know this, but I have a thing for squished pennies. I am not a collector of much of anything-but I like pennies because they're small and don't require a lot of room.The report from the HLSR bragged the following:

"Food could be found at nearly all areas within Reliant Park, and Show visitors enjoyed the unique types available. Consumed were:

• 122,800 funnel cakes
• 111,000 turkey legs (20 small turkey farms!)
• 66,000 caramel and candied apples (two orchards!)
• 20,000 pounds of sugar for cotton candy
• 9,000 pounds of strawberries
• 5,000 cans of whipped cream
• 10,800 chocolate-covered strawberries
• 30,000 glasses of lemonade
• 3 tons of catfish
• 50,000 pounds of potatoes
• 40,000 deep-fried oreos

We know that Andie consumed at least two large handfuls of french fries.

2010 Houston Live Stock Show and Rodeo

Well ladies and gentlemen, now that it's been a month since the Rodeo ended, I'll take a breather and post some pictures. The fat lady has sung and we'll have to wait til next year to eat more Rodeo funnel cake. I'm pretty bummed. I do love the rodeo. It's my favorite time of the year. And who wouldn't love the Houston Rodeo?? It's the World's largest rodeo! Here's a few highlights:

• 91,000 turkey legs were eaten (we ate one those)
• 100,000 funnel cakes and
• 7500 chocolate covered cheese cakes

Don't even ask about the chicken fried bacon, I am bitter that 6500 other people got to try it and I didn't even know they had it til I read that report.

We saw some crazy record breaking riding this year. I saw someone get a 90 point bull ride-been a while since I've seen that. Saw someone steer wrestle in 3.8 seconds without breaking the barrier, and we watched the barrel racers blow through the arena in barely 14 seconds. Got to watch my absolute favorite events, calf scrambling and mutton busting... It was a great year. I'll have to post pictures of the Rodeo itself later, I'm talking about the shows today!

JONAS BROTHERS with special guest and terrible singer, Demi Levato!

We started out with the Jonas Brothers. This was probably by far Jeff's absolute most favorite concert. I mean, who wouldn't LOVE to go see the Jonas brothers with 70,000 screaming little girls? I didn't even have to twist his arm! He was THRILLED to be there. Actually, it wasn't so bad. We went with Tiffany's family so we got to hang out with the kids the whole day, which was the point. We only spent an hour listening to the actual concert. Mostly we saw all the exhibits and squeezed llamas. The petting zoo even had wallabies. One of the exhibits the Rodeo has is a birthing center. They have pigs, cows and sheep in all stages of gestation. When we went to visit early in the afternoon, Hanna the pig was already a day past her due date (very rare for pigs) and was starting labor. She was breathing heavy and biting the bars of her cage. I felt bad for her in the little cage, but the sign explained that this helps her stay calm, and keeps her from squishing her pigs. It's not as bad as it looks, even if she wasn't in a cage she'd be laying down the entire time. The pig that was NOT in a cage didn't move for 10 hours. Anyway, we went and saw all the other exhibits and went to watch the Rodeo for a couple hours. We left the Jonas concert early to see if she had started having her piglets. We arrived to see she'd already had two and stay to watch 5 be born, they were coming about 10 minutes apart. Look how little they are!

When we came back week later I stopped by to see how they were doing. They had doubled in size! What little pigs!

RASCAL FLATTS

My Dad's friend had extra Rascal Flatt's tickets, so we went and enjoyed that concert. My favorite was that it was the Military night and they had a huge production for our armed forces. They had three Medal of Honor recipients there who shared their stories (brought tears to every one's eyes,) countless other soldiers, a major display by the Marines and a beautiful ceremony. Very patriotic.

Their show was March 8. Exactly three years earlier they were playing in Salt Lake City, and Jeff took me to see them. It was the weekend I realized how fun he was to be around. We spent three full days together and never ran out of something to laugh and talk about. So going to their concert again was really cute. I love, love, love these big boots. They were set out for a special event. If they hadn't been so heavy I would have taken one home.

BRAD PAISLEY

Poor Heather was so sick she wasn't able to make it to the Brad Paisley concert and had to give her tickets away. I ended up being the lucky recipient, and so I grabbed Desiree and we went to the concert. Heather! I can't tell you how guilty Desiree and I felt. The whole time she and I both kept saying, "I feel so bad we're having fun." So I just have to say, thanks again!!! The concert was amazing. I love Brad Paisley, he sings from the heart and LOVES his fans. He walked around the entire arena singing and shaking hands with everyone. We were so close to the front I wanted to run down and say hi, but Desiree and I reminded ourselves that we were adults, we should stay in our seats, and Brad was already swarmed with 10,000 other people. That, and we would have missed the company of the 12 year old boys who were sitting behind us. Every picture we took has their little hands giving us bunny ears. I think they liked us. Their older sisters were in the row in front of us profusely apologizing for their little twerp brothers.

Afterwards we went to the Hideout to hear Honeybrowne. They were pretty good, they sing a song called "Texas Angel." I had a friend who loved that song and used to always call me Texas Angel and sing it to me. Desiree and I practiced our rusty dance moves. I know Des looks really tan in this picture, but up until a few days ago when she stole the sun, I was actually tanner. I took a picture to prove it. All you single ladies! Whoa oh oh, oh oh oh!!! If you liked it you should have put a ring on it!

Tim McGraw

I've been wanting to see Tim McGraw for years. I love everything about this man, especially his wife! I love that he loves her, that they sing together, that they have been married for years, that they support each other, that he wears awesome jeans, that he sings half of my favorite songs... just love Tim McGraw.

It was soooo cold and rainy that night. I curled my hair, but by the time we got out of the car the curls were already gone! Soooo annoying. That's alright, Jeff loves me anyway. We loved how Tim McGraw walked around the arena and shook hands with as many people as he could, he also sang a George Strait song (you have to, when you're in Texas) and forgot the words. That was pretty funny. Anyway, it was a great concert.

Brooks and Dunn

Brooks and Dunn was a bittersweet concert. I've seen them a few times before, but this is their Last Rodeo Tour. They announced last August they were going to go their separate ways, so this concert was sold out and FABULOUS. We went with Heidi and Trever which only made it that much more fun. I heart Brooks and Dunn.

They threw one of the best concerts. Kicks grabbed a few random girls out of the audience to dance with, they walked around the arena, set off little paper rocket thingers, and they threw shirts to the audience. It was such a great concert, and I will definitely miss them at next years Rodeo, they've been playing here consecutively for 19 years.

Now that the Rodeo is over I've managed to survive, but I am already looking forward to next year. I love the Houston Rodeo. As I have said before, I am a fan of anything country. It tends to focus on the important things in life (God, family, hard work..), is conservative, and supports the values I believe in. Can't wait til next year...

Could I borrow 38 million? ... Anyone?

Alan Jackson's estate located on 1301 Moran Road in Nashville, Tennessee, is for sale. It's called Sweetbriar. And I need it... But I can pretty much just say that any estate with a name is out of my price range. But, just in case anyone is wondering (I know you are), yes. It's EVERYTHING I have EVER dreamed of. Everything. A beautiful, plantation style mansion in the south, a pond, lake house, cabins, playground, horses, 20 car garage and much more. There is even a gazebo on the little island on the lake!!! Pretty much it's the most fantastic place I've ever seen in comparison to all my years of watching "Cribs" on MTV and CMT.

Yay for Country

Back in the day I used to listen to Metallica (Kill em All!), Green Day, Weezer, etc.. I was really into alternative music (still like it) and hated Country. I skate boarded, wore Jincos and had a chain wallet. *rolls eyes* I was so cool. There wasn't anything about country I was interested in with the exception of a few good lovey dovey songs. Then September 11 happened. All the music I loved went anti-American. But Country music, even though they didn't agree with everything that was going on, sang even more about how great America is and how much they love her (remember what happened to the Dixie Chics? Haven't heard them on a country station in years). And that's why I love Country music. Well, why I started to love it. Now I love it for everything it is and stands for.

53,000 People Who Love America

Jeff and I went to the Houston Rodeo quite a few times this year, but I think our favorite concert was Toby Keith. I just love Toby Keith anyway, but his concert made me get all choked up. It was rip-roaring at first, a lot of people were wanting to dance in their seats. There was almost a cat fight because 4 girls wanted to dance and the lady behind them didn't want them to-so they fought about it for a while, someone dumped beer in some one's purse and eventually security got called. It was awesome-who actually sits at a concert? The concert went on and towards the end the tone changed a little. Toby got quiet, put on some red, white and blue lights and started to play "American Soldier." And before he even got through the first verse, nearly all the 53,000 people in the audience were standing. They were standing because that song touched their hearts, because they wanted to recognize our brave soldiers, because they LOVE America.

It didn't matter who voted for who, or who thought that, we were all just standing because we love our Country. Everyone continued to stand until the concert was over. The most touching part was the cowboy in front of me. He was elderly, and had a single tear running down his cheek. That was the part that made me tear up-was seeing his face and wondering what he was thinking. Bless his heart. And God bless America.

Time For a Good Time

Time for a good time! I love the Houston Rodeo!

*Edited Later*

Jeff and I went with Heather and Andy Wednesday night to see Alan Jackson! It was a blast, and I was wondering what would happen if I sent a video from my phone. Not pretty.

Rodeo

Rodeo time, put on your hat and hang on to your seat! The University of Montana easily gave us one of the best Rodeo's I've ever been to. They were all mostly beginner cowboys starting out-which makes for some great rides. A couple cowboys ended up being taken out in a stretcher and one of the bronco's jumped the fence. We were also highly entertained by this little dog named Houston who was trained to herd bulls-he'd chase them across the arena, biting their heels and getting them where they needed to go. It was a blast. I could never seem to catch any of the good stuff on camera until this... And in case you are wondering, yes, the clown was fine. He was a little shaken up but other than that he said he was fine and kept clowning around all night.