Houston Rodeo March 2011

YEEHAW.  Ryan experienced his first Rodeo and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo was a great one to break him in with.  The HLSR is no dinky get together.  It is quite the production.  They host headline performers like Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum for three weeks straight in Reliant Stadium (where the Texans play).  The best part of it is that a $20 ticket gets you into the rodeo, livestock show, carnival, concert etc.  I've never heard of a concert in my life where you can get tickets for that cheap.

I'm not a big animal lover.  Ryan was shocked when I wanted to walk through the livestock area.  It's all apart of the experience!  This is as close as I'll get to these stinky animals.  I am such a city girl.

The rest of the animal events were enjoyed from a distance...thank heavens.  We laughed as we watched the cowboys and cowgirls compete in bull riding, bare back, and barrel racing events.

(I did not take these pictures.  I found them online searching the Houston Rodeo.)

My favorite event BY FAR was mutton busting.  Never heard of it before?  In a nut shell, it is an event for young children.  They put them on sheep and have them hold on for dear life.  They try and hold on as long possible, which typically ends up being only a few seconds.  It is hilarious to watch these kids that are around 5 years old try to hold on, but their tiny arms don't reach around the sheep so they come tumbling down. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time.  One strong willed boy was determined to win.  His body somehow flipped beneath the sheep with his back inches above the dirt and did not let go.  He won the competition.

This is how it starts.

This is how it ends.

We watched Billy Currington perform.  Because I waited to the last minute we had some great nose bleed seats.

To finish the evening, we tried the fair food.  We had the most amazing fried TWINKIE.  I've tried a lot of fried foods from fried Snickers to fried Oreos, but let me tell you that the TWINKIE trumps them all.  It was made to be fried.  Next time you're at a fair give it a try.  You won't regret it.