Rodeo Meltdown

After the parade on Saturday Henry and Max wouldn't stop asking to go to the Rodeo. We live 2 miles down the road from it and can hear it at night. When our friend Hannah asked if we wanted to go with her on Sunday I relented because at least we could do it with friends. Nick wisely refused to go because he knew it would be unbearably hot and he doesn't do well as the whitest pastiest guy on earth in hot weather.( No disrespect to my handsome, dear cowardly husband ).
"I performed a situational analysis and decided it was not a good idea."
He was correct in his analysis, as usual.
The plan was to meet Hannah and her 2 boys at the entrance on 11th street. Apparently our plan was too vague and when we arrived at the entrance to the rodeo she was not there. After waiting for about 15 minutes in the 90 something blazing hot heat with my two somewhat patient boys who were starting to fall apart I decided to go in and leave a message with the person working there. We got seats in the shaded part of the stands where I could watch the entrance. Hannah finally arrived after wandering around the parking lot looking for us. Her kids were happy and excited .
Max and I and Hannah and her boys were enjoying the rodeo events but Henry after 5 minutes started whining. "This is boring. When are we going on the rides? I want to go on the rides. When are we going on the rides? Can we go on the rides now? When are we going on the rides? It's hot. I'm hot. When are we going on the rides. This is boring. Isaac ,do you want to go on the rides? They have rides. Do you want to go on the rides? When are we going on the rides......"
I relented and decided to go get the shaved ices that we were eyeing because it was indeed so very hot. So Max went with me while Henry stayed in the stands. The line was very long and not moving. After 15 minutes of getting nowhere I aborted that decision and we got some Kettle corn at a ridiculously high price.


My return without the cool refreshing ices was not well received by my charming son.
But look how exciting the rodeo is!It's the rodeo queen rounding up the bull.


The rodeo clown who Henry aptly noted is also a football player.
I don't know how these rodeo folk kept up the energy in the heat without just passing out.


This was pretty exciting. Lynne Payne "The One Arm Bandit" from Oklahoma takes his well trained horse up onto the top of the trailer. He actually rode it like this in the parade.He is standing on his horse on the top of the trailer. He appears to actually have two arms as far as I can tell but I never saw him close up and his website doesn't say.

Then he brings out the Buffalo!

And drives them up on top of his trailer with just the sound of his snapping whip!
While I was quite impressed as well as Max, Hannah, Isaac and Eben, Henry was just temporarily distracted from his main obsession- the rides.

So I gave in and he got to do two rides. I was really surprised that he wanted to go on the roller coaster so badly.He met the height requirement but Max did not.

Before the ride starts.The excitement builds...

Where is Henry? He is in the first front car but you can't see him because he has slid all the way down and is holding on for dear life and using his legs to keep him straight against the front to stop himself from sliding all the way out. He is reliving my childhood roller coaster trauma that made me unable to go on roller coasters ever again. But he liked it! No trauma for him.

They really enjoyed the motorcycle ride. It was so blazing hot that I had to put a spare pair of shorts down on the seat to protect Max's legs from getting burned.

When the rides were over Henry really wanted to leave and go home. Max didn't want to go. The line for the ices was gone so we decided to get the ices and go sit in the shaded bleachers and watch more rodeo. Well that was a parenting mistake. Henry was so tired he could barely walk. Max insisted on holding his own ices. Henry was too tired to walk up the stairs to the shaded part and insisted on sitting in the heat on the bottom. As I was carrying the big bag of kettle corn and backpack and helping Max climb while carrying his ices, it fell out of his hands and he completely lost it. Then my hat fell off and through the bleachers, caught in the net with the ices spilling on to it. It was at this point that I got to my senses and knew it was time to leave. So in a panicky voice I quivered to Hannah: "We have to go now". Hannah and her happy, perfectly behaved children waved goodbye as they continued to be enthralled by the rodeo.

I held a crying, tired hot cranky Max down the bleacher steps, got Henry and stumbled towards the exit. We got about half way to the car when I realized I just needed to stop. Luckily the Evangelical Children for Jesus booth was right there. I asked if I could hire one of their teenagers to carry my stuff to the car while I carried Max and dragged Henry.They kindly refused to take money and helped me back to the car.

I was never happier to get home.