This past weekend we celebrated Auntie Ashley's 30th birthday at the Mesquite Rodeo. Ashley LOVES the rodeo. She has such a passion for the animals and the sport. She even used to raise animals and show them. I'm pretty sure she and Wyatt have something in common because he loved the rodeo! We talked about going to the party for at least a week. I asked Wyatt early on if he would be interested in Muttin' Bustin' which meant riding a sheep and he quickly said yes. So we talked about it lots (because I'm an over-explainer) and he even practiced staying on the sheep/Daddy at home.
When we got to the rodeo the party started with a nice Texas-country dinner and hanging out. The kids had a blast playing with each other. They couldn't wait to see the REAL COWBOYS. They even dressed up like real cowboys/girls.
Let me pause here to tell a story. Below is a happy cowboy named, Wyatt. He totally looks the part. He's rockin' the vest, a button-down, jeans, and real cowboys boots. He's happy, his mouth is full of food, and he's showing off some sort of cowboy move. An hour before this he was on the living room floor in a FULL OUT TANTRUM. It. Was. Bad. Why? Because we made him wear his new boots!
So, I have to back up again. At Easter Wyatt needed boots/nice shoes for his Easter outfit. I didn't want to spend much money on a one time pair of shoes. The resale shop only had one pair that would fit Wyatt and look okay with his outfit. The only problem was they were girl boots. You couldn't really tell because they were black and the rhinestones would be covered by the pants. So I got them and came home and explained that on Easter he would wear what we told him to without any fits and he'd only have to wear these shoes ONE time. He wore them and then decided that they were his FAVORITE pair of shoes. What?! He hates most shoes. Not this pair, he begged me to wear them every day. Some days I gave in and some days I hid the shoes.
For the rodeo, I told him he could get real, cowboy boots. So I got him this nice pair. He loved them in the store (he usually does). When it came time to put them on and get out the door. It began. I'm pretty sure before we left Wyatt, myself, and probably even Chris were crying. It was a parenting FAIL with lots of screaming on everyone's part and finally ended with buckling a screaming 5 year old into his carseat, boots flying off in the back seat, and 20 more minutes of tantrum. I ended up telling Wyatt when we got there he had to wear them.... and he did. And this is what he looked like...
After Wyatt got boots that day, Kenley had to have a pair of her own. We found her some cute pink ones. She loves them, as she loves all shoes. She will wear shoes too big, too small, she does not discriminate when it comes to shoes. Thank the Lord. We can't handle 2 with shoe issues.
After the dinner we went to our seats that were right by the shoots, cowboys, clowns, and animals. It was perfect. The kids were in awe the entire time.
The cowboy kept pulling the horse right up to the railing and letting the kids pet it.
Early on in the evening we put Wyatt's name in the drawing to Muttin' Bust. Out of all the kids that entered, 8 got to do it, and Wyatt was one of them!!! It was so exciting. This experience was one of my proudest Mommy moments. He wasn't really sure what he was getting into so I know he was a little nervous, but trying not to show it. They gathered the parents and kids, we signed liability papers (uh oh), they explained what we were going to do, and then off we went for them to suit the kids up. They put vests and helmets on the them. Now, the kids were nervous and excited, they've been put in armor suits, so what do they do... start bumping into each other, wrestling, and goofing around. So cute! These little boys and girls felt like stars! The kids had to walk back to the shoots and the parents walked onto the arena. I was SO proud of Wyatt for going and not getting scared.
Here he is walking up the steps to the top of the shoot. Then they announce the child's name and city over the loudspeaker, the gate opens, and the sheep comes running out. Eventually (like after a 2 seconds!) the kiddo falls under the sheep and the sheep (who is bigger than what I expected) tramples over the kiddo, and...
Then this little cowboy jumps up, throws his arms up in the air, and runs over to us for high fives! He loved it! And we were so proud of how brave he was.
The kids got trophies and everything! And to top off the night, that cowboy behind Wyatt in this picture came over and congratulated him and called him a cowboy!
It was such a fun night and perfect party to celebrate Ashley. I think it might need to be a yearly tradition. Both big kids are already asking when we get to go back.
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