Rodeo Fever

Well it is rodeo time again in Houston. Growing up I loved going to the rodeo. My mom and I were talking the other day about the first Houston rodeo we ever went to as a family. I was convinced it was Crosby, Still and Nash. After some thinking and discussing we figured out that it was Bruce Hornsby and the Range. Not at all the same, but nonetheless not a country performer. My parents did not grow up listening to country music. It wasn't until later that they started taking us to the country performances. I've seen many a concert at the good ole Astrodome over the years. The ones I can remember would be, Bruce Hornsby, Don Henley, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Clint Black, Kenny Chesney, Phil Vassar. In junior high I had a major crush on Garth Brooks. My room decor was Garth. Well he never came to the rodeo. One year he decided to come. The tickets were impossible to get. My mom, being the wonderful mom that she is, tried everything she could to get tickets for me. It was getting close the concert and as far as I was concerned I was not going to the concert and was pretty sad about it. Then several weeks before the performance, my mom's friend won tickets over the radio. So with the extra tickets that she had she brought me with her. It was the best concert. Garth Brooks is really a very entertaining performer.

Since we've lived in Abilene I haven't been able to make it back to Houston for many rodeo shows. So this year, now that we were back in H-Town, we decided we would have to go. So we went with some friends from church on opening night to see George Strait. I don't know if many of you out there have seen George in concert, but he is not the most entertaining performer ever. But, he is just so classic that you just have to love him. We enjoyed the concert. We wished he would have played a few more songs that we knew but overall the concert was fun.


Then last night I took my mom for her birthday to see John Fogerty. I did not know what to expect going to this concert, but we really had a good time. (My precious husband explains this concert in detail, you can click here to read that story.) Here is a picture of me, mom, my grandma and my sister.

Really the best part of the rodeo is the actual rodeo itself. All of the events are just so amazing. What we think is such a good ride might get a terrible score because of technical things. There is so much to each event. But my very favorite event to watch, and it has always been since I was a kid, is the calf scramble. They bring about 25 high school FFA kids out there and they let loose about 10 calves. The kids have to run after the calves. Once they catch one, they have to put the rope around it's ears and neck and bring it into this square that's marked out in the center of the arena. If they get a calf in there they get to keep the calf and they get $1000. Then they raise the calf and bring it back the next year to show. It's a fun competition to watch and it's a neat thing for these kids.

So overall the rodeo has been going well this year. I was really hoping for a performance from Rascal Flatts. They are my fave and did not come this year. I was pretty disappointed. We may score some more tickets for a 3rd show. We'll have to see!