Ella at her first rodeo!!

Hello my little cowgirl,
What an exciting weekend you had!!

Friday night, Mommy and Daddy did something they had not done in a loooong time. Get a full night's sleep? Ha ha. No! (and just kidding, we always get a full night's sleep with YOU because you looove to sleep!) No, we went see a band in concert. Mommy bought daddy tickets in December for his birthday to see his favorite band Big Head Todd at the House of Blues in Houston. It's a brand new House of Blues, and I think we figured out that we had not seen a band since we had been married (which being the music lovers that we are, we should be ashamed!)

Anyway, YOU went to your next-door neighbor Auntie Necoy, Auntie Tina and Auntie Tiffany's house. Mommy and daddy had a blast at the concert, and you had a blast keeping those ladies company!! On top of that, you slept all night without coughing that night! Your getting better! Yay!

Saturday, we all went to the Houston Livestock and Rodeo with our friends Kurt, Robin and Dean. The Rodeo is really big in Houston each year - maybe comparable to the Jazz Fest in New Orleans? It takes place in downtown Houston in the parking lot around the Reliant Center, Astrodome, and Reliant Center. In fact, we parked on the grassy lot that used to be Astroworld (VERY DEPRESSING!) The rodeo lasts from March 3-22. There's a huge carnival, TONS of Texas BBQ, major authetic Texas shopping, and well FARM ANIMALS!!

Yes, right there inside the Reliant Center were cows, sheep, chickens, pigs, and many other animals. It was sooo neat.

You could walk down rows and rows of giant pigs and cows. There were educational booths of everything from how to milk a cow (with demonstrations) to watching baby chicks hatch to seeing newborn piglets and lambs to taking a picture on a longhorn. I mean, there were some serious animals in there (and it didn't stink either!!) Inside, there was also shopping. Every kind of country booth you could think of. They sold lots of rhinestone clothing, belts, cowboy hats, leather, cow-hide rugs, and turquoise jewelry. It was such a culture lesson for me!!

Outside, there was a kiddie land with hands-on things for them to do. You were a bit young, but in years to come, you are gonna LOVE IT. We saw Swifty the Pig-Racing Swine in the pig races. And there was a huge carnival with every ride you could ever imagine. The food ranged from bbq brisket sandwiches to roasted corn on the cob to Texas-sized turkey legs, sausage on a stick and giant barrels of sweet tea. It was just a blast! There are also concerts (at night, I guess?) - this year some of the artists are Reba, Jonas Bros, Toby Keith, ZZ Top, etc. We didn't do the concert thing though.

And in the evening, there's a rodeo apparently at the arena, but we were pooped and you are still a little young for that. But you had sooo much fun! Mommy layered on the sunscreen because the weather was gorgeous!! What a fun day and experience for us all. We will definitely be back again next year.

You and Dean had such a great time. This was our last photo of the night. I believe the two of you are sitting on the exact location of where the Viper roller coaster used to be at Astroworld.

Love,

Mommy