Rodeo!

It's a tradition for my parents to take their grandboys to the Houston Rodeo every year. Hudson and Cooper are getting so big that each year is more fun (for the grownups!) than the years before.

Hudson and Lolli

Cooper adores his cousin. We love any chance we get to spend with Hudson! (This one will be in a frame in his room!)

Inside the stock show, the rabbits were the big hit this year. The signs made me laugh "Rabbits may bite. Imagine how grumpy you'd be if 10,000 people poked you!"

Cooper is now asking for a pet 'wabbit'.

Or a goat.

Oh pweese, Mommy.

Pop secured his place as the favorite with the key to the Bates boys' hearts - cotton candy!

All boy ferris wheel ride

These pictures crack me up. The boys would go between being nervous and clinging to the seat bar and silly, making all sorts of funny faces.

Rides! The best part!

I got to ride the spinning dragon with my two favorite boys!

And the slide... what a ride!

And the superman!

Hudson's favorite part was the game section. He's so competitive and wants to win that big prize. He must be a Bates!

Fun times were had by all!

Next year we're gearing up for the evening rodeo and concert. Looking forward to it~

Hello Spring!

Bike Wash

Open for Business:

Bike Wash (for scooters and trikes, too)

You can expect nothing less than the best for your bike! Diligent workers to scrub and polish your bike until it looks like new.

And free curb watering for the entire neighborhood!

Quick Trip to Cowtown

Cooper and I make frequent day trips to Fort Worth to visit his special doctor. Once a month or so, we load up the car and make the nearly 4 hour trek to Cowtown. It's a loooong day, but we try to make it like a little vacation! Usually we walk the campus of TCU and browse through the bookstore, snag an ice cream or snow cone at our local favorite places (depending on the season!) and try to squeeze in a visit with friends. We were so lucky to coordinate this visit not only with Spring Break, but also with the birthday party of one of our favorite people, O! Sarabeth's little boy turned 2 and we were thrilled to celebrate with them. I can't believe how fast he's grown!

Although I didn't get ANY photos of the party - yikes! - I snapped a few as we were coming and going. Sara held his party at the church school where she teaches and it was absolutely beautiful! I couldn't help but take a few photos as Cooper paused to write his name on O's birthday card on the way in.

Coop had a great time playing at the party. He was beyond excited with his parting gifts of balloons and a train whistle! Mom should win an award for driving the longest distance with obstacles (balloons floating in and out of your face while a train whistle blows steady as rain in the backseat) WITHOUT losing her sanity!

Sara is due in a few weeks with a little girl - I can't wait to make another trip to Fort Worth to celebrate another very special birthday soon!

Back to the Zoo

Thanks to the best Christmas present ever (thanks for the zoo membership D and G!), Cooper and I were able to return to the Houston Zoo to say a quick "hello" to all of our favorite animals. It's always entertaining to watch his faces through my camera lens.

Cooper was NOT going to smile next to this komodo dragon, no matter how much prompting I did. "Too scary, Mom."

Oh, he's stuck behind the glass. Now I can relax a little!

Cooper spent his "allowance" on riding the carousel (and some pink cotton candy, as you'll see later!)

Apparently the birds were a little stinky. I laughed OUT LOUD as we walked through entire areas of the zoo with Cooper holding his nose. It reminds me of something I would do!

(I love this picture of Cooper with the seal statue. He is notoriously scared of statues and rarely wants to cooperate with my ideas for a photo with any kind of monument. I have no idea why he asked for a picture with this seal... but I'll take it!)

We've been watching this dorky show on National Geographic Channel called Zoo Confidential that's shot behind the scenes at the Houston Zoo. The episode we had just seen featured the lemurs and Cooper was thrilled to know their names!

This face says, Alright mom, I'm smiling. Take the picture and let's hit the African exhibit.

Love it.

The prairie dog tunnel is always a favorite spot. We limit our "experience" to 10 times through the tunnel. Sorry other customers.

I guess orange koi fish like cotton candy as much as orange-haired little boys!

We'll be back at the zoo again soon!