Stock Show

So last weekend my dad invited me and my sister and the kids to go to the Denver Stock Show. I thought this would be a good experience for the kids .. to see some cowboys and some animals. Getting ready that morning was MISERABLE. Eli: "I don't want to see any stupid animals".. Jackson: "why do we have to go to this dumb 'stalk' show anyway"... Hayley "well, I'm not getting out of the car. Like I really want to go and get all that stinky smell in my nose".

Lovely. It was going to be a wonderful family outing.

We picked up my dad and my sister and finally get there an hour later. Remember we went on a Sat along with all of Colorado and their cowboy brothers and sisters. We had to do some walking from the parking lot to the ticket center. More standing in line for the tickets. More complaining in line waiting for the tickets. Loud complaining. Cowboys were around us taking note. Did you know there are pink cowboy hats?

We all ended up spending most our time in one building. The first stop was the 'petting the animals' section. We were all in this pen with 50 other kids running around us. I just was imagining being one of these poor creatures getting mauled all day. Did they really like that?

This was actually my favorite part. There was this huge llama in there that I followed around. My sister took pictures of me with this very cool animal. It was taller than me. I had no idea they were so big. Eyelashes for miles. He was also really aggressive. Don't bother him if you didn't have food. Anyone with food around him .. be prepared to have it jerked out of your hand. Fascinating. Loved it. My sister was terrified we were going to get spit on. Not me. Just call me the llama whisperer.

All the while my dear children .."let's get OUT of here mother". You know when they use the word 'mother', they mean business. I wanted to stay and chat more with the llama but the kids wouldn't let me. We had to quickly get out of there so we could continue to walk around looking at tractor parts, leather goods, hats, yarn, trailers for animals and purses made from animal hair. Foreign things. Of no interest to my kids.

More complaining.

Downstairs we walked through rows upon rows of cows. Fluffy cows. Cows being blow dried. Did you know there is cow-tail hairspray?? I had no idea cowboys spent so much time on making a cow beautiful for a 'show'. Weird. Aren't we just going to eat them anyway?

We made our way outside (yes, fresh air) for the most exciting part to my children. Tent after tent of over-priced food. To keep them motivated we ate lunch. $20 slices of pizza hit the spot.

Back to the stalls to see the horses. (Hayley's favorite part ... this is when she stopped complaining) OH and bulls. They shine their horns AND paint their hoofs shiny black. Not to mention we watched one of the cowboys clean their fur with simple green!

Some of the horses had their manes curled .. like tight little curls.. so that the mane around their face looked, well, really ridiculous in my opinion. Reminded me of a gang banger minus the gold tooth. Whatever, I hope they got a blue ribbon for that one.

After about 2 hours the kids wishes came true and we left. It was a learning experience for me. I thought it was going to be for the kids too. I guess I learned we won't ever go back to a Stock Show. I am glad we went though. It was fun being there with my sister. My nephew Enoch loved every second. Funny, I don't remember that 2 year old complaining not once. Well, except when we walked out the door he started crying because we were leaving. How funny! Everyone in tears but for very different reasons.

Oh wait. Hayley just reminded me about the BEST part of the day. As we were leaving, walking back to the parking lot I noticed a little boy holding a stuffed animal doing the 'panic looking around for mom and dad' look. All the sudden he freaks out and bolts into traffic. I ran after him yelling. It was so sad. He was scared. Jake was his name and he was 4 years old. I took his hand and did the survey of the crowd. There were absolutely no panicked parents calling for him. We finally took him to the ticket counter and security took over from there. I watched as his dad found him, hugged and asked (calmly) 'where did you go'?? It was then I realized that no wonder there were no frantic screams for him. He was just with his dad. I guess dad's don't do the freaking out yelling that mom's do.

So we all felt like super hero's leaving the show. You don't need to be a cowboy to save the day. Guess it was all worth it after all.

Now for some proof of our day ~

Jackson's expression says it all ...

My new buddy ...

Hayley with a normal looking horse

I mean, I really really liked him!

The 'llama whisperer'

A fluffy cow with his cowboy (check out that tail .. with the cow-tail spray)


and the bull getting cleaning with Simple Green.