500 Babies: 500 Babies Return (to the Rodeo)

Hi. (Clearing cobwebs and blowing dust off of blog).

So........... there are quite a few reasons I haven't blogged in a few months: some complicated and others really quite simple, like a 17-month-old munchkin who has an affinity for shutting down the computer whenever I'm in the middle of working on it.

However, I think I'm back. I want to be back. I hope I'm back! Yet, I make no promises...

Anyway, it was four years ago that Billy and I brought the kiddos to the rodeo for the first time. They were 4 months-, 6 months-, and 18 months-old at the time and here's a fun fact for you: it was actually the first time I recall uttering the phrase "500 babies", as in, "We're NEVER going to make it to the rodeo on time because we have 500 babies to get ready." It literally took us HOURS to gather and pack all the gear and get the babies ready. And as I recall once we finally got to the rodeo Mikea had an epic meltdown in the parking lot and Billy and I looked at each other and questioned whether we were just plain foolish for thinking it was possible to take that many babies out somewhere. But after all the time and effort we'd already invested up to that point, we decided to just plow forward and hope for the best. And you know what? I'm glad we did and we haven't looked back since.

All right, off we go to Rodeo 2012!

The traditional pre-rodeo group shot:

Our trio enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of the "radio", according to them.

And our little dynamic duo doing the same.

Posse up!

Waiting for a picnic lunch with deep stares...

charming smiles....

and brotherly love.

This year the kids learned how to get honey off of a bee rack. (I don't remember what it's called, but "bee rack" sounds pretty good to me so I'm going to go with that.)