Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Bust that mutton.

Lest you think my poor children had to spend all of their Spring Break with a morose mother who was consumed by thoughts of addiciton/adoption related anxiety, let me assure you: WE HAD FUN Y'ALL.


We went to the RODEO!

Boy howdy, as a native of the North East nothing makes me happier than the annual opportunity for our whole family to don western wear and gorge ourselves on fair food. This year there was red velvet funnel cake. RED VELVET FUNNEL CAKE PEOPLE.

For the past two years the main draw to the rodeo for my littles has been the opportunity to participate in a real-live-actual-honest-to-goodness rodeo event: MUTTON BUSTING. Now those of you who don't live in my state, who hail from my homeland, are probably thinking "Say what now?" (Except for my friend and former classmate who is now a real-life barrel racer! HI DEBBIE!)

Allow me to explain: mutton busting is like PBR for the elementary school set. Children between the ages of 5 and 7 are clad in protective head/chest gear, placed on top of a large sheep, instructed to "bear hug" the wooly beast and released into the arena. The children cling with all their might to the sheep for as long as they can, tumble into the sawdust and then get scooped up by a rodeo clown. The kid with the highest score wins and gets to kiss the rodeo queen.

Are you unsure whether to call PETA or Child Protective Services first?
It's cuuutttteeee you guys, for real.
And my kids freakin' LOVE it.

Miss A competed last year and was determined to better her prior score this go 'round. Here she is squeezing her sheep as hard as she can. She had a brilliant ride up until the sheep took a header trying to shake her off and rolled on top of her. She jumped right up and stomped to the other end of the arena. I could practically see her shaking her fist at that durn sheep. Her score was third highest.
Sweet Bubs had his inaugural ride this year, and he spent weeks developing strategies for  how best to win. He decided he would try to win the sheep over by telling it how much he loved it, how cute it was, what a good sheep it was--all while pretending he was a sloth with super-grip powers. Works for me kid.

Sweet Bubs' ride was pretty great too. His sheep tried to shake him off by rubbing up against other sheep.

In the end some kid named David with a giant belt buckle won. Whatever, David.


But the kids still got to meet the rodeo queen!

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