Rodeo Austin 2018

I have so many memories from going to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo growing up. And most of those memories involved Clay Walker in concert. #legit Oh memory lane…

So when Cory’s mom said she’d be interested in going to the Austin Rodeo while they were still in town visiting, I jumped on looking into it – and before I knew it, we had 6 tickets to the rodeo! I was excited, because I’ve never been to the Austin Rode. But cue anxiety beyond belief taking an 11 month old to the rodeo…

We ultimately had a pretty good time! Were there moments when I wanted to pull my hair out? Oh my, yes! Was it difficult to keep a super active baby at bay all.day.long? You betcha. Were all six of us annoyed with someone/thing at one point or another? Oh yeah. But was it worth it? Absolutely.

We arrived at the fairgrounds at around 2pm and after driving what seemed like in circles (I’m seriously not kidding), we finally found a handicapped parking spot, as my sister and I arrived with Cory’s grandma. We waited for the rest of our crew: Cory, his parents, and Landon, and we headed into the park! Growing up, I don’t recall doing a lot of the shows, etc. inside the fairgrounds – my memories mostly consist of the pro rodeo events and then the concert afterwards…and now I might know why.

First of all, it’s HOT in Texas! This isn’t really news to anyone, but it’s worth mentioning because holy heatstroke. Okay, okay … it wasn’t “that” bad, but it was definitely enough to make some of that afternoon a little bit miserable.  Which is why going in the evening like right before the pro rodeo events start probably isn’t a bad idea!

Secondly, prices for anything and everything are h.i.g.h. You want a bottle of water? Then you’d better be prepared to fork over about $4. And that’s just water. But I must say as a caveat to this one, the burgers we had at the Austin Rodeo were BOMB! Seriously, it was about $10 for a burger, but it was seriously delicious and exactly what our stomachs needed after a looong day in the heat. The longer you’re at the rodeo, the more money you spend. Kind of a no-brainer, isn’t it?

Then there’s dealing with an 11 month old. He did pretty great for the most part, but he got pretty scared during the mutton bustin’ event. We went to watch all the kids ride sheep (seriously entertaining!) but Landon wasn’t feeling it. Cory stayed on the ground floor with him while my sister and I headed into the bleachers to watch from there. The next thing you know, I get a text message from Cory saying he was at the petting zoo with Landon and I kinda flipped out (because I thought I was missing out and wanted to be a part of all of Landon’s “firsts”). Yes, I’m THAT mom. And also, FOMO. You feel me? So that was a rocky start to the day, but after Cory and I discussed our miscommunication and understood each other, I learned that Landon was scared beyond consoling during the show. We don’t know if it was the large crowd, the noise, or what, but he wasn’t having it and nothing was calming him down. Thankfully, that was really the only “episode” he had and was much better the rest of the day. We even watched a few shows later in the afternoon, but I held Landon on my lap and it went over much better than him watching from the stroller. Thank the Lord!

Once the doors to the arena opened at 6pm, we headed over and grabbed our seats. After more misfortune (we didn’t have a handicap ticket for Cory’s grandma, only a regular ticket in which she couldn’t use because #stairs), seats were finalized and we sat to watch some rodeo action. Before this, Landon had only napped for about 20 minutes or so. He was so tired but wouldn’t give in to sleep all afternoon. So, he was a bit fussy and cranky. But kudos to our group because no one let that bother them (much) and we all still enjoyed ourselves.

Landon truly loved watching all of the cows and horses and my heart swooned. Yes, swooned, okay? I loved his eyes lighting up and being so enthralled in what was happening in the arena. Once he was so overtired that nothing would calm him down, we decided to head home and skip the concert. It’s what my baby needed and that’s what this mama was going to do! However, the noise/speakers were too much for grandma so she was ready to go. Therefore, Cory’s parents were set to take her home and offered to take Landon, too, so we could stay. At this point, it had been a long day and my sister was ready to head home as well. SO, it ended up being a date night for Cory and I!

Say what?! Yep, we got to watch Justin Moore in concert – just the two of us. Well, and thousands of other people, but we didn’t have to focus on a baby or other people in our group. We got to truly enjoy the concert and I am forever grateful. I didn’t realize just how much we needed some one-on-one time together, and it was very much appreciated!

Did the day turn out exactly as we had planned it? Definitely not! But it was a great day, nonetheless, and an experience I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. It was Landon’s first rodeo, and it for sure won’t be his last!