Rodeo Season

Still catching up....

The end of February and beginning of March mean only one thing in Houston . . . Rodeo.  I just love this time of year. We started off Rodeo season with Rodeo Round-up at Miles' school.  Pony rides, petting zoo, crafts and BBQ.  What else can you ask for?

 Miller with his buddy Katelyn from Pre-K 1.

 Then Miller had a Rodeo Dance at his school.  It was so cute watching them do all the dances they learned.  Miller's partner was Libby. Her mom said she was so excited when she got Miller as a partner.

 Chicken Dance

 Miller and his teacher Ms. Denise.  We just loved her!

 We took the boys to the Houston Rodeo Livestock Show and Carnival again this year and had so much fun!

 The big slide!

 After two years of chickening out, Miller decided he would do Mutton Bustin' this year.  If you aren't familiar with Mutton Bustin' it's a competition where children 5 & 6 years old ride/race sheep.  Here he is giving us the thumbs up right before his turn.

 Getting on his sheep.

 Holding on for his life.  He didn't make it but half way down the arena, before he started sliding to one side and fell off.

 He had so much fun and it's such a hoot to watch.  Here are all the kiddos that went with him getting their certificates.

 Roller Coaster with Daddy and loving every minute of it!

 I absolutely love this picture even though it's blurry.  I love that they both have their mouths open and are having the time of their life!  What's better than this?

After the carnival we took the boys to the big rodeo.  We only lasted about an hour but they had so much fun watching the bull and bronc riding.  This is what the boys looked like sitting in their seats with all the stuffed animals they had won playing games at the carnival. We did not help them win, they won all these on their own.

Argentina - Part 3: Iguazu Falls

 After a long day of flying, we arrived in Iguazu (on the border of Brazil). We actually stayed on the Brazil side at Hotel das Cataratas.

Our room.

 The pool.  Jud and Blake took a quick dip one day.

We climbed up to the top of the observation tower and this was our first view of the Iguazu Falls. There are 275 falls along the two miles on the Iguazu river. They are taller than Nigara Falls and twice as wide and also longer than the African Victoria Falls. Iguazu Falls were formed as a result of a volcanic eruption which left a large crack in the earth. The river runs down the border of Argentina and Brazil so 1/3 of the falls are on the Brazil side and 2/3 on the Argentina side.

  We then headed across the street to get a closer look. Our hotel is located in a national park which closes at 6pm so hotel guests basically have the park to themselves. We are in Brazil looking over to the falls on the Argentinian side.

Note: All the upcoming pictures of the falls just don't show the massive size, sound, spray and beauty that we experienced.  They only capture a small piece of God's creation that we witnessed.

 The next day we headed for a full day of experiencing the falls.  It started with a hike/walk on top of the falls on the Argentina side.  We immediately were greeted by these raccoon/opossum like animals called coatis. They were not shy and are very common in the area.  Our guide told us that some people have them as pets like a cat.

 The Argentinian government has built miles of walkways over the falls. It was such an amazing way to see them. Here is a view looking over a bridge on the top of one of the falls.

 It was not foggy, that's the spray from the falls.  It was also hot, muggy rain forest weather.

 Look a the observation deck on the other side.

Amazing!

This is really the only day that we saw wildlife.

 A huge catfish below us.

 Crocodile.

Here we are at Devil's Throat, the most impressive part of the falls.  We don't have many pictures here since it was so wet.  It was so loud we could hardly talk to each other.

On a whim we stopped to do a helicopter ride over the falls. Since I get super motion sick and didn't take a Dramamine prior, I decided not to go. My dad was nice to wait with me as I was a little worried if the helicopter went down and I was the only one in the family left (he also gets motion sick). It was Jud, Evan and Blake's first time to ride in a helicopter. Jud got to sit up front.

 It was a quick ride that circled the falls twice. The view as they were heading to the falls.  You can see our hotel just to the left of the falls.

 Devil's Gorge.

 Devil's Gorge is on the left.  If you look at the top of Devil's Gorge, you can see the bridge and observation deck we had just been on.

 They said it was an amazing experience to view the falls from above.

  We then headed back to the Brazil side. Here is Jud in two countries at the same time. 

 Once back in Brazil, we went on a speed boat ride to experience the falls from the water.  We even went under part of the falls. I was quite scared at the time (took my mind off of being seasick), but looking back it was super fun. 

We attempted to stay dry, but that was not possible. Drenched to the bone. Jud and I on the jeep ride back after the boat ride.

What an amazing trip of a lifetime!!!  Thanks mom and dad for awesome family trips and taking us to places we wouldn't be able to see without you!