This strange place that we live

This past weekend we all went to the Houston Rodeo Parade, which is one of the official events to kick off the Houston Rodeo.  Cowboys and cowgirls of all ages converge in downtown Houston for a parade.  There are horses, wagons, floats, bands, and lots of #2 everywhere, which Samuel thought was funny!

The parade is the culmination of the Trail Ride which lasts about a week.  The Trail Ride is a bunch of different groups of cowboys/girls who ride and camp their way to Houston.  The groups come from all over the area, but basically from a 60 mile radius of the city.  On Friday night (Go Texan Day) they camp in Memorial Park.  Then, Saturday is the parade.

All the kids loved the parade, even Elena.  It was quite a sight for all of us to see.  Some of the horses pranced, some walked, and some danced...yes danced.  There were wagons and one was even built in 1899 (yes, I typed that correctly!).  We saw many different types of boots, shirts and jeans and it all screamed cowboy/girl!

I think the entire event is quite fascinating.  Houston is the 4th largest city in the US.  No other city close to the size of Houston holds a Rodeo, a parade, and all the other things that go along with a rodeo.  It is very exciting that Drew and I can expose our children to this totally different way of life.  A way of life that is really no farther than an hours drive from our house...at the most one hour!  We are quite blessed that we can have a small world feeling in our big world city!