Livestock Show: Part II

The next VERY important and altogether most enjoyable event of the evening had to be Sadie's first ride on a real pony! Costing $6.00 to ride, Granddaddy quickly offered to pay, as his exact words were, "I will pay to see this. One way or another, it'll sure be interesting!" We didn't know if Sadie would love it or be absolutely terrified so we paid our money and took our chances. After waiting patiently in line for what I'm sure felt like eternity for Sadie, a nice man came up and hoisted her onto a pony. They strapped her in (sort of?) and I pointed out where she should grab the saddle. I walked with her only a couple of steps then held my breath and stepped back to watch. My toddler daughter realized in a matter of moments that she was doing it all by herself and her curiosity transformed to beaming joy and pride as she shouted, "LOOOOOK! SADIE RIDE A PONY! LOOK GRANDDADDY! HI MOMMY! HI DADDY! SADIE RIDE A PONY!!!!" (I am still unsure if my overcapitalizing can come close to conveying her excitement at that moment.) It was awesome. Granddaddy said it was the best $6.00 he ever spent at the rodeo and considering you can barely get a drink for that amount - I believe it. 

After ponies, we moved onto the chickens and took our turn checking out the cows. Sadie was entirely impressed with the cows. Too big? Too stinky? Too still? Maybe all of the above. She did, however, enjoy getting to pet the cow of a nice gentleman who paused and invited her. 

As much as Sadie loved the animals and pony rides, we are not sure that she will be enrolling in 4H anytime soon as she absolutely did not like getting poo poo on her boot. We were almost out of the "cow aisle" when Sadie stepped right into it. She stopped and looked at me as if to say, "What the heck?!" She then told me, "Mommy! Poo Poo! Off! Off PEEEEASE!" I stopped and did my best to clean it (thank you wipes, you are always a life-saver) as several of the 4H and high school Ag. families giggled at the sight of a clearly "city toddler" stressing over a little cow manure. I think their exact words were, "Well, you're an official cowgirl now!" 

After cleaning off the poo poo (and before a much-needed nap) we let Sadie exert the last bit of her energy on the wonderful playground display. It didn't take 5 minutes to realize this company must be rolling in the rodeo dough with all these kids instantly loving their product. Beautiful sets, Sadie enjoyed climbing the ladder, steering a wheel, and sliding down the giant yellow slide. She must have gone done the slide at least 40 times before we were able to convince her it was time for some food and a rest (a.k.a. nap time!). I would loooove for the playground fairy to drop one of these right in my backyard. So much fun!

After waking up from a great nap, Sadie went out to the front and made a smashed penny. Gammy helped her turn the crank and she enjoyed seeing the picture of a cowboy hat pressed into the copper. I would love to gather these from a host of visits and make a necklace or bracelet out of them one day. Cool idea, right? Now to find where they all landed after our visits...

Another fun adventure was eating Dippin' Dots and riding the escalator. A favorite pastime of Sadie's, she is an escalator-riding champion. Everyone took a turn as Sadie enjoyed shouting "Hiiiiiiiiii!" to anyone who was waiting for her at the bottom.

One of our favorite shops is the one where they make furniture out of cypress wood. Beautiful pieces, Sadie enjoyed sitting in her own seat so much that we had to be quite creative in moving onto another shop so that she wouldn't scare away new customers. She was convinced the swing chair on the left must have been created just for her, and who could argue with her, she does look awful cute curled up next to Daddy on the double seat swing!

We saw a million stuffed animals and shops, but after trying on hats and racing with stick horses, Gammy and Granddaddy found the perfect present for Sadie - some new pink cowgirl boots! Her first real cowgirl boots, to be exact. She was thrilled. She loves shoes and once she slipped these on, she was off! Her little stretch Levis with pink stitching fit snug inside the boot and she was an adorable sight to behold traipsing off to the next adventure of the day.

Intrigued as anyone might be who has never driven before, Sadie loved the car and tractor exhibits. She got behind the wheel of several different models and enjoyed playing make-believe as we all rode as her passengers. Hard to believe she will one day be a teenager with her very own license! 

A meaningful gift for me, Granddaddy and Gammy had me pick out a beautiful piece of jewelry (as a special gift for my upcoming 30th birthday) from a custom designer in from New York. His pieces were unusual and gorgeous and all made of exquisite metals and gems. I decided on a gorgeous and large oxidized silver ring. Inside the metal is a little bird on a branch looking up at the night sky made of oxidized silver, a pearl moon, and solitary crystal star. The jeweler said it was one of his favorite from his collection and he only brings a handful of each ring to each show so it is an unusual piece too. Sadie loved looking at the ring and I cannot wait to wear it as a special gift for my upcoming 30th birthday!

The artist was very kind and agreed to take a quick photo with me!

Before heading out, we decided to ride the big carousel. Granddaddy and Daddy looked on and videotaped as Gammy, Sadie, and I jumped onto an animal and waited to ride. After riding the pony, Sadie scared me to death with her glowing independence wanting to ride by herself. I kept holding her back as she kept insisting, "No, Mommy! Sadie ride a horsey!" Ahhhhhh! So I sat on the horse next to her and tried to stay her back as often as I could (when she wasn't aware) as the carousel circled considerably faster than any ride ever taken at the children's section of the zoo!

Sadie had a great night and when she got home put her PJs on and posed for one last picture with her bear. We were surprised she was even able to go to sleep from all the excitement and know she must have had wonderful dreams of chickens, pony rides, and poo poo-free boots that night. Yee haw and here's to next year!