The Night We Almost Went to the Rodeo

So...we almost went to the rodeo tonight. But here's what happened instead.

The day started out normal for me, but trouble was already brewing with Clarke's parents, who were going to come with us (along with his sister and her husband).

Clarke's dad left their house at 4:30 this morning to go to Denton for a photography job. His mom discovered while she was getting ready for work that all of the water had stopped working at their house. Then, on her way to work, she got a flat tire.

I took the kids to my Bible study today and had a normal morning and afternoon, except for the fact that Arden didn't take a nap. I knew she was going to be so tired and cranky, but there was nothing I could do.

We were supposed to all meet at a restaurant at 5:30, and as I was getting the kids ready to leave, I decided it would be a good idea to have Huston wear his cowboy hat for a picture.

He hates pictures and hats. I don't know why I though I could reason with him. There was much screaming and crying that could have been avoided if I hadn't insisted on a picture.

(This was his best attempt at a smile)

I was all worked up by the time I left the house with the kids at 5 (mostly mad at myself for the picture taking fiasco). Then I ran into bad rush hour traffic, which got much, much worse when I got to this dumb construction zone on a bridge that is the bane of my existence. After waiting for forever, I had to turn around and go another way, and what should have been a 20 minute trip ended up taking an hour. While we're in traffic, Arden is crying in the back, "I'm tired! I'm not tired!" She finally fell asleep for the last ten minutes. I called Clarke to say I was running late, and he was also running late, as was his mom (from the same traffic). To top it off, his dad was still in Denton on his job, and he had our tickets to the rodeo with him.

We finally all got to the restaurant at 6 (minus his dad), managed to find a table and eat, and then we left to go to the stock show and see the animals while we waited for his dad who thought he'd be able to make it in time for the rodeo at 7:30. On our way over to the stock show, Melinda got a call on her cell phone that her dear friend's granddaughter has RSV.

We got to the entrance, and I handed the guy the voucher I printed off online, which, in conjunction with our museum membership card, was supposed to get us into the stock show for free. The guy starts giving me a hard time because the back of my membership card shows an expiration date of 12/31/11, even though my parents got us a renewal for Christmas, and I renewed it at the museum and they told me I would maybe get a new card in the mail, but I could just keep using my old card because they put it in the computer. He doesn't seem to believe me, and I'm about to lose my temper because I cannot believe all the things that have gone wrong.

That's when Arden starts throwing up.

And I catch it in my hand.

And then she throws up some more in the grass.

And we decide we're not going to stay for the rodeo, and when Huston hears this he starts to fall to pieces.

Thankfully, he is appeased when we tell him he can play Halo with Daddy when he gets home (that is a story for another day).

Now Arden is resting and seems okay, and Huston and Clarke have played Halo and Clarke is getting Huston ready for bed (which, for some reason, always involves lots of tickling and giggling and takes far longer than when I do it, but sounds like much more fun for Huston).

And that...is why we didn't make it to the rodeo.

There's always next year.