yee haw!

we went to rodeo. my first time, and i dressed for the ocassion. but even with a cowboy hat, tight jeans, a nice big belt buckle, i still felt like an observer. what can i say, it's not my thing. don't get me wrong--the bull riding is amazing, mutton busting is hilarious, the horses are magnificent. but i'm not a fan of the calf roping. and, more importantly, i just do not understand these people. i've never understood that "man vs. nature" mentality that would have you conquer an animal. and when they opened the event by saying "we dedicate this to the firemen, policemen, and those great men fighting over seas, not to the politician or the activist!" (with disdain dripping from those last words), i couldn't help thinking that, although i too love this country and am honored by those who serve in uniform, i also have profound respect for "politicians" ie george washington, thomas jefferson, abraham lincoln, FDR, JFK--to name but a few. and i also can't imagine a world without "activists"--those who believe in a cause and, though not in uniform, fight for it--people like martin luther king jr and susan b. anthony. i don't think the announcer meant to demean the efforts of such great people, but it's just that mentality in general that i have a hard time with. a mentality that thinks the job of a rodeo clown is to make crude jokes about wives and mother-in-laws. it's just foreign to me.
BUT it was fun. a cultural experience, no doubt. and, who knows, if i had met a cowboy as cute as these two, i could very well be a cowgirl!

couldn't you just eat them?

first day of school

it's been a few weeks, but here's my big guy on his first day of kindergarten. isn't he handsome? he loves school. the other day i was taking him and his buddy carter to school. joshua gets more and more excited the closer we get, and then he just bursts out of the car once i stop. carter asks "joshua, WHY do you like school so much?" but joshua was already off, running to line up. maybe it has something to do with his mom and dad's love for school. although i'm sure it's mostly because of one of my favorite aspects of joshua's personality: he loves EVERYTHING. he'll try anything, go anywhere, be friends with anyone. he gets excited about everything and is always up for any kind of adventure. he never gets tired. what a guy!

and he's off...