Friday we went to Fort Worth to visit the Stockyards and watch the cattle drive. I LOVE the Fort Worth Rodeo in January, but it was a great day to just look at the stuff that there is to see in the stockyards themselves. Yee haw!
We watched the cattle drive.
The girls sat on a gen-you-wine longhorn.
Then they saddled up on some ponies: Ghost, Cocoa, and Clyde.
Then we took the "Stand by your pony like that was the most fun ride ever!" shots.
A big chunk of time was spent doing the cattlepen maze. I'm sure I don't need to remind you how I feel about mazes and the anxiety that they provoke inside of me. I didn't want anyone to do the maze. But EVERYONE wanted to do it. So I let them go right on ahead. And I watched.
Here they are gettin' their directions.
"Work through the maze and find the letters M-A-Z-E. The letters are randomly scattered throughout the maze. At each letter, there will be a hole punch. Punch your card. Once you've found all the letters. Find your way out."
Simple enough, right?
Here's just part of this ridiculous labyrinth of dead ends.
I took pictures as I could find my family from the observation deck.
When they initially went in the maze, Jason told Jack and Sarah to "take off", and they went running around without Jason or Caroline. I was so tense about that. I asked if he thought that was a good idea. I could see them getting frustrated and unable to find their way out or find their dad. But he seemed to think it was fine.
Then came the field trip of about 50 5th graders. Running. Screaming. Knocking people down. That was a fun addition to this nightmare of a maze.
The big kids found their way out pretty quickly... but they didn't hole punch their cards. See, the letters are hidden at certain dead ends. So you have to intentionally go the wrong ways in search of letters. It's more than just finding your way out.
They were sent back in to find the letters.
Jason was holding Caroline. Jack and Sarah looked like they wanted to kill each other. Good times.
It took them 40 minutes to get out. It felt like 40 hours. And I was just watching.
But, on a happier note... They got prizes for finishing. Vampire teeth.
The rest of the day was eating lunch and doing some shopping. The kids got lollipops the size of their faces, and we headed back home.
The weather was beautiful. The day was fun.
I really love Fort Worth... and I can't wait to go back for the rodeo and watch the real cowboys ride! :)
Although watching the kids ride these coin-operated horses was good too.
