Our third Stick Horse Rodeo

On Saturday, January 26th, Ezra was the last of our family to compete in the Stock Show's Stick Rodeo. After this year he'll be too big!

We only discovered it three years ago so it's a bummer we never had Evie in there too. But since Samuel won two years ago and Ezra won last year, we probably shouldn't complain. 

We were a little worried he would win again this year since that costume is awfully lucky, but he didn't. 

Best buddies.

Getting in line.

There were lots and lots of tots!

I zoomed in on Terry and his parents across the way. Shari and her crew couldn't come this year due to Upward basketball, which was a bummer. 

Lined up for the anthem.

Ezra kept putting his horse in the air and before long all the boys were doing it. They'd also dig in the sawdust with the sticks. Boys are funny. 

Barrel racing.

Those rodeo queens are so much help. None of the kids know what to do. 😂

Video footage

Pole bending.

He fell down once, which was quite cute. But really it was because his boots are like two or three sizes too big. Ha! They're all we have.

Pole bending video.

Terry stayed until Ezra just finished up because he had to go to the mall for a mission trip. He's organized these in-town mission trips for an opportunity to have spiritual conversations and share the gospel. Noah's gone with him twice!

Waiting to be released for the free-style portion where they just run wild. 

Off he goes, clomping around in those huge boots, the poor boy.

So cute.

They didn't even play music this year!

Afterwards we went to the petting zoo per usual.

Samuel attempting to pet a sheep who was so much like Luna.

Adorable little lambs!

The escalator is the high point of the kids' year. See what I did there? 😂 Unfortunately, the cousins weren't there, and neither was Evie, and they're the ones who get the most excited. She had a birthday party to go to. 

This was by far the coolest display at the Stock Show. SDSU put it on. Not sure what they use it for, but it was like an interactive topographic map displayed on sand. You could manipulate the sand; dig in it for water and build it up for mountains. 

Huge tractor = Grampa eye candy. From there we went to pick up Evie and eat at Culvers altogether. 

the big and little

Noah was taking a break from school a couple Mondays ago and Ezra decided to tackle him. Ezra is always doing that if someone is lying down - he's pretty ferocious. 

Cute boys. Short post.

Samuel and Ezra playing

Ezra got up from his nap a little early during school a couple weeks ago. So I brought him down to the school room to hang out until we finished. Samuel was glad to have someone to play/wrestle with. Ezra likes to play with faces.

Pinned him again. 

And Noah and Evie couldn't resist watching them even though they were supposed to be doing school. They are quite cute after all.

Noah and Ezra playing

Noah sure loves Ezra. He always wants to kiss him goodnight before any and every nap and is sad if I won't let him (b/c I've nearly got Ezra in bed). Lately, because Ezra is growing up so fast, Noah has been saying, "I sure am going to miss his baby face." 

Two weekends ago while we were all watching America's Funniest Videos, Ezra came up to Noah to play. I'm gonna miss his baby face too!!

Then a week ago during breakfast Noah just had to "play with"/encumbrance/annoy Ezra with a blanket. 

There's the annoyance.

Noah flying Ezra

The kids are especially fond of seeing Ezra fly, like here and here. Noah just figured out how to make it  happen without being dependent upon me. He does it himself. I had to grab the camera when he demonstrated his technique. No upper body strength? No problem. He just uses his legs. 

He sure loves his baby brother.

Samuel shares

Samuel is not one for sharing, the little fluffy haired toddler punk ;). That's why I was so impressed when he went over to Ezra of his own volition and shared his sippy cup. I thought it was so sweet. Of course, Ezra is not ready for cow's milk but all he did was chew on the spout and swallow some Samuel germs.

Samuel's turn! The back and fourth of the sippy cup happened many times. Ezra's like, "Now hold on a minute, I wasn't finished with that!"

Having been satisfied with the cuteness and the amount of saliva swapped, I went and got Ezra his own chew toy sippy cup. They both look like they're saying "Cheese" when in fact only one of them was. 

More cuteness. "Here brother, let me squish your face." 

tickle toes

Samuel has been mostly pretty good with Ezra. There was an incident last week where Samuel was offering Ezra one of his toys and upon grabbing it, Samuel yanked it away from him. Little punk got in trouble for that one. But when I saw Samuel freely offering his toes to Ezra for his entertainment, I had hope these boys could grow into buddies.

Sharp Samuel

The Sunday before Christmas I thought it would be nice for Samuel to dress up. Then I remembered this old 3T suit of Noah's in the closet that Samuel hadn't worn yet. How sharp does he look?

Since he had some bed hair Terry wet it down and attempted to tame it. You know, make it lay down. But, just like Harry Potter, that's impossible. He's SO cute!

Like I said, this suit first belonged to Noah. HOW CUTE WAS NOAH?! GAH!

This photo is from February 2, 2008, when we lived in the parsonage in Gothenburg before Evie was even born. Seems like it never happened! Though I had this photo framed on our wall for a long time.  

brothers in a blanket

Apparently, Samuel likes to snuggle with his brother and sister under blankets. Especially after breakfast when all the milk makes Noah cold. Really, Samuel just likes to be included, or be the main attraction, in anything Noah and Evie are doing. They are too cute.

brothers

I'm not sure where this photo came from, but I like it. I think Terry must have taken it about a week ago, right before Noah's haircut. Samuel's was cut about a month ago. Just today a stranger remarked how Samuel was having a crazy hair day. Yeah, Harry Potter hair every single day. Like he just got off a broomstick. Love it. And love my boys!

noah's pictures #4

Perhaps I should try to make money from Noah's photography skills. Because he's pretty fantastic.

Here's the boy behind the magic.

I think Noah captured Samuel's cowlick quite well. And his interest in cars.

Cheeks! "How do I roll his car down this thing?"

noah's pictures #3

Noah really enjoys taking pictures - especially of his baby brother. And I let him. Sometimes. I'll admit that most of the time I just don't want to sift through all the blurry ones. But afterwards I'm always glad I did because he gets some of the most unique shots.

For instance, here's Noah looking down on Samuel. You can see how long his hair has grown. How can I cut it?!

Samuel is fond of laying around on stuff. His favorite is pillows but anything will do.

Laying in the kitchen looking at brother. See, another good shot!

Cute little feet. Like I think of taking a photo of Samuel's feet.

The sun highlighting his cute little fuzzy headed cowlick.

"Whatcha doing brother?"

Hair on fire.

"Can I come down too?"

Too too cute.