Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

What a great day! The temple is closed for 2 weeks so off I go to see the one and only Houston Livestock Show but forget the rodeo. That part you had to pay extra for. I wanted to see the animals and they shows. I got there no problem just after it opened at 8:00am. The Livestock, most of them anyway, were in outer buildings. But the main exhibition hall had all kinds of booths and fair stuff to buy which I did. But there also was many of the steers if not all of them in the building. Lots of varieties, Brahmans, Angus, Aunju, Herferd and many others. But the best part was load in day for the hogs, and there were many. Lots of Durocs which was surprising. Crosses and Spotted and Chester or Landrace (they look alike). It was so good to smell pick again. I spent much of my time watching them walk in and all the tack the people brought in and I do mean lots. The minimum weight for hogs was 240 and max was 280 sell to 290. That is much higher than our hogs.
There was the lamb & goat auction after lunch so I had to see that. It was held in the sale arena on the other side of the NRG complex. Fortunately they had a tram to take us over and back. What an eye opener. They don't sell their livestock by weight but by dollar amounts. And they pull down some obnoxious prices. The Grand Champion lamb sold for $260,000. the Grand goat sold for $170,000. After about 60 or so animals came in they went to double lots. But they didn't bring the animals in. All kids in auction are guaranteed $1,000 from the fair fund. Soooo odd. Instead the kids stood there holding their ribbons. Very odd. What was very disappointing was the way the kids were dresses. These were FFA and $-h kids but none of them were dressed in their uniforms. They were in jeans and tennis shoes and not at all professional. I say if you're going to try and sell a product you dress appropriately. None of them were. And they brought all these other little kids and people up with them to try and milk the crowds. Not like what I am use to. But that's Texas and they don't dress for sales. I also went and watched the mule pull. A team of 2 mules pulls a platform weighted down. They have just a small amount of time to pull it as far as they can. It's so heavy they don't go very far. They pulled best when they pulled together. I ate beans and rice and funnel cake. Bought some fun things for my kids and grandkids and a new sweater for me. It was a great getaway day.

Lite crowds in the morning. By afternoon it was packed

 This is a steer squeeze for the bull riders

 Steers!

 See, not in uniform...

 Hogs!!!

 I liked the coloring on this cross

 Hog Tack

 Panels for the pens. All pens are cut in half - Hogs can stand up and sit down, that's it!

 Champion meat goat $170,000. Still no one dressed...

 You can see the big buyers up close and personal

 Grand Champion lamb $260,000. Owner gets $50,000 - rest to fair fund

 Need I say more about their unprofessional attire

 It's a big arena - auctioneers sit nice and high

 And this was the Grand Champion Steer - only $300,000. Quite a come down from the lamb. the steer cost her $30,000 plus $2,500 for feed. she gets to keep $70,000. The rest goes to fair fund

 Mini mule pull

Lots and lots of fair stuff!!!

Quick Visit Home to Las Vegas

Lucky me!!! I was able to take a quick weekend trip home to Las Vegas to visit Toni, Trevor and Sophie. We did sooo many things but just being together was the best. We toured some stores for cooking stuff and bought a few things. Toni needed a grain mill and a pressure cooker and a bread board and just so many great things. Toni and Trevor were able to get to the temple for some family sealing work I brought them. We went out to dinner to Cafe Rio and lunch at this really good pizza place and church and, well it ended way too soon. But I will be heading home in June so that will be even greater fun.

 Packed

 Ticket in hand

 Di plane, di plane

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 At the temple - notice the ray of sun shinning down on them. A special family

 Me and my babe

 Sunday after church

Until we meet again

Nimitz Museum and the National Museum of the Pacific War

On Presidents Day the office was closed so I took myself on a road trip to Frederickburg, TX about 4 hours from Houston to see these 2 museums. It was soooo amazing!!! The story of the Nimitz family was fascinating. Having the backround on him put the WWII museum in better perspective. The Nimitz museum is in their old hotel that was built by his grandfather back in the 1850s. The hotle has been restored but it only used as a museum and meeting center. Across the courtyard and down is the Pacific WWII museum. It was so full of information, pictures, displays and everything that had to do with the war in the Pacific. It started with the ancient conflict between the Japanese and the Chinese. Much of this was a catalyst for the war. Japan wanted to expand it's empire but we were supportive of the Chinese whom the Japanese wanted to conquer. From there the history went into Pearl Harbor, the Philippines and all the battles. Inside the museum was a submarine, 2 airplanes, a jeep and many other guns and articles of personal belongings. There was an iron door from the USS Arizona that sunk at Pearl Harbor. They also had a replica of the atomic boom. What I found very interesting was one of the crew of the Enola Gay was named Thomas Ferebee. Since we have Farabee in our family tree I am curious if there is any connection since the name was spelled many different ways. Needless to say by the time I was done the museum was closing at 5:00. I had been there for almost 5 hours. There was just so much to see and learn. One of the highlites of my mission. There was one more museum I wasn't able to go thru because it is by tour only. It was down the street and had more military hardware displays including a PT boat like my Dad served on. I hope I can go back to do that tour. I would like to have a picture of the boat. Long drive back but all was well. On the way back I saw this great metallic sculpture so I had to stop and take a picture. amazing what some people can do.

 Nimitz Hotel

 Admiral Nimitz

 Entrance to National Museum of Pacific War WWII

 My Dad and what he did

 Down on the right is an island my Dad served on Funnafuti

 The Aleutian Island which my Dad spent 6-9 months before the war ended to protect them

 Steer Sculpture

Zone Conference February 13th

I love Zone Conference. There is soooo much to learn. President Mortensen is an amazing teacher. WE must have a Vision, then set Goals and make a Plan for success. He also spoke about teaching baptism but my mind took another turn and I thought of a great way to teach the Atonement to Lena and Gabe. I'm going to try it out on Toni and Trevor. Since we can't take pictures in the chapel I took them at lunch.

The sister on the right sings like crazy!

Sister Bray's unfortunate event

Saturdays I spend at the temple. Sister Bray usually goes out with the other missionaries sight seeing or other stuff. so last Saturday she went on a Gulf of Houston boat tour with the Halls. While on the deck she stepped back and tripped on a deck claw. when she fell she landed on her arm and broke her shoulder. she will be without her right arm for 6 weeks. So no driving, somersaults and other fun and games.

Rudy's Ludy's and Luby's

Yes, it is confusing. These are 3 places to eat BBQ. Ludy's is by far my favorite located in Woodland, CA. In Houston there is Rudy's which seems to be most every ones favorites but I don't think it's as good as Ludy's. But sometimes when referring to Rudy's I say Ludy's and everyone thinks I mean Luby's which is not very popular and is a cafeteria style restaurant. Needless to say they think I have lost my mind and maybe I have... Just sayin.

 Here are 2 pictures of Rudy's, not to get confused with Ludy's , one of Ludy's logo and one of Luby's.

Ludy's BBQ in Woodland, CA