When in Wisconsin...Do As the Texans Do

As soon as we knew our relocation would take us in a southern direction, we began looking forward to participating in activities that we, at least at the time, associated with living in Texas. Tom and I had big plans to buy cowboy boots and cowboy hats for ourselves and the kids, visit the rodeo, ride horses, and maybe even check out a tractor pull.

Now, nearly three years later, only one of these activities - the rodeo - have we actually participated in IN Texas. We/I have checked the others off our Texas Bucket List, but we've done so in...Wisconsin. Oops.

I'm not saying people don't do these things in Wisconsin. I'm just saying that I never did or expected to do these things in Wisconsin, especially after I moved to Texas.

After nearly a year of shopping for a pair of cowboy boots I temporarily gave up and bought myself a "Texas purse". In Wisconsin. (There is nothing inherently Texan about this purse; I just think it looks like it was made in Texas or designed for a Texas woman.)

My boy looks so little in this picture!

Eventually I found my first pair of cowboy boots. In Wisconsin.

This is how I usually lounge around my backyard.

And then my mom found my second pair of cowboy boots. In Wisconsin.

Love these. So much.

On this most recent trip north, my parents, the kids, and I (and Tom during his short visit) took horseback riding lessons. In Wisconsin.

Taking good care of Harley.

Hallie loved Tiffany - affectionately known as the "slow motion horse" - dearly. And
note Hallie's brand-new cowboy boots...we picked those up on our trip. In Wisconsin.

Learning to steer.

Learning to trot.

And finally, on the 4th of July, my parents, the kids, and I went to a truck and tractor pull. You guessed it, in Wisconsin.

The start.

First up, the truck pull.

I cheered for this vintage pick-up but it finished last.
I think. I never actually figured out the scoring system.

These numbers meant absolutely nothing to us, even after watching them
zero and start and stop and fluctuate wildly for more than an hour of competition. 

After the truck pull, the tractor pull began.

And the winner is..."Farmer's Daughter". I loved that the only
female driver - with the prettiest tractor - won the competition.

If I'm not careful, soon we'll hunting deer, milking cows, and making our own cheese curds in Texas...