Too often, we hesitate to take the boys out. Connor is always willing and eager to go just about anywhere, but the twins are much harder to accommodate.
With Sawyer and Xander, it's hard to know what types of events they might enjoy, and even harder to plan for all the potential problems that might arise - big crowds, loud noises, lack of movement space, ability to bring along snacks or bribes. The list of potential problems can get pretty long.
Last night, we took the boys out anyway. Grammy and Pappy had made plans to go to a local rodeo that was in town, and asked if we might like to join them. While we thought Connor would like, we weren't really sure what to think about Sawyer and Xander. If there was lots of action and movement, they might be entertained. If it was loud and crowded, they might not.
We decided to take the chance. The rodeo was small, and the arena was enormous. That helped in terms of crowd and noise. But there was still the announcer on the loudspeaker to contend with. Both boys had their hands over their ears at times, Sawyer especially.
Of course, there were concession stands. And those can overcome quite a lot. There was cotton candy (only for Connor, the twins have texture issues with pure sugar apparently), popcorn and Pepsi. The Pepsi was the biggest hit. I had also come prepared with Goldfish, gummy worms, and even Twizzlers bites.
It lasted about two hours. The boys were pretty good the first half, but got restless the second half. The seats that closed when you got up were not helpful, especially for two little boys who are fascinated with motion. Sawyer was done about 10 minutes in, so he got lots of walks and room to dance around.
Connor wanted to buy everything in sight. He wanted an expensive cowboy hat (which he would likely never wear again), and he really, really wanted the light-up swords that the three little boys in front of us all had in their hands. Didn't happen. We told him to enjoy the show.
During one of the intermissions, some people crowded into our row to talk to some other people seated below us. That didn't turn out so well, as they were blocking Sawyer's path back in to the recently acquired concession stand treats. He may have reached out and slapped a little girl standing in his way. Yeah, that was fun.
But otherwise, the night went pretty well. It was not peaceful, I missed as much of the show as I actually saw trying to keep fidgety little boys seated and from screaming too loudly (it was not a quiet place, but still you don't want your kids to be the ones screaming the whole time).
Connor had a good time, and while it probably wasn't either Sawyer or Xander's idea of a good time, it was good for them. One of these days, they're going to have to go out into this world and find their way. It's not always fun, but they need to learn how to be a part of it anyway.
