Air Travel: Big Tall Guy in the Center Seat

I have a bad habit of forgetting holidays when booking travel. Tonight I found myself battling my way through airport security among families of infrequent fliers. I knew that my flight from Houston to Minneapolis would be completely full because of the Easter holiday, but my outlook became even more grim when I realized I would be spending the next 3 hours scrunched against the airplane window with a big, tall guy in the center seat. Halfway through the flight I found out that I was sitting next to Sidney Rice; a player for the MN Vikings.

Now... I'm sure a few of the guys reading this immediately recognize this player, but I had no clue. This man could have been the MVP from the Superbowl and I wouldn't have known any different. The woman sitting on the other side of him was just as clueless. It must have been a bit of an ego bust to him, but he took it in stride. The in-flight conversation was typical of any other... are you married? do you have kids? where are you from? When he found out that I was from Mankato, the grin on his face clearly told of training camp memories.

I've never really followed NFL football and I don't have any plans to start, but the next time I'm stuck watching a Viking's game with a die-hard fan I'll at least have a anecdotal tale to share about the time that one of the players was stuck sitting next to me on a cramped flight from Houston.

Oh... and for the rest of you that have no clue who I'm referring to... view Sydnie Rice on the Vikings' Web site

Da Boyz

All 3 of my favorite boys... all in one spot. :)

Giddyup - Rodeo 2008

Stephen and I spent the afternoon yesterday at the Rodeo. What a fun time... and a great opportunity to try out my new camera. :) We didn't wait around for any chickens to hatch this year, but we were getting close to seeing piglets born! I also watched a sheep be a mom to her new babies. She would pat them with her hoof to make them stand up and then push them with her nose to make them walk.

As for the rodeo itself, you could definitely tell it was opening night. There were a few technical glitches, but the animals made for the most excitement of the event. Two longhorns are saddled and ridden out in the arena before each show. One of them decided that he wasn't having too much fun and kept bucking until his rider flew off. It took a while to get everything calmed down, but the show went on. The other animal related event was during the bucking broncs. One of the horses fell shortly after the gate opened and pinned the rider under him.

The entertainer for the night was Tim McGraw. He rocked! The show went by too fast - I wish he would have sang more. No surprise appearance by Faith though... she is performing tonight.