Audrain updates, mid-fair

Well we are sort of 'mid-fair' at this point. For the events we participate in, WE are about two thirds the way through.
Friday was full of the hustle and bustle of finishing up projects, and rounding up everything needed to check our exhibits into the building Friday evening. We had 4 hams and an assortment of posters. Our club, F and L Hustlers, was in charge of the check in process, so Cody Sam and I had to be there before 3 (which we didn't quite accomplish, but close) Seth and Jenna stayed with our neighbor, Janie Schmidt and then Matt, her grandson/our adopted 5th child watched them later in the evening.
The check in was hectic and long and stressful. Will make me remember next year to be very courteous and appreciative to whichever club is in charge in coming years!
Our personal results:
Cody's hams both received reds with scores 82 and 83 points (had to have an 85 to get blue)
Sam's hams both received blues with scores of 86 and 87 points (The Grand champion ham had a score of 92, so I didn't think that was too bad overall) The Grand Champion Ham was exhibited by a girl in our club, Erica Cornett, congrats to her!
Other building exhibits were, for Cody, posters about things he's learned in his projects. He made a poster that labelled all the parts of a hole on a golf course, he did one for beef that gave a diagram of a side beef and showed where the different retail cuts came from and gave best preparation methods for each cut. He made beef stew, took a sample and made a poster with the recipe and pictures we took of him preparing it.
Sam did a poster showing different equipment used in welding, made a beef poster outlining the origins of the Angus Breed of cattle, and also did a beef recipe. Both boys got all blues with their posters. Two of Cody's are going on to the State Fair. It's just so different than when I was in 4H, I lived in town so of course wasn't in beef and was a girl and didn't take welding, etc....... all the things that my boys take. I did things like clothing and foods, which had obvious building exhibits with your finished projects. You have to be a little more creative with some of their projects. Since you can't exactly bring your steer to building, although he's a wonderful example of your years' work, you just have to come up with other ways to show the things that you're learning. We've done beef foods, they made cookbooks last year for both beef and for ham, since they are in the cured hams project as well, we've made up little educational booklets. Kind of makes me think that my skirts, aprons, etc and batches of cookies and all that were pretty easy..............
Okay so Friday evening spent at the fair, with on short side trip by David and I back to Centralia to pay last respects to our friends the Benoit and Rohl families and express our sadness at the loss of our dear Angie. Her loss will be felt by so many. Defintely an example from the song about the good dying young. We will miss your smiling face and bubbly personality for a very long time.
Left the fairgrounds about 10 pm Friday night and was back on them before 8 am Saturday morning. We didn't leave till almost 11pm last night. Yesterday was the Audrain Fair Cattle Show. We took 2 steers, a heifer and 2 bottle calves. Seth and Jenna showed their babies yesterday morning and got 'trophies' the boys had mixed results, Sam ended up with the Reserve Champion Angus Heifer, not a bad place to be. But the judge didn't like either of our steers. Buddy who was showed by Sam, was too tall and lanky in his opinion and because of his frame size wasn't finished, which we kind of knew. Then with the weirdest comments I have ever heard, Bubba, who weighed in at 1475, 30 pounds heavier than anything else; didn't do well either, but I thought he would say that he was overfinished, he didn't. He mentioned how he could use more muscling.................okay. Whatever. This guy was very influenced by appearances and was easily impressed by fancy grooming. Didn't put his hands on many of the calves and if he had I think we would have faired better, but one mans opinion. And life goes, the boys will still get a nice price for the calves and gives us an opportunity to help them save some money. (We buy the calves and feed the calves and the boys get the check, but we do make them put it in savings!)
Back to fair............. we'll make a little 'field trip' to the Monroe County fair which is also going on Tuesday for their cattle show. Then Wednesday is our Fairs' closing events. The Ham and Livestock Sale. Both boys have Hams to sell. Then Audrain Fair will come to a close for another year. I have been kind of sad, I feel like summer is over, we have about two weeks between county fairs and State Fair, we exhibit there, come home and go back to school 5 days later. Just seems like summer has went fast. I know Gladys and I were talking about that this evening. Summer has seemed to be screwed up with farming being so messed up. The last several years the men have had crops planted pretty early and there's been more free time, 'to have summer' this year we've just kept waiting and it never really got here, so to speak......
Anyway, will 'enjoy' my day off from Fairs tomorrow, playing catch up on laundry and housework. Probably bake some cookies and get ready for the 'next round' on Tuesday.
Up to my eyeballs from Tulip~
KH

Jenna and Barbie

Here's a shot of the 'Vet' and her baby. She's a proud little momma, just look at that great big smile!

Barbie the Bottle Baby and Jenna's Future

Jenna Claire is in 7th heaven. We had a set of twins with one of our cows (or so we think as Momma was nowhere to be found) and now she has a bottle baby. The calf is ITTY BITTY. If I could get pictures to upload onto this with my slow dial up internet, I would show you just how little she is. Of course she has already had to endure her first photo session. For those who are around Jenna quite a bit, here's a comparison, the calf comes to about Jenna's waist! Little bitty!!!

Jenna came in last night from feeding Barbie (what other name would a 5 yo girl come up with?) and she was in tears. She was so upset I was concerned that something was wrong with the calf. But the drama and stress of the moment was the fact that her brothers couldn't find a curry comb so poor Barbie could get her first grooming! (thinking that Barbie was probably secretly thrilled!) Jenna is on a time schedule with her 'farm work'. The preschool she attends has a farm tour every spring and this year we are the destination. The teacher, Becky Coulter, announced the tour to the kids yesterday and told them that we were hosting, etc. Well I am not sure that Jenna stopped talking all the way home about it, barely catching her breath in between plans. I'll give you the short list. First and foremost, Barbie may need a bath, or at the very least she could be curried off (my suggestion, so yes my fault later when the comb couldn't be found!) Let's see we need to talk to Susie (Everhart, our neighbor) to see if she has any bottle lambs. Jenna has too good of a memory or maybe Becky mentioned that when the tour was here when Sam was in preschool that we had 'borrowed' bottle babies from Susie. We also need to talk to Patty (McBride another neighbor and one of Jenna's main social contacts, as she is her Sunday School teacher) about baby goats. They raise goats. We definitely need to talk to Rosel (Schmidt, yes another neighbor) about rabbits and anything else that she might be able to bring. Apparently this isn't a farm tour, it will be a petting Zoo!!! She is so funny. Of course she glossed right over the fact that the tour isn't for a few weeks, she thinks all needs to be ready NOW! I suggested that she talk to her father or grandfather or maybe even Uncle Jason as they were the ones going to have to care for this increased 'herd' of animals she was trying to acquire. Plus I figured that they ought to get to hear the run down of her plans. Oh and when she talks to grandpa, they will discuss horses and her trips with him to the Amish, thinking she thinks that a horse would be another great addition, ha!
Jenna has been making other plans for farther out than the two weeks till the farm tour lately. Last month we had Animal Planet as a free preview channel on Dish Network. That little girl could watch that channel 24/7 if given the opportunity. She would ask me turn to it on, and it didn't matter what was on she was glued to it. Absolutely absorbing all that she could glean from the shows. She decided last month that she was going to be an Animal Doctor. At first that didn't mean veterinarian, but when we explained that was the official name for an animal dr, and it sounded like a 'mouth full' to her, she decided to be a Vet.
Her plans or interests are always reflected in the pretend play that she and Seth engage in. Last summer and most of the fall, they 'showed' cattle, and horses and giraffes. Whatever stuffed animals that they could commandeer and tie up to chair legs or where ever else with Jenna's belts, necklaces, etc....... She got pretty interested in Marshall's arrival and played baby nursery at the hospital for most of January and February. I was busy with several catering jobs and they started playing with the dishes........ Well the current pretend play is Animal Hospital. Every stuffed animal that they can find a blanket for is wrapped up and laid here and there which are supposed to be there hospital rooms, I think. When they run out of baby blankets, I have seen animals wrapped in my kitchen towels (they can't reach the bathroom ones) their big brothers' undershirts and arm covers from David's recliner and last night there was a dog handed to me to 'care' for wrapped in a paper towel, I don't know maybe he wasn't house broken and they wanted me to be prepared. :)
It never ceases to amaze me to be witness to the imagination of my kids. I know all parents feel that way. The magic of childhood too quickly is gone and I keep reminding myself of that as I refold the towels and rewind up the paper towels. I really try to enjoy the here and now but can't help but picture those scenes in MY future, maybe a Vet School Graduation or maybe just hearing the stories of the games MY grandchildren will play and the awe it inspires in their mother.

Well that's deep enough for 9 in the morning, take care, see you tomorrow,

KH