County Fair!

This is going to be a long post, for a long fair week!  We were pretty busy the whole week, but the kids (and I) had a great time. I think David enjoyed most of it, although he's not in love with fairs like I am.  This year we got a camper space, so we brought our camper down for the week.  Most people stay overnight for the week, but we still had animals at home to take care of, so we went back and forth every day instead of staying.  Kylee and I had a girls' night on Friday, and we stayed in the camper while David and Devin went home.

We went down on Sunday to set up the lamb pen and enter our building entries.  The kids picked an "ice cream parlor" theme, and named their lambs Rocky Road and Sprinkle.  I sewed a quick awning from fabric I had in my stash, and we made ice cream decorations with construction paper.

The first official day of the fair was Monday, so we loaded up the lambs and rabbits and headed down.

Kylee brought a "roaster" meat rabbit, and a New Zealand white doe and buck to show. Devin brought a "roaster" meat rabbit.

Then we had to work in the kids' 4-H club's milkshake booth for a few hours that evening. They do a great job working.  Kylee handled the money and taking orders, and Devin helped. David and I made milkshakes.  Devin learned to make milkshakes too, and he liked that part.

The kids had to leave for a while to walk in the parade for the opening ceremony.

The kids even went back later in the week to work in the booth with their friends,

After we were done our shift in the milkshake booth, we went to the home arts building to see our stuff!  Kylee got a second place ribbon for her cape!

She got a first place on her sunflower drawing. The kids each entered a jar of spaghetti sauce they helped make and can, and they each got a first place ribbon.

Devin made this mechanical pencil. He turned the wood part on a lathe, then finished it and assembled the pencil workings.  He got a third place on it, but there was some stiff competition in the "woodworking" category.  He did a great job with it!

I entered a few things...some knitted things and a few canned goods, and a pound cake.  My handspun and knitted alpaca collar got a first place!  The mermaid tail I knitted for Kylee got a second place.

My violet blossom jelly and spaghetti sauce each got firsts.

Back to the sheep!  The kids each showed in the 4-H show on Tuesday.

And on Thursday, they showed in the open class (meaning anyone, not just our county 4-H members) could show sheep.

They both showed in the "novice" fitting and showing class.  Fitting and Showing is when the kids are judged on how well they clean and present their animal.  Devin got first place in the novice class, and then went into the class with the first place winners from each age group (junior, intermediate, senior, and novice) and competed for Grand Champion.  The three other kids in the class are siblings.  They are from a very large family, and they've shown sheep for a good long time. He had some stiff competition!  He did a great job for his first time showing.

This girl below was a fellow 4-Her. She was so sweet and had the cutest yearling ewe.  The ewe LOVED getting back scratches with this little plastic rake. I asked if I could take her picture because it was too cute.

The kids sold their lambs on Friday night at the livestock auction.

Here are two lambs I sold to another 4-Her this year. She did a good job raising them, same as last year..

Here are a few videos, the first of Devin showing , and the second one is Devin selling his lamb in the auction.

I was so proud of the kids. They put in a lot of effort these past few months, and they did a great job at the fair.  I was pretty happy when Devin said he was "definitely showing a lamb next year."  I always loved showing sheep in the fair, and I didn't want to push them into it.  I figured they could try it one year and see if they liked it, and if not that was ok too.  But it's great Devin really liked it, and I'd like to get him more involved with breeding the ewes and managing the flock during the year.  Kylee had fun, but her lamb gave her a little bit of trouble in the ring. She says she might show next year, but she's not sure.

It was another great fair year, and it seemed to go by fast, even though we were very busy the whole week.  Can't wait until next year!

Lately

 My new favorite way to cut watermelon.  It's so easy to eat!
































I've been fighting with a black snake who kept creeping into the nest boxes.  I chased it out once, then relocated it once.  I found this scene one morning, and I had had enough.  I finally had to kill the snake. I hated to do it, but I couldn't keep losing eggs.

Grazing time!  And a little snack of watermelon.

We had some piles of manure and hay to clean up, and we rented this little loader from our local rental place. Man, that thing was awesome!!  It was worth every penny!

I picked blueberries and froze them.  I picked around 9 lbs, but ran out of time to pick more.  At least I have some in the freezer for this winter!

David bought a new project car.  He had a Mustang when he was younger, and has been wanting another one for a long time now. He found this one recently and decided it was now or never.  It had some rust under the hood, so David and his friend Jeff did some sandblasting.  Actually, Jeff is the one sandblasting. David was there for moral support and assistance.

The kids have been working with their 4-H lambs because the fair is in a week! Yikes!

Kylee wanted to sew a project to enter in the fair, and she chose a cute cape with a hood. She found the cutest fleece fabric.  We spent this weekend whipping it up, and she did just about all of the help minus just a tad bit of help on my part.

Her hair is so gorgeous. She likes to wear it in a pony tail all the time, but it's so pretty when it's down!  Maybe one day I'll convince her to leave it down.  :-)

And Happy Birthday to my dear husband today!!   We went out to eat and I told him my present to him was NOT telling the waitress it was his birthday.  He hates people making a fuss over him.