It's over, and we are all still kickin'

Well Fair week is finally over!!!  I love the fair and am always ready for it to arrive and ready for it to be over.  It is a great time, and a fun filled, action packed week.  But after about 3 days of little sleep and lots of action, I start wishing it would end.  The 2010 fair was another good year for our household.  Here is a run down of the week in review.

Monday was the official opening of the fair.  Robbie and Jimmy were very busy with working on the Jr. Fairboard.  Tony, Dillon and I worked in the Clover Cafe' with the rest of the 4-H club.  Then we washed all 4 pigs in preparation for the show the next morning.  Our 4-H booth once again got an "Outstanding Booth" award, Our theme was "Built 4-H Tough", I reviewed the score sheet and I think we got the best score we have ever had 99 out of 100 possible points, we got perfect scores on everything but creativity.  Not Bad.  I have to check but I do believe this is like the 12th year in a row that we have had an Outstanding booth.

Tuesday was the hog show the boys hogs were all lite weights so they were in the first 5 weight classes.  Tony's pig Star weighed 220lbs and was in the first weight class, she made it into the holding pen and got 5th place in her class.   Robbie's pig Layla weighed 229 and was in Weight Class 2, Layla also made it into the holding pen and we were all excited when she got first place.  Jimmy's pig Double Stuff weighed 230 and was in Weight class 3, Double Stuff got an honorable mention as the Judge sent the pigs back to the barn, she ended up with 8th place.  Dillon's pig Frappe' was the heaviest pig weighing in at 241lbs and she was in weight class 5, she too got an honorable mention on her long lean body before she was sent back to the barn with 9th place.  Robbie placing first made our day exceptionally long as we had to sit around and wait for the Grand Champion round even though we knew Layla had only a slight chance of making it.  Tuesday evening then I worked the Close To My HEart Booth, and had a good finish to a great day.

Tony showing Star

Robbie showing Layla

Jimmy getting ready to show Double Stuff

Dillon & Frappe'



Robbie and Layla in the Championship run



 Wednesday was showmanship.  The boys didn't do that great this year.  The judge wasn't looking for what we had been taught so the boys didn't make it into the holding pens, even though they did a great job showing their pigs. Only Robbie placed in his class he got 4th out of 5 participants.  Tony was majorly disappointed cause he had worked hard with his pig and this was the first time since he began showing that he hadn't placed in the top five of his age group, and he had missed his football game to show.

Dillon in Showmanship

Tony in Showmanship

Thursday night was the Livestock Auction.  After Robbie's hog sold we were beginning to think that it was going to be a bad year for us, as Robbie only got $1.75/lb for his hog with only 1 person bidding on his hog.  Korn's Electric bought it. Then Tony's hog sold for only $2.00/lb better than Robbie's but still not good enough to payoff the loans and still have some extra to save, again only 1 person bid on his hog and we were beginning to think our buyers had forgotten us.  We did have a new buyer purchase Tony's hog, Bolivar Pizza.  There were about 80 hogs between Tony and Jimmy with most of them going for arouond $2.50-2.75/lb.  When Jimmy's hog came up I was so preoccupied in praying that his sold well that I totaly missed getting a picture of Jimmy in the sale ring, and failed to realize that his hog had gone for $3.25,  I was thrilled, it was the most we have ever gotten for a hog and the buyer was Evan's Family Farms, the farm we had gotten our hogs from to begin with.  THANKS JEREMY & MICHELE.  Well this was good news as we take all the proceeds from the sale of the 4 hogs and add them all together and divide by 4 so each boy makes the same amount, this made Tony & Robbie feel a little better knowing that they would be coming out ahead.  Dillon's Hog was the last to sell, he also got $3.25/lb from Steve & Becky Mastin, Dover-New Phila Wendy's.  THANKS STEVE & BECKY. Of course this year I had once again completely forgot about getting the boys some sort of Thank You gift to give their buyers on Thursday night so when Michelle Evans bought Jimmy's Hog I gave her the washer necklace I had been wearing that day as a Thank You Gift, then once Wendy's bought Dillon's Hog I quickly ran down to my Close To My Heart booth and got 3 more necklaces for the other boys buyers.  I gave Becky her choice of necklaces.  We could not find the other 2 boys buyers so I guess we will have to send then their gifts later.   

Once we got done with Thursday, the boys were done showing and we were on the down hill side of the fair.  My neices and nephew showed their animals on Wednesday and Friday.  Sunny showed her rabbit on Wednesday and got first place in her class and 5th place in showmanship,  Congratulations Sunny.  The Stewarts showed their calves on both Wednesday in Open Class and Friday in the Jr. Fair Show.  Nadine got 3rd place on both days, Daniel got 5th place on Wednesday and 4th on Friday, Arizona got first place on Wednesday and second place on Friday.



Sunny & her rabbit Sugar



Arizona & Jasmine

Daniel & Farrah

Nadine & Penny

Friday afternoon after the Dairy sale I got sick from the heat and spent the rest of the night in the camper. Then Saturday Ken, Dillon, and I didn't get into the fairgrounds till after 3 pm because Dillon had a football game, I once again spent the night in the camper cause I was feelin rough.  Though on SAturday I had company cause Robbie, and Jimmy were startin to get sick.  By the time Sunday rolled around I was starting to feel better and was more than ready to close up another year.  Overall it was a good week, my goal of comin out of the fair with more money than we came in with wasn't quite reached but I did make almost $90 in the Close To My Heart booth, plus I had made several contacts.

Today Robbie and Jimmy both stayed home with severe head cold, yeah we survived the fair but we did come out a little on the rough side.  Now it is time for me to get back to scrappin, cause even though I was on vacation for the last week, Robbie's graduation is creeping closer and closer, so now i have less than 7 months to get 17 years of Robbie's life scrapped and put into an album.  Time to get movin.