County Fair

This week is the ever-so-wonderful Rush County 4H Fair. The weeks leading up to it, between the end of school and the last project being turned in, are rather stressful. This year was no different. Missy & Allie both took dog obedience, which means every Tuesday night classes from February till June. Missy took 5 other projects; veterinary science, foods, chicken poster, photography, and painting. Stephen took painting, construction toys, and cat poster.
The last project, foods, went in on Friday, and I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. We had projects due every.day.last.week. The benefits of these projects far outweigh the stress of getting them completed, so yes, we will continue to go through this each year as long as the kids are wanting to sign up.
We went to the fair last night, first stop was the Root Building to see the results of their work. I cannot be more proud of them.

Stephen's Cat Poster

Stephen:
Painting - BLUE
Cat Poster - RED
Construction toys - BLUE

Missy's Photography

Missy:
Dog Obedience (Class 1B) - RED
       Showmanship (Junior Class)- CHAMPION
Foods - BLUE
Veterinary Science - BLUE
Chicken Poster - RESERVE CHAMPION
Photography - BLUE
Painting - RED








Allie:
Dog Obedience (Cloverbud Class)- GRAND CHAMPION
       Showmanship (Novice Class)- CHAMPION AND RESERVE GRAND IN OVERALL SHOWMANSHIP

Stephen's Painting

Missy's Vet Science

Missy's Painting

Missy's Chicken Poster

We had a wonderful time at the midway with the kids. We have finally hit a stage where we feel comfortable letting the two older kids go off and ride rides, checking in with us of course, by themselves. Allie & Kendra stayed with us and kept us running between all of the different kids rides. We really enjoyed the time with the kids, and for the first time, no meltdowns! Kendra is now exactly 42" tall, so she's able to do more rides on her own. She was LOVING it. She was turned away once from a fun house by a guy who wouldn't even check her height, even though the guy running it before him had checked her height and let her go on. She was crushed, sobbing huge tears, but we were able to distract her with a ride on the merry-go-round.

I may need to be reminded of this in the future, but I love where my family is at right now. The kids are beginning to be able to be more independent, outings are becoming more enjoyable than stressful, and it is great to see them getting along.

God Bless.