Skip to main content

Chippewa County Fair 2012

Well we did it!  We survived another county fair!  And this time with 2 little girls!  I kept thinking back to last year with Joelle and being in the early weeks of pregnancy and trying to cover the fears and not feeling well and now look at these 2 beautiful little girls cheering on their big sister!  It was busy and we're exhausted but that's how we roll as a family of 5! 

Emma had a busy week leading up to the final days.  Monday evening was exhibit judging.  She had 3 photographs and 3 flower gardening entries.  She later found out she received Reserve Champion for her shrub rose entry!  Wednesday night was Livestock Entry with what appeared to be stormy weather looming, but everyone was settled in quickly and easily.  Although poor Zak became a frustrated boy as he was surrounded by females... Thursday Emma worked from 10 - 4 in the 4H Food Stand!  What a trooper!  She said they were super busy!  Bob, the little girls and I arrived around 3:30 and enjoyed watching the rest of the Games show!  Favorite quote of the day was from JoJo - "Horsey, Ride, HeeHaw!"

Friday was a very early morning as Bob, Emma and I headed to Willmar at 6:30 AM!  Thank you to Grandma for coming to stay with the little girls and get them ready for the day!  With the medical consult over and follow-up to schedule we headed to Monte to do morning rabbit chores, then back to Granite so I could go back to work for awhile and Emma could gather what she needed for the Rabbit Show.  Back to Monte late afternoon with everyone in tow!  Rabbit Show prep begins and the show starts at 6 PM with the Thunderstorm Watch in place.  Through the slow and methodical practice of the rabbit judge we finally get things moving as the storm starts coming in.  The winds pick up and the sky turns dark and then comes the lightning and rain.  Huddled in the show arena, the judge continues his way through the Large Breed rabbits and just as he's about to get the kids started on showmanship they decide we need to move to the safer Hog barn, which means a quick sprint through the rain to the next building.  At this point we are past Aryn's bedtime and feeding and Joelle's too.  Luckily the hog barn has the 4H dressing rooms, so Aryn can get her bedtime feeding... Just as we can finally leave Bob discovers the battery is dead on the van... perfect... but thanks to great friends we were able to get it jumped and head for home!  All with the glow of Emma's smile from receiving the Champion and Reserve Champion awards for Small Breed Rabbits still shining bright! 
Emma with Ponder, Whalen and Plouffe

Yep, I didn't forget that best part of Friday, it just gets jumbled up in the chaos of the stormy night.  While we thought Emma's bucks would do well, about a week before the fair they both started to blow out their coats... great.  So we knew they wouldn't do well.  We thought the girls were looking good, but neither had been shown as seniors yet and Whalen is a young senior being 7 months old.  Then enter Plouffe as our Jr Buck who has his summer ears in full show, but great conformation otherwise and we just thought we'd see how the cards fall.  Emma has had so many ups and downs in her rabbits it was fun to see some great ups!!  She took 1st and 2nd in the Senior Doe class with Ponder and Whalen!  She took 1st in the Jr Buck class with Plouffe and competed in the best of show Small Breed Rabbit with all 3!  The smile could have lighted the room.  So proud of her for sticking with rabbits after all her heartbreak last fall when she lost all but 2 rabbits. 

We'll finish with a few fun photos from the week!
Little Sister


A bit breezy...

Helping!

Showtime!

Zak is ready!

With Whalen and Ponder

Showtime Entertainment!

Emma and Grandpa

Aryn loved the results!

Grand Champion Small Breed Rabbit!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Today.... The next chapter

And here we are... October of 2020. I'm not sure where the time has gone, while struggling between feeling it has gone too fast and yet being ready for things to move along and leave a few chapters in the past. To say that 2020 has tested our strength is a bit understated. But, even on our worst days and weeks - we have come out smiling.  Don't get me wrong, those smiles aren't always easy and sometimes they mask the exhaustion, the grief and the tears. But boy when they are truly out of happy moments and seeing how we survive from these difficult times, those smiles are worth millions. Today... was a day that hit me hard... unexpectedly hard. Today, being everything I need to be right now is hard...  it's exhausting... it's daunting... it's what this chapter is.  Today... oh boy today has been a hot mess... It was a recognition of how much I'm grieving and still so thankful for this life we have. I'm so thankful to have an amazing friend, Erica...
Post a Comment
Read more

And here we are in 2019!

I've gotten away from regularly writing, and with the start of 2019 I decided now is the time to revisit writing! It's a great way to look at events happening in our lives and remind ourselves of the blessings we have no matter how busy or complicated life gets! Part of 2019 includes returning to school work for me. As I look at my future goals for my career, I decided the time is now to look at getting my degree in Organizational Leadership.  I applied for admission to Metropolitan State University ( www.metrostate.edu ) and started courses in January! 1 week in and I'm already wondering why I thought this was a great idea. This first semester back at it will most likely be the most difficult as I'm taking on 3 courses - if I survive this, I'll be able to make this happen! What this means is fitting in course work during lunch breaks and after the girls head to bed, and of course hours on the weekends. If I look a little tired, this may explain the bags under m...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye is never easy, in fact it's one of the most difficult things to do.  Our strength is being tested today as we make the decision for Botti that means we have to put his needs before ours. I will never forget the day we drove to get Botti.  It was a complete surprise to Emma, a Minnesota spring day, March 2006.  She was grumpy about having to go to the Twin Cities with us, thinking it was about getting stuff for the store.  But then we pulled up to Petco in Eden Prairie, again she thought we were just picking up things for the cats and Rosie.  Then we got inside and met up with the animal shelter there for pet adoption day and asked to see the collie puppies we had inquired about.  That's when we met Botti and a few of his litter mates.  His eyes captured our hearts.  Emma's smile was priceless when we asked if we should bring him home. Botti hasn't had an easy road health-wise, but he made it clear that he would always watch over...
Post a Comment
Read more