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This was our 4th year to attend the North American International Expo.
​This year was different for us because not only were we exhibiting, but we were also in charge of the Miniature Hereford show. 
It was a very busy week, but it was a good week....mostly.
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We leave for Louisville, Kentucky this week to show at the North American International Livestock Expo. This is the first show of the season for us. We never feel ready enough, but ready or not, hear we come.  We spent the weekend making final preparations.
We finally went found time to get out of town for a few days of rest and relaxation...well sort of...Daniel is still working. I am also taking a break from the computer.  So I will make this short and leave you with a few photos from this summer.
I am sitting here on the couch writing this post just thankful to be home. You see...the last couple of weeks have been very full. With both boys off to church camp and then heading straight to the county fair, we were all pretty exhausted. Then, after leaving the Knox County Fair, we unpacked, cleaned up and re-packed for the Ohio State Fair. By the time we moved in to the Ohio State Fair we were just in auto pilot mode. However, we did actually get to sleep in until 6:00 a.m. a few days.  But...we pushed through and it was well worth it.
We moved out of the Knox County Fair on Thursday night. I think we all felt like the week flew by and it was the shortest fair week we have ever had. I don't know why it went so quickly. Usually, we are killing time just waiting for our release time and so sick of the fair we can't wait to get home. This year, we just weren't ready to leave. Don't worry...we are exhausted and glad to be home...but it just went too fast.  Maybe it was the beautiful weather...not too hot and not too cold. Or maybe it is that our kids are growing up. There is less parenting and more sitting and watching them do their thing.
The boys stayed busy all week, and there were days we barely saw them. We didn't have the long stretches of just sitting and visiting with everyone. We were all on the move. The boys are home from camp. The stinky laundry is done. The animals are moved in to the fair. And we are ready for the week... Well, as ready as we will ever be.  Isaac and Walker have worked all summer for the next week and a half.
This week is the Knox County Fair and next weekend we will move in to the Ohio State Fair. This is it. Time is up. I can't believe that two weeks from now we will be at the Knox County Fair. I guess that means we must be having fun because time sure if flying by. Walker is taking two projects to the fair this year.  He is taking a little heifer as a market beef feeder that he will sell on sale day, and he is taking a Miniature Hereford heifer as a beef breeding project that he will not sell.
My men made it home last week from their 10 day trip to Kearney, Nebraska for the Miniature Hereford Junior Nationals. They had an awesome experience and spent all Monday night telling me all about their adventures.  They loaded up the truck and left early on a Saturday morning with a plan to drive as far as they could. They made it to Kansas City and stopped for the night.
Early Saturday morning, Daniel, Isaac, Walker and Nick pulled out of the driveway heading towards Kearney, Nebraska.
One of the items on our bucket list is to take the boys to the Miniature Hereford Junior Nationals. This is the year. This is also the last year that Nick is eligible to participate as a junior, so he is tagging along and helping Daniel out with the two restless boys. 
I wasn't able to get the time off of work and we have 3 calves due, so I stayed behind to tend to the important stuff.
The final event of every B.E.S.T. season is the awards banquet. The banquet is a fun time for everyone to get together, enjoy a good meal, and actually look and smell decent. To be honest...we don't recognize half the people when they are all cleaned up.  This is a picture of all the B.E.S.T. participants that attended the banquet. That is a lot of kids...and a lot of the kids weren't there this weekend.  This is the Knox County crew. I know...we are in Morrow County...but sometimes they put us in with the Knox County crew because we show at the Knox County Fair. We just go with the flow...  The main event of the evening is the award recognitions. Not everyone that attends the banquet is eligible for an award. However, they give away tons of door prizes and all participants that are present at the banquet are entered into a drawing for a one year lease of an Eby trailer.  Those that attended all 15 B.E.S.T. shows this season were presented with a show pass good for a free entry at one of next year's shows.  Isaac received a belt buckle for accumulating the most points for the season in the Miniature division. Each show, they are given a certain number of points for how they placed in the ring. These points accumulate throughout the season and the top 2 points winners are awarded a belt buckle. We knew going into the weekend what awards the boys would receive...except for one. Each year they have a photography contest. You can enter a picture in three different categories and then they are judged by each age division. They also have an adult division that parents can participate in. A first, second, and third place winner are selected from each age division. The photography winners are presented with a canvas print of their winning picture.  As soon as we walked in, Walker's eyes turned to the photography awards. There in the back is his picture.... And it is the biggest one...so he knew he won 1st place. He was so excited! I think he was more excited about winning the photography contest for the junior division than he has ever been about winning a buckle.  Walker has never had any direction or training in photography. At the Ohio Beef Expo, he begged and pleaded and whined until I let him use my camera. I stood right by his side and watched him like a hawk! Nobody messes with my camera! I knew he really wanted to submit some photos for the contest, so I indulged him for about 5 minutes. He took an amazing picture!  That is me on the end! Yep...I won first place in the adult division. I had a really hard time getting a picture. The rules state there are not supposed to be any edits or enhancements to the photos. In this digital age of photography, that is a really hard thing to do. I have a lot of pictures I love, but I have cropped, lightened, sharpened, etc. to get the picture just the way I like it. That meant I couldn't use any of those pictures. I am probably my toughest critic, so it took a long time for me to take a picture that I was happy with. I have never won an award for photography, so I was almost as excited as Walker.  The hardest part has been finding the perfect place to hang the pictures in our house. I am trying to convince everyone to let me take my picture to work to liven up the boring white walls of my office.  This is the picture that Isaac submitted for the contest. He didn't win anything and is pretty disappointed. He took this with his phone one afternoon as a storm was starting to roll in. I love this picture so much, I think I am going to have it printed on a canvas for him to hang in his room.  Yesterday afternoon Isaac was busy learning to use his camera (my old camera). He is bound and determined to take better pictures and win the photography contest next year. We always love attending the B.E.S.T. banquet and this year was no exception. The Ohio Cattlemen's Association has created a wonderful program, and along with their many sponsors and supporters, they have put a lot of smiles on faces. You might also like... |
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AuthorHello! I am Heather... the city girl turned mom to manure loving country boys. My husband and I both grew up in the city, but spent weekends visiting grandparents in the country. We are first generation farmers who learn best by almost always doing things the hard way. I hope you enjoy following along with our adventures down on the farm. Archives
December 2018
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