The County Fair

Mom and I took the girls to the county fair yesterday. So fun! First, the big news: my 5 year-old won a BLUE RIBBON!! That's right, folks, we have a budding artist at home. She took first place in her age group (Pre-K & Kindergarten) for her drawing of a Pumpkin Princess. I'll post a picture of it after we pick it up this weekend. Mom got a ribbon for her okra pickles (I knew she would ... those things ROCK) but that was it for all our canning efforts. Here's something weird: they don't judge on taste. "Judging in food preservation will be done according to appearance, texture, uniformity, pack and container." How odd is that? They never even open the jars. Otherwise, I would have swept the competition with my preserves & jelly. Seriously. LOL

So, we had dinner (maybe the best chicken fingers I've ever had), walked around looking at all the booths, checked out the livestock and rides, and my future farmer asked if we could stay to watch the Swine Show. We stayed for 2 rounds before she was too sleepy to hang anymore. It was really interesting! I was impressed with the little kids out there showing those huge pigs, especially after seeing the pigs get into fights. That takes some guts.

Last big news before I sign out and do some work: we're getting a puppy today! I'm a little apprehensive: it's been a LONG time since we've dealt with puppy issues (house-breaking, chewing, training); I don't want our older dog to feel neglected or slighted; and it's the same breed as the dog my brother & SIL lost earlier this year. They're still in mourning, plus they're already dealing with some seriously stressful stuff, and I don't want to cause them more grief. I'm HOPING that a puppy will help cheer them up, and maybe they'll decide to get another dog of their own. We'll see ... The girls are beside themselves with excitement. :)