Texas State Fair.....It rained and rained and rained the day we had scheduled to go to the fair but we took umbrellas and went anyway. It was a very empty fairground. Since it was our first time, we decided to wander around and stop anywhere we found interesting. We found a dog show and took a seat in the stands. For some reason, I couldn't get my family to smile at the same time. They look kind of goofy in this picture.
This one is better execpt for Analee's bubble of gum sticking out of her mouth.
The pictures I took of the dogs performing didn't turn out very well. The kids were allowed to meet and pet the dogs after the show. One of the dogs was a pit bull who had been hit by a car and had lost one of it's back legs.
We saw the normal animals you see at every state fair. This little goat kept taking the cup and trying to chew it up. Sam loved it.
We also saw some animals that looked funny. This Alpaca llama, while cute, has an ostrich neck. They were laying their heads on the ground and it looked like their heads were too heavy to lift.
Look at this fella. A four-horned sheep. Now that is a heavy head. I don't think I like the way he looks. Kind of like he has a giant spider attached to his neck.
Three very pretty kangaroos. One was a little baby. So cute.
Feeding the little baby animals was so cute. The bigger animals would come and push the baby ones out of the way and Analee refused to feed the big ones.
Jacob has developed a love for cows. Grandpa and Grandma's farm has fostered that love. Jacob pulled me over to these Scottish cows. They were really cute and he loved them.
This giraffe was very picky about whose hand he would eat from. Jacob was one of the lucky ones. I was a lucky one also and Jacob took that picture but it didn't turn out well.
Normally, I hate anything arcade or midway games but we had some tickets to burn. Since there was no one at the fair, the lady running this game gave us our first shots of the ball free. After that, if we sunk one basket then we could pick one of the smaller animals. Of course, the games were way over priced but Sam and Jacob and Kyle wanted to try. 
Sam took his free first shot and didn't make it. He took his first real shot and didn't make it. Then his second shot went straight into the basket. We cheered like crazy and he picked a piggy-looking stuffed cow. Jacob was next but while he came close, he didn't make any baskets.
Kyle almost didn't make it either. He sunk his last shot and picked a pink piggy for Analee. After that, we got some ice cream and cotton candy and went walking through the demonstration booths. Kyle found a guy selling these amazing fishing rods. It was stainless steel, two feet long with a coil, like a spring, in the middle. It made it very it easy to cast a long way without much arm movement. He really wanted one but had a hard time justifying the price. 
Jacob's football game...This is actually Jacob's second game of the season. He is #20 and his uniform is a bit too big. He plays wide receiver and is very enthusiastic.
Here he is in a huddle before lining up.
They won the game 13-0 against Renner middle school. He goes to Bowman middle school and they are the Raiders. Go Raiders!!!
McCall Elementary Book Fair...I have been in charge of the book fair for the past year and a half. Normally, our book fair is held during a week when the school has an evening event for families and can draw business for the book fair at the same time. This week there was no family event so I had to come up with my own. The theme of the book fair this fall was "Here's to Our Heroes" Reading Saves the Day!!! Local heroes like firemen, policemen, doctors, military. Not the comic book caped crusaders. I decided to invite the fire department and police department to come to the evening book fair. They said yes. YEAH!!! Then I thought of going to the military recruiting offices to ask if a representative of each could come. They also said yes. YEAH!!! Then, I thought I would ask the senior high school ROTC to come and present the flag along with the pledge of allegience. THEY said yes!!! Then, one of the teachers told me she had a friend who was a forensic detective and could come to show off her stuff. Fabulous! I had the makings of a really great event. It all came together so well. The fire department came with a fire engine and the police department came with one of their Tahoe vehicles and they were swarmed with kids. Only the representatives from the Marines and the Navy came but they had groups of kids around them all night. The forensic detective showed the kids how to find fingerprints and they went home with a little card where they had found their own fingerprints. The ROTC did such a fabulous job with the flag presentation and pledge of allegience. The book fair did great business and it was a very successful night. We had a professional photographer take pictures and he was wonderful. I was very pleased with it all. It was also a relief to have it over. Next book fair is in the spring and while I hope the school has a family event the same week, I already have an idea for my own event, if it should be needed.
Our chickens...We now know which of our chicken are roosters and which are hens. Of the 12 chickens only two were roosters. Sam's chicken, Scruffy, turned out to be a rooster but he did not want Scruffy killed. We asked a family in our ward, who has land for farm animals, if they would take Scruffy and keep him safe. They said yes and Sam felt better. He has been invited over to see Scruffy whenever he wants. Monday night, Kyle and the boys butchered the other rooster and one hen. Since we butchered chickens in Oregon with Grandpa I thought I could watch. But these chickens were our pets and I liked taking care of them. I couldn't watch the end. Now we are down to nine and eventually we will take that down to only four. Our coop is finished and I forgot to put those pictures in. I love our chickens and I think they are cute. I have already picked out the two chickens I want to keep and Kyle picked the other two. One of mine is a very dark red with lighter red in the feathers and the other is a reddish-gold hen. They are both very pretty.
September has been a busy month and I am sure I am missing an event or two but this is good enough, and long enough, for now.
This year we went to the MN State Fair three times, or at least I did. We like the free shows they have at all the band shells. And we always spend a bunch of money on stuff we don't need.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the book fair event. What a fantastic idea! I'm so glad you had such a good turn out from those groups you invited to come. I would have loved to have been there.
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