Tag Archives: New London County 4-H fair

kids

2017 New London County 4-H Fair

Leave a comment

Last weekend was fair weekend.  Friday evening was move in night.  We took 5 rabbits (all we have remaining at this point) and items for the exhibit hall.  We also moved a full trailer load of jumps to the fairgrounds in preparation for the Horse Expo on Saturday.  Due to low participation numbers, the horse show was removed from the NLC 4-H fair a few years ago and New London combined with other counties in a state 4-H horse show.  Ever since, the horse kids haven’t had a way to participate with their animals at the fair.  Last year, I came up with the idea of a Horse Expo where the kids participate in a various classes and clinics throughout the day.  It was a non-competitive event that allowed the horse project kids to spend time with their peers similar to how the youth do in the goat and cow barn.  It was a great success and the kids had fun.  Each Club took a period of time to host a class; the classes included a showmanship clinic, jumping demo, costume class, trail clinic, and gymkhana class. Vicki and Duchess and Alex and Dakota all had a good time at the fair.

Saturday was also rabbit showing.  Alex and Vicki both participated with their Dutch bunnies.  Vicki got 1st in Jr Showmanship, Alex got 4th in Sr Showmanship, and Vicki’s Rhinelander (Winter Rose) won Best in Show Pet Division.

On Sunday, Vicki and Amanda participated in the Rabbit Hopping competition with their Rhinelanders (Winter Rose and Pretty Paw).  This is a fun activity and the girls let others use their rabbits to learn about hopping.  Winter Rose had the first and second fastest runs through the jump course.

Alex participated in the Robotics Competition.

The weather was great and the kids had a good time.  Alex won Best in Show with his Lego Technic tractor (the 3rd year in a row?).

There was one development through the weekend which was a little harder to accept.  It’s no secret, kids grow up.  On the way to the fair Sunday morning,  we played music from Vicki’s phone.  Her playlist had definite signs that she has developed her own identity, which is fine.  Vicki spent a lot of time hanging out with her “friends” which seemed to include more guys than in years past.

All-in-all, it was a good weekend.

kids, Uncategorized

How did we end up in August already?

Leave a comment

Every summer, July seems to be our busiest month.  This year was no exception.  Keeping up with blog posts seems to fall on the back burner as the days get long and filled with activities.  Evenings are spent riding horses and we come in from the barn around 8:30 to eat some dinner and get kids in bed.

So what have we been up to?  Early July included a week of Pony Club camp for the kids.  Vicki got cleared by the doctor to resume riding after her broken arm, just in time for the last 2 lessons at camp.

Towards the end of the month, we had a short trip down to Washington DC.  It was a down Sunday, back Wednesday trip.  But while we were there, we did take the kids to the National Archives, outside the White House, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and Mount Vernon.  We camped in our travel trailer at the campground on Joint Base Andrews.  Here are a bunch of photos from that trip.

Right after we got back, it was a quick turnaround and the New London County 4-H fair started on Friday evening.  Since we sold the goats, it we only had 2 rabbits and 1 dog to take with us, in addition to a lot of exhibit hall entries.  We camped in the trailer on the fairgrounds and it was a good weekend.  I set up an amateur radio station to run a demo, but also to have something fun for me to do.

Sunday afternoon, Alex and Vicki left directly from the fair to 4-H Camp for the week.  Unfortunately, Alex managed to slide playing kickball and broke his wrist in 2 places on Sunday night.  He still finished the time at camp after getting a cast, but he’s off horses for 2 months.  Amanda was the big farm helper while the others were gone.