County Fair | 2012

What a different view I had of the fair this year!  I wasn't in charge... I wasn't at the fairgrounds 16 hours a day... I wasn't getting justified (and crazy) questions all day.  I loved it.  So many things I haven't gotten to enjoy with my family before - we watched the parade, we went to the rodeo, the chuck wagon races, the demo derby, the BBQ contest, the pedal pull, played at the carnival, climbed on the implements, ate fair food together, watched a couple of animal shows... and I didn't get pulled away or have my cell phone ringing constantly.  The only thing I really missed was that I didn't get to visit with people as much.  It is hard to visit when Lucas is pulling on my arm or Hannah is mad about being restricted in her stroller. 

The office asked me to work a few hours during the fair and I was happy to help.  It was kind of fun to not be in charge but still be in the mix of everything. 

Anyway, back to the non-working.
 
My grand champions -

Lucas' favorite carnival activity. 

I bet he threw 150 baseballs during the fair; his fastest throw was 17 mph.

However, he DID NOT love the ladybug ride. 

This pic was seconds after being buckled in so he was able to get off before it started.  Poor guy. 

We enjoyed {too many pieces} of pie and Great Pa's ice cream!

One of Hannah's favorite activities - sitting on the tractors. 

One 4-H parent said to me, "Isn't it great they bring this jungle gym to the fair?" 

So true!

 

Lucas entered the Pedal Pull and loved it. 

First, he had a full pull (40 feet).

Then, they added more weight and he had a full pull again. 

The third time, they added more weight and he made it 36 1/2 feet. 

Not bad for a kid who didn't even know what a pedal pull was when it started!

Third place. 

Showing off his ribbon to Gramma Connie and Papa Steve.

 

Daddy entered the Cook Off Contest again this year. 

He made chicken with his homemade barbecue sauce and a prime rib. 

Lucas had three plates of food!  Bill had his share, too.

Contestants/winners - Brent won the poultry category for the cook off. 

Way to go!

On Sunday afternoon Brent wanted to go back to the fair for the Ribbon Auction and I happily obliged.  I should have been tipped off that this was out of character (one visit for the whole week is enough for Brent).  We went into the show ring, found a seat and sat down to sweat.  And wait.  And sweat.  They started awarding some of the special awards for the 2012 year and {SURPRISE} one of them was for me... that's why Brent was okay going back to the fair that afternoon... and sitting there sweating.  :-)  He knew about it for a few weeks and even got some special people to come watch. 

The Fairboard chose me as the 2012 Fair Person of the Year. 

I was very surprised and very honored!

The inscription reads: 

Presented to Teresa Perry for outstanding youth involvement and dedication to the Hardin County Fair. 

 

On the way home from the fair that night, Lucas announced the fair was over but there were still fun things to do this summer - like vacation!  There is always something good to look forward to.  :-)

I had fun judging 4-H exhibits at other fairs this year, too.  I think this will be a new hobby for me.  It's fun to see other county fairs, visit with 4-H'ers and get paid.  I judged at five other county fairs in 2012.

yum ~ sweet corn

We "did corn" recently. 

If you are as lucky as we are to grow your own sweet corn and have that yummy goodness for as many meals as you wish, then you probably know what that first sentence means.  "Doing corn" is a two word description of picking a truckload of sweet corn, husking, washing, cutting, cooking, cooling, bagging.  With the weather conditions in their current state it was a very-last-minute plan.  {We decided at 10pm that we'd do it the next day.} Brent and Steve picked it all and Grandma Jean and I helped them with the rest of the steps.  Since it was so last minute I had some appointments and Brent had some work things to take care of throughout the day... so Grandma and Steve really did most of the work!  It was a great day, we got a lot done and as much work as it is, it is worth it the rest of the year! 

I love visiting with Brent's Grandma.  She has great stories and a different perspective on things from her 77 years.  For example, she didn't even want any of the corn that she spent hours laboring over!  {We sent enough bags to fill her freezer against her insistence.}  She said it was the best day of her summer so far because of the company :-) 

I came away from our day thinking about two things she talked about.  First, was how unique it was that Steve and Brent spent the whole day "doing corn."  Her comment was that you wouldn't find many husbands who would get up at the crack of dawn to hand pick the corn, let alone stick around all day to do the rest of the work, including clean up & {sticky} dishes.  Her comment stuck with me because I take for granted that Brent will do his share.  We enter many endeavors together - some that I drag my feet... some that he drags his feet... but still together.  I couldn't be more blessed because we can spend days like this together and we enjoy spending days like this together. 

Of course the hot weather was a topic during our day and Jean said that her sister, Lois, was born during a very hot summer in 1936.  We wondered just how hot so I quickly got on my phone {I was stirring corn as it cooked, don't be fooled - I didn't really work that hard} and searched for weather records in 1936.  Lois was born on July 13, 1936, and the average temperature in Iowa on that day was 113 degrees F.  It isn't newborn baby Lois I was thinking of - it was her and Jean's mother!  Giving birth in that kind of heat with no air conditioned, no fans, no running water, or ice... Oh my!  The summer of 1936 still stands as the hottest summer on record in the United States. 

We had a great day, accomplished a lot and enjoyed the company while doing it. 

friend fun

Cash came to hang out with Hannah a few weeks ago.

We had so much fun playing!

Lots of playing barn and playing with tools.

Hannah "catching" Cash on the slide.

Some kitchen time.

Teamwork.

The only disagreement was when they both wanted to push Hannah's pink Itty Bitty American Doll stroller...

I'm guessing he won't want to be reminded of that in ten years. :)

Snack time. 

I missed the photo op of Cash picking up Hannah's cookie and feeding it to her.  Sweet boy. 

digging for dinosaurs

We had a dinosaur dig at our house during the *really* hot weather. 

I bought a package of dinosaurs for $2.00 then froze them in layers of water in a big tub.  I froze it in stages over three days.

The tools.

About seven seconds before Josh & Jonah came I thought of a scorecard type of thing.  Their incentive was to get all twelve dinosaurs - the reward was a Popsicle.  :) 

The boys had fun!  We did have to establish a "one person digs at a time rule."

After nap, Hannah wanted in on the fun, too.

Getting close!

Hanna V. came to play, too.  She loved the challenge!

They found all twelve!

Even after they were out of the ice, the dinosaurs were fun... squirting them off the deck.

It took about two hours to dig the dinosaurs, another hour of playing pretend and Popsicles. 

A great afternoon of fun! 

cousin time

On a recent trip to my parent's house, Uncle Brian, Aunt Jen, Nick and Will were there, too. 

It was fun to hang out with them. 

Papa Richard had lots of "help" that weekend.  More help than he needed. 

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Water sprinkler fun. 

 Washing Gramma Mary's wishing well.

Visiting the park near Gramma & Papa's.

Hannah was waiting to "catch" Nick. 

We were also there to celebrate a baby shower for Erin and baby Quinn.

I also got to see Jen and Kade.  

Riding a bike...

Oh, the irony!  My last post was a picture off Lucas and Hannah riding a bike/big wheel.  The same night I posted that photo, Brent took the training wheels off Lucas' bike. 

What?!?!  He's only 4 1/2!!!! 

Lucas was excited because the neighbor girls had gotten their training wheels off earlier this summer.  He had been asking but I told him maybe next summer.

Daddy was a great teacher!

Learning about balance and steering.

Love this face!  He was proud of himself.  And we were so proud, too! 

It was less than ten minutes from when Brent first helped him to when Lucas was riding up and down our dead-end street on his own!

This was about the time we realized he should probably be wearing his helmet.  Hey, don't judge us. 

 

He's had a few crashes into the curb and tumbles, but no injuries. 

Thankfully, he jumps right up and hops back on his bike. 

He rode until dark that night and first thing the next morning he was asking to do it again. 

Guess who else wanted to ride? 

 

Click here to see video of Lucas riding his bike.

You can watch the post bike ride interview here.