Junior State Fair

This year Valerie and I went to the Junior State Fair in Sacramento. Usually we attend the Senior State Fair where the adults bring their (mostly wool) sheep to compete during the last days of July. The Junior State Fair is all about the FFA and 4H and having the kids under 18 compete with their animals and for showmanship as well as skills. (Yes, it's also about eating things on a stick ... but, we're not going to go there just now). Each week a new set of animals is brought in. (Next week is dairy goat week. That's an impressive but difficult one. I'm glad we don't do that). Below Madelyn and Hailey represented Chico 4-H. Valerie represented C.O.R.E. Butte FFA. Hailey will be joining Valerie's FFA chapter this year when she enters high school.

The first competition was the Champion Challenge. In this competition the students first take a written test. The top 15 scores in the categories of sheep, goats, cattle, poultry and rabbits and selected to continue on to the next challenge. During this next part, there are several tables set up and each student has 5 minutes to demonstrate a skill or knowledge to the judge at each table. So, they may be answering questions or demonstrating how to tag the ear of the animals or some other demonstration. Valerie won the Reserve Champion place for the category of sheep. She would find this out on the last day of the fair. Here she is explaining something to one of the judges.

Valerie showed a market lamb.

Valerie also prepped and showed some wool sheep. Below she is blowing the fleece of one of the Shetland Ram Lambs just before the show.

There were several days of hard work at this fair. Valerie, Madelyn and Hailey were all very supportive of each other. They all worked together to keep the pens cleaned and the animals well cared for and prepped for show. They assisted each other leading animals into the ring or standing at the exit to receive animals so that they could continue competitions for several days in a row.

Apparently it is tradition for Hailey's show coach, Derek, to give a giant hug to everyone who helps out. He knows that Valerie hates hugs, so Valerie apparently gets a very special hug that turns into a big exhibit for everyone in the barn. Hailey told me to pull out my camera for this event. It was hard to take pictures while we were all laughing so hard. Here is the hug sequence:

Below are the girls showing the Shetland sheep. The Junior State Fair is not the best place to show wool sheep as it is dominated by market animals. But the judge here actually appreciated the Shetlands as they were shown against some pretty impressive other wool breeds.

On the last day of the fair Valerie received her Reserve Champion rosette for the Champion Challenge that she undertook on the first day. It's a pretty big deal. We are, of course, very proud of her.

Once we loaded all the animals and equipment out of the barn and headed back up north, it was time to off-load animals at Carol's house. Here are the girls back in their street clothes ready to head off to the barn to feed the critters dinner and say goodnight. Good job, you show girls!

Amira is still scouting it up. It's summer and the girls opted for some fun events during July. A few weeks ago they met for bowling. Last week they met for a game night. They played a variety of games including a dance competition. They are a great group of girls. They'll be heading off to Volcano Camp at Mount Lassen in the beginning of August.

Amira texted me the below image while I was off at fair with Valerie. I laughed because it's true.

Buster is still one hungry bunny. She has scurried down the hall and sniffed out where we keep the pellets. You can also find her right at the edge of the carpet in the living room each time she hears the fridge open. She'll never miss a meal!

Ramon likes his greens too!

Valerie's rats would never turn down a treat either. They are all spoiled.

Amira talks turkey with Grandpa Alligator.

I was lamenting not having any photos of Rex or Michael for the blog on this post. But then I remembered Michael sent me a photo of himself on his trip to Mexico with his friend last month. This was before he shaved his goatee. I need to get some more recent photos of his face without the fur.

Sometimes I google my kids names and see what pops up. Interestingly, I found a photo on the local school district website with Rex in it from last October. It came with this little blurb:

CHS Engineering and Architecture Students are Busy

Alli Lockwood and Sonia Anthoin are two of Mr. Bruggeman’s Engineering Design/CAD IV students who are responsible for collecting pictures regarding the Career Technical Education program. The first picture below is of two Engineering III students, Jack Sheridan and Rex Wilhelm. They are working on parts in the classroom for a local manufacturer called Boxer Metal. Boxer does custom restoration on antique BMW motorcycles. Jack and Rex are reverse engineering two parts that are no longer available on the open mark or produced in any shop. The parts will be modeled on Solid Works to owner Chris Canterbury’s specifications. The students will then 3D print prototypes for Chris to assemble back at Boxer Metal. If successful, Chris plans to take the parts and the students to Chico State University Engineering to have them mass produced. Integration at its best.

Well, that's the haps for now. I'll try to keep you all updated as life moves swiftly forward. Summer is flying by quicker than ever this year, or so it seems.