Day 4 at the Fair

 Hello Everyone,

Jess started out the day yesterday when he and Lil' Wayne placed 4th in the swine showmanship competition.

That competition is all about the FFA student and how well they can handle their animals.  4th place for his first year of showing is very good.

Next up was the turkey competition at 6pm.  We had been invited to dinner with our best friends of 45 years, so we bailed on the turkey competition which both Jess and Emily were in.  We were talking with the kids in the morning, and they just wanted to have the turkey competition out of the way.  They both swore they would never raise turkeys again since they are dirty, smelly, and not very bright.

While we were dining with our friends, text messages and pictures started arriving from our daughter, Emily's mother. Emily WON the advanced showmanship competition and came in 4th in the market category!

Here she is accepting her blue ribbon.  Emily was competing against her cousin and her friend Crayton in the Advanced competition.

Jess was a little nervous for his competition.

My daughter's text said, "Jess killed it with taking 1st in the first-year showmanship!"  Then he went on to take 3rd in the advanced competition against Emily.  The cousins were hugging after the competition, but my daughter and DIL were too excited to get a picture of the hug.

Part of the competition is holding the turkey upside down by the legs so the judge can feel the size of the breast.  The next series of pictures is so funny of Jess who didn't like this part of the competition.

Success!  Talk about feathers flying!

If someone held me upside down to feel my breasts, they would find them around my earlobes!

We said our goodbyes to Rooster, Knox, Nutmeg, Stubbs, Lil' Wayne and the two un-named turkeys.  They will be auctioned off on Sunday and taken away for harvest.

There will be hugs, petting, and a lot of tears from the kids as they say their goodbyes.  Their hearts will be filled with many memories, and the lessons they learned are invaluable.

This was Kinsey and Emily's final hurrah for FFA.  They loved their participation in the program over the last five years.  They are better young women who can do anything they put their mind to. They learned speaking skills, organizational skills, animal husbandry, and the ethic of hard work. They both held positions as officers in the program. They made many friends and many memories on their FFA journey. 

We are heading back to the cabin this morning with hearts that are full of pride and love for our grandkids.  They are good people!

Soon,

Lynn