Dane for a Day

Our little town of Viborg celebrates Danish Days every July (yes, during the hottest weekend of the summer) and this year was no exception.  We all got our Dane on!

GW and Quinn were our Candy Catchers for the parade.

Camille walked with our 4H club and handed our freezies that were much appreciated by the crowd. The temps rose over 100 deg before the end of the day.

Loren and Bri rode Mesa and Dyamond in the parade as well, with Lani and her family. This was a dream of Bri's ever since she was probably 4 or 5- to ride her horse in the parade.  So happy for her that she finally realized that dream!

Luke was also in the parade, but was moving the horse trailer for Loren and didn't get back to the Scouts in time to walk with his troop.  He showed up later in the parade in one of the covered wagons, but I wasn't expecting him to be there, so I didn't get a picture snapped. :-(

We also attended the Classic Car show in the park Friday night and got to catch up with many friends while everyone tried to stay cool in the shade. 

For all of you who have hometown celebrations, here's to honoring heritage, small towns, and summertime!!

Bri came up with a new strategy for getting what she wants....

How pitiful is that?!  She figures that if she uses the cute puppy face to her advantage, we can't say no.

She may just be onto something!

Yesterday, the girls and their friend, Moyra, took their 4H chickens to our local nursing home for their Chicken Week.  (Did you know it's National Chicken Month?  Well, their Activities Director did!)

Bri standing on the Bingo Card, telling about her Belgian Quail

Camille letting residents pet her Silkie.

They gave their 4H Showmanship presentations to explain all about their chickens, then answered questions.  Then the chickens were put into an enlarged Bingo card on the ground, and each nursing home resident that attended was allowed to pick a number on the Bingo card.  We then waited for the chickens to see which number they would "poop" on, and the person that picked it was the winner!

 The comments from the residents were so funny!!  Many of them had grown up on a farm and they shared alot of memories they had from raising or butchering chickens and ducks.  It was a good day, and I'm sure the residents will be talking about chickens all week! 

Fair Time

It's that time of year again- the August heat is wearing us down, school is just around the corner, and the scramble to prepare our projects for the Turner County Fair begins!



Last minute touches on a sewing project




Baking cookies!

 The fair is our family last stab at summer fun- we do a day of the rides, eat lots of funnel cake, cotton candy, and Indian tacos, and visit with friends while watching livestock shows and walking the fairgrounds.  The kids will show animals and crafts on Monday, work the 4H food stand on Tuesday,  do the wristband rides on Wednesday, and the 4H program and games on Thursday. 

There are several "shows" that are presented before the actual fair, done earlier due to time constraints, scheduling conflicts, and so that they are done before the state events.  The girls competed in both the Dog Show and Cat show.

Camille and Hannah

Bri and Emma

Turner and Tripp County dog show contestants

Camille and Cookie

Dietrich and Camille

Moyra, Dietrich, and Camille receiving showmanship ribbons

As with every opportunity to win something, there is always the chance the kids will come home feeling despondent because they didn't win.  This gives us the chance to practice good sportsmanship and to learn that it's not the ribbon that is the goal, but the skill learned and the experience you gain participating. 

The contests allow them to try and fail, with the support of their family, so they will learn how to accept failure graciously, and also how to plan and strategize for success the next time.

 Didn't win the top Showmanship award this year?  Practice and review the questions more before the contest next year.  Your rabbit was underconditioned and got a blue instead of a purple?  Plan a better feed program and make sure to keep the rabbit cool next August prior to the fair. 

How else can we learn to become problem solvers for life if we don't have problems to solve?  These opportunities equip them with the tools to deal with life's many obstacles and they learn to look for the solutions instead of giving up.

 It also shows our kids that they CAN fail, and come out on the other side of it wiser and ready for the challenge next time, armed with a toolbox of skills.  Being in groups like 4H or Boy Scouts gives kids the chance to learn this very important life skill of problem solving.

So bring on the Fair!

4H and Violin

                 

  Today was back to back kids events- first the SE Area Violin contest this morning for Bri and she came through like a trooper. She never fails to impress me with her courage- even though I knew she was very scared, she still kept her composure and performed beautifully.

She also earned her first 10 pt cup in violin performance- it takes at least 3 years of contests to earn enough points to win it, so she was very excited to find out that she had won it today.  Yah Bri!

We finished at the violin contest in Vermillion, and left for our 4H Talk and Demo Day in Viborg.  The kids each gave their presentations, along with about 20 other kids, and finished with a pizza party and basketball.




Bri's talk about Anacondas

 

Camille's talk about Sign Language



Luke's demo on equipment he uses for milking his cow

 All in all, a good day.   :-)
Michelle