Fair Weather

I didn't have any purple ribbons attached to my photos at this year's Stafford County Fair. I wasn't particularly surprised. In open class, it's only the Grand Champion and the Reserve Grand Champion who take home purple ribbons. After several successful years, I've certainly had my share of success, and I don't enter for the ribbon placing anyway ... though it is always fun to see what a judge thinks.

It's always good to know the people behind-the-scenes. One of the open class photography volunteers told me that two of my photos were considered in the champions conversation. One was the photo I took at dusk in my backyard. It was one of my favorites, too. I love the color and the glowing light of the yard light emanating off the swing and the freshly-fallen snow.

The other was a black and white version of a photo I took this spring during a cattle drive past our house.

But, in the end, two others were chosen. Both belonged to my friend and faithful fair competitor, Jennifer. The one the judge chose wasn't Jennifer's favorite of those she had personally entered. She and I have had the conversation before: It's just one person's opinion on one day. (The same volunteer who shared the information about the championship "drive" also had two photos under consideration.)

It wasn't a banner year for me. I had another couple of blues - one a black and white version of a photo I also took on a snowy January day ...

 

... and a black and white landscape scene taken just south of Quivira National Wildlife Refuge after a different snowfall. 

In open class, blues are ranked 1st in the class. I got five reds  - or photos ranked 2nd in their class - and three whites for photos ranked 3rd in their class. And I had several that didn't garner any ribbons at all. 

I also entered a couple of the travel books I made for Randy for Christmas last year. The Chicago trip book got a blue ...

And the other - documenting our trip to Kentucky and points between - was the second in the class for computer-produced scrapbooks.

The Stafford County Economic Development office sponsors a photo contest for pictures highlighting Stafford County. I was pleased to win first place in the Commerce category for a photo I took at the Stafford County Flour Mill during the tour with Kansas Master Farmers last spring.

I also got a runner up prize in the Places category for a photo I took at the Ritz Theater.

As I've said many times before, I don't enter at the fair for the ribbons or the premium money. Frankly, I come out behind when I consider how much I spend on photo enlargements and mat board every year. But entering in the fair helps keep this rural American tradition alive. Sure, it's fun to see how your artistic eye stacks up against your neighbors. But it's even better to have a place to wander around and reconnect with people from across the county who you don't see on a weekly basis. You can't beat that!

I wasn't the only photographer in the family. For the second year, Kinley and I worked together throughout the year. She also took some photos on trips with her family. While she didn't have any overall champions this year, four of her seven 4-H photos were starred, which meant they were considered in the championship drive. 

Three of her four photos considered in the championship drive were: left top, taken on a family trip to San Diego; the top middle, taken during a photo shoot with conversation heart candies with Grandma; and top right, sunflowers arranged like a heart in the wheat kernels, also a Kinley/Grandma photo shoot.

 

Another Valentine candy heart photo was the other 4-H photo considered.

Kinley's decorated cookies were the champion in that category.

They were amazing. She has more patience than I do. I should have taken a photo of the whole plate, but here are a few examples.

She also had a purple on an orange chiffon cake and a blue on a strawberry angel food cake. 

She and Summer also had a successful second year in the dog project.

She got a champion in arts and crafts on miniature vegetables fashioned from clay, along with a couple of other entries. (Again, that patience and attention to detail shine through!)

Brooke had a good fair, too. She earned a champion ribbon for her consultation about her casual outfit for the Shopping in Style project (formerly Clothing Buymanship).

She had a purple on her dressy outfit for the style show.

She earned a purple ribbon on a jewelry dish she made from clay. (She and I worked on the patriotic wreath when the girls were at the farm in late June. It got a blue.)

She got a purple ribbon on her jam-filled cookies. 

Thankfully, there were some leftovers at home and all the grandparents got to sample those. She also got a purple on her angel food cake and a blue on her yeast rolls.

Her Harry Potter display reviewing all the books in the series also received a purple ribbon.

Ribbons are fun. But 4-H is about much more than that. It's about learning by doing, exploring new interests, getting comfortable with public speaking, working with others and so much more. The 4-H program has been doing that since way back when - even back to the day when Kinley's and Brooke's great-grandparents were part of the program. That's a family tradition worth keeping. 

Newest Residents on the County Line

 

Taking photos of baby kittens is kind of like taking photos of multiple toddlers. It's next to impossible to get everyone looking in the same direction. I think I was as exhausted by my efforts as this kitty appeared to be.

One of our mama cats had five babies. They now have their eyes open and are getting cuter - and bigger - every day. We haven't had a surviving crop of kittens for awhile. This time, the mama had her babies in the Igloo near the house. The Cat Whisperer thought that required a change of bedding material. I concurred. I probably wouldn't have chosen white, but I wasn't the shopper. 

Then, after Randy had invested in a new pad, the mama moved them to the window well. 

I would have thought the accommodations in the Igloo were better, but I'm not a mama cat. Maybe she was trying to avoid the Big Man. She wasn't too wild about his attention at first. She'd hiss and claw. Randy may have had a battle wound or two. But, as I reminded him, a protective mama is better than one who moves them away - never to be seen again.

So far, she's kept them closer to the house, so Randy has been doing his part to tame them - even though we don't have a date that the girls (or Susan) will be here to play with them.

We try not to play favorites around here, BUT ... these are Randy's favorites.

But he does give them equal time. 

Yikes! We almost had an escapee!

They are pretty cute - favorites ... or not.

Full Circle

 

Calm before the judging - The judge's tables and books are ready to go!

Today, I'll be at the Stafford County Fairgrounds for the 4-H foods judging. It will be like coming full circle. 

In July 1994, a little pony-tailed, solemn-faced girl sat down for her first 4-H foods judging. For the record, Jill was never that solemn or silent in subsequent years. But neither she or I knew what we were doing. I look at the photo of the judge evaluating her microwave cake and think we should have left it at home. Yes, a microwave food product was a 4-H foods class at the time - believe it or not. 

The building was hot, and the microwave cake was not her finest moment in the foods competition. But, honestly, I think that's what 4-H is all about anyway. It's all about learning and growth. (For the record, parents learn a whole bunch, too!)

By the time she was veteran 4-Her, she was teaching others, and she, too, was leading foods meetings and also serving as a foods superintendent at the county fair.

As a senior in high school, Jill was the state winner for the 4-H Foods and Nutrition project. (She actually met her future husband at the Emerald Banquet state awards ceremony that year, though neither she or Eric remember it.) All that - despite a red ribbon microwave cake in her 1st 4-H foods competition.

The old Quonset hut building on the Stafford County Fairgrounds

I started Kim's County Line in 2010. In my July 14 post that year, I said I would be volunteering in the hot old building at the Stafford County Fairgrounds that day. Both my 4-Hers had already aged out. So I wrote about my "why" for still putting "sweat equity" into the county 4-H program. Here's some of what I wrote:

So why do I – or the multitude of other volunteers – continue to show up year after year – some of us after our 4-Hers have left the nest? For me, the answer is easy. And I suspect it’s the same for most people who volunteer at their county fair – whether it’s in Stafford, Cloud, Harper, Rice, Finney, Haskell or any other fair in Kansas. It’s because we believe in the 4-H program.

I have evidence of the 4-H programs’ power. I grew up as a Pratt County 4-Her. My husband continues to volunteer in Stafford County where he was a 4-Her longer ago than he likes to admit. ... I think 4-H helped shape us into the people we are today - people who care about and work for their community.

Both our children benefited from 4-H – with everything from project knowledge, leadership skills, goal setting and completion, record keeping and social networking long before there was anything like Facebook or Twitter. Our daughter’s career choice as a dietitian is directly related to her long-time participation in the 4-H foods and nutrition project. Our son’s choice as a college public relations major came – in part – because of tours he took while a delegate at the 4-H Global Conference in Kansas City.

I witnessed my children's growth from the time they were 7-year-old, first-year 4-Hers to the time they were confident, committed 4-H veterans.

Equal time: Brent was a Corn Valley 4-Her, too.

Here we are 30 years later. And I'll be at the Stafford County Fairgrounds today. Though I wasn't the foods superintendent for 4-H foods Jill's first year, it wasn't long after that I became one of the department's superintendents and have been ever since.

I was at the fairgrounds yesterday afternoon, setting up the area for foods judging today. And hallelujah, this year the judging will be in the brand new, air-conditioned building. (In reality, if they hadn't moved judging for several years to the Church of Christ basement and the Stafford Recreation Commission, I'm not sure I would still be doing it. I need air-conditioning in my old age!)

The brand-spanking new facility is a wonderful addition to our county. But the reasons for doing the job are the same as back when we were in that stifling-hot old Quonset hut. It's all about the kids and the 4-H program. 

Ironically, Sunday afternoon I was getting photos via text and offering suggestions for 4-H baking for the Shawnee County Fair. Last evening, I got photos of decorated cookies from Kinley, who's entering that category in her upcoming fair. 

The pony-tailed little girl from 1994 has now taken on the role of 4-H mama. We'll be heading to Topeka for Kinley's and Brooke's 4-H fair next week. We are equal opportunity 4-H supporters. 

Young people in 4-H are three times more likely to contribute to their communities than youth not participating in 4-H. 4-Hers all across the nation are empowered to take on the leading issues of their towns, counties and states and make a lasting difference. ... 4-H youth get the hands-on, real-world experience they need to become leaders and to make positive differences in their communities.

"The 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development"

 from Tufts University 

 Good luck to Stafford County 4-Hers this week ... and to other 4-Hers across the state who are sharing their hard work with the public this week. Come eat at the concession stand in air-conditioned comfort:

 

Pratt - my home county - also has its fair this week. If you're near a county fair, I encourage you to go and support the kids and your community!

Grandma and Grandpa Camp

Down and ready! Maybe that's the way grandparents need to be when they have been elected temporary softball parents for the weekend.

We were ready for the sunscreen application. We did fine on the multiple jugs of water for our player (and the spectators). We remembered the bag with all the "stuff" - the helmet, the bat, the glove and the mitt. But Grandma wasn't necessarily ready for two afternoons of 100-degree temperatures. But I survived and even made supper afterwards before collapsing on the couch. 

Best of all: The Dirt Eaters won their league! (It was probably all the raucous cheering from Grandma and Grandpa. OK, maybe the coaches and the girls had something to do with it.)

Jill and Eric were traveling for work, and it was our turn with the girls. Though we started in Topeka, we worked our way back home for the week. First, there was a stop at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson.

The girls have changed just a bit since their last visit in 2016.

Kinley - 2016, Evidently, Brooke wasn't standing still for a photo in 2016.

 

2024

One small step in childhood; one giant leap toward the fast-approaching teen years! 

Last time, Brooke had to be held up to see out of the astronaut cutout.

This time, no extra boost was needed, but she was given the role of Space Alien by her big sister.

Unfortunately, much of the Hall of Space was closed for remodeling. But there was still plenty to see. (I just saw a news article that said the remodeling should be done by the end of July.)

 

Last time we were at the Cosmosphere, Kinley was 4. She had decided she wanted to be an astronaut and a Mommy. Brooke, at age 2, was not sharing her career goals at the time. However, now I'm not sure she would enjoy the accommodations.

Kinley has since moved on from the astronaut goal, but perhaps they will consider engineering. That was a focus of the Imax movie we saw, Cities of the Future.

Their favorite part (and probably Grandpa's and mine, too) was Doctor Goddard's Lab. 

What's not to like with fire and experiments?

They also built their own rockets and launched them in CosmoKids. 

The CosmoKids area had been added since we were there with the girls in 2016, and we thought it was a great addition to the facility. They also built their own habitat there.

I skillfully avoided the "which one is better" debate by making them work together.

They rode the simulator. That was the only thing that cost us extra. Parents and grandparents: If you haven't downloaded the Sunflower Summer app, you should. All four of us got into the Cosmosphere at NO COST. 

The next day, we returned to Hutchinson for an afternoon at Strataca, the underground salt museum. It was the favorite "tourist" stop for all of us.

Once we descended the 650 feet underground, we found a reference to Quivira, which is only a few miles from our farmstead.

 

Brooke had a Vanna White moment. No vowels were available to buy. However, there was plenty of salt.

I took a photo of a large family, and they returned the favor.

One of the most interesting areas to me is the Underground Vault and Storage. The business stores movie films and memorabilia, oil and gas data and other historical documents, including the movie, Salt, starring Angelina Jolie. Ironic, right?!

The first Twister movie is stored there. Maybe we'll see the second one this summer? (Or maybe not. I'm not a big fan of tornadoes.)

 But the train and tram tours were the favorite parts of all.

 

What came into the mine, stayed in the mine - including trash ...

...and vehicles. Grandpa liked the tractor.

We took a more in-depth tram ride called the Salt Safari (extra cost). For that tour, the guide handed us flashlights and said we were providing the light for him to see to drive and for us to view the mine. Lights were to remain on at all times - except when he wanted us to experience total darkness. We were glad to oblige!

Here's where we could pick up some salt to take home.

The Sunflower Summer app works at Strataca, too. 

Though those were our "tourist" parts of the visit, we also had plenty of other activities.

Both the girls had turns driving Grandpa's Gator. Brooke was tall enough to reach the pedals this time.

The girls were reintroduced to Will and Avery.

Kinley and I worked on mounting her 4-H photography. (Grandma fail: I didn't get any photos. But I had a good excuse. My fingers were sticky from helping Kinley get the adhesive-sprayed photos lined up on the mounting board.)

I did remember to get a few photos of Brooke working on her patriotic wreath for her 4-H craft project.

The girls met a friend at the Stafford Pool and had a treat at The Frosty Bean. (Grandpa was the chauffeur for that trip, so no photos.)

I did remind him to get a photo of their breakfast with Grandpa, Bob and the Boys at Joan's Cafe.

But then I was the person who forgot to get a photo when we visited Grandma and Grandpa Moore. We made up for it the next evening at the wedding rehearsal dinner for Brian and Taylor.

The week culminated in the wedding of Brian Moore and Taylor Clark on Saturday, June 29, at the Crystal Ballroom in Hutchinson. It was a beautiful wedding, and it was great fun to be together with the entire family. 

From left: Kinley, Eric, Jill, Brooke, Randy, me, Brent & Susan

My parents and Brian's proud grandparents

Me and Brent

We had to have one of we three, too - Jill, me and Susan!

Kinley and Brooke with my sister's grandchildren. They all looked pretty spiffy. We were missing Clara, the flower girl, in this photo. She was otherwise occupied.

 

Here's Lisa's whole crew - including Clara.

The proud parents of the groom, Brian. My brother, Kent, and sister-in-law, Suzanne.

My sister, Darci, and BIL, Andrew.

These girls were Dancing Queens at the reception.

We were all there celebrating the bride and groom, Brian and Taylor.

Photo by BC Emery Photography, St. John

I didn't want to leave out the Best Person, Madison, Brian's sister, so I'll include this family photo from BC Emery Photography, too.

What a wonderful time! Congratulations to the newlyweds!

Whew! Grandma and Grandpa had quite a week. I hope the girls did, too.