County Fair -- Judging Day

The boys have been working on projects to enter in the county fair and yesterday was judging day. Pete, Re-Pete and Tank are all "Cloverbuds" which means they aren't officially in 4H but enter for the fun of it. Tank was excited as it was his first year and he wanted to enter a painting. We finished his project but then his nerves got the better of him and he wanted to back out. I convinced him to stick with it and he did make it through. He was worried about talking to the judge all by himself about his project but I stood next to him to give him moral support. The younger kids all get participation ribbons and it is all fun with helpful hints to get them ready for the "real" judging in future years. Pete and Re-Pete are old pros and enjoyed talking about their photo posters they made and their legos. They can't wait until next year when they can actually get a 1st or 2nd place ribbon.



George was excited about his projects this year. He entered photography and legos again but this time decided to try decorating cupcakes. We found the idea to make corn on the cob cupcakes and they turned out really nice. Although trying to make them hold up to transport was a little difficult. Thankfully it wasn't an entire cake! Noah got a 1st place on them but as it turned out the judge really liked the cupcakes too and held onto them for later judging for higher awards. We went back to see if he could possibly receive a  higher award and unfortunately he did not, but we are so proud of him for his hard work and creativity. We later found out that there were 600 some entries in the food category and out of that his was put aside for special consideration which is an honor in itself! He already is planning to decorate a cake for next year.

[caption id="attachment_782412" align="alignleft" width="221" caption="George and Corn On the Cob Cupcakes"][/caption]



For anyone in the area look for the boys projects in the 4H building when you are at the fair. (Cupcakes won't be there due to the fact that they would be a spoiled mess). They all entered photos -- George took his own and the other boys made posters with photos I took but most have people you recognize in them. Our club is Willing Workers so you can visit our booth too for more pictures of them.

Holland Fest

I grew up going to Holland Fest in a nearby town and looked forward to it each summer. It is a wonderful family festival celebrating the Dutch heritage (I'm 1/4 Dutch) and it was always kind of a family get-together as my Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles come also, sitting in the traditional spot -- at the Windmill.

Each year I would watch the Klompen dancers and it looked liked so much fun. Later on I thought if I ever had a daughter I would have her dress in costume and join in the dance. This year I finally decided to do it, although it was too late to be a dancer but anyone is able to dress up and scrub the streets to prepare them for the dancing.  A lady in our church has had her children involved in Klompen dancing for a long time and so she was kind enough to help me out in getting some costumes and rented wooden shoes for us. My Mom made a beautiful little dress for Missy. I was delighted that three of my boys also wanted to join in the fun.

The Town Crier walked the street announcing it had been declared too dirty for Klompen. And so the boys and men poured the water and the girls swept one street at the opening of the festivities which was followed by the Klompen Dancers and then the kids joined in the Wooden Shoe races. George found out that running in wooden shoes without a lot of padding really hurts the feet! Ouch! As if they didn't hurt just from walking in.

The next day was the parade and the "real deal" so the streets again needed to be prepared all the way down the parade route and then the Burgermeister and Town Crier come down the streets again and declare them clean. This time we all wore more socks and my feet felt better. George now had blisters so he smiled in spite of the pain and kept right on hauling buckets of water. I was very proud of him for giving it his best!

Helping his brother get a pail of water

We are hoping that next year Pete and Re-Pete will join us as they saw how much fun we had. My sister and my nephew might join us also so my Mom is thinking she may start now on making costumes! :) I'm so thankful for a Mom who can sew so beautifully and quickly!

Washing the streets