Scenes from the Fair

 

I couldn't really get into wandering around with my camera this year but mom got alot of neat shots of things going on around the fairgrounds. A big storm blew through on Saturday night and really tore things up. The aftermath would have made for some neat photos but of course the public could not go over onto the midway or into the carnival area while they were cleaning and fixing up.

WIF Jr. Round Robin

 

Making it into the round robin at any fair is a BIG deal and if the look on Aaron's face as he was named Jr. Champion Dairy Goat Showman was priceless, then his expression as he was told he would be going to round robin at the Western Idaho Fair was simply indescribeable!

The Champion and Reserve showman from each species spend the rest of the week learning about the other animals and how to show them. Aaron couldn't really get into that this year but may another year now that he has seen what it really takes. Alot of the competitors show several specials each year anyway and really went about learning about the animals they don't show. They show to each judge for about nine minutes and finish with their own animals.

Aaron's highest scores were in goat and horse. He loved showing the steer and HATED the alpaca. Oh and his only comments on the pigs "it was really gross having to clean his hindend after he pooped"!

Tom Sawyer?

 

Mom and dad needed their picket fence painted this summer and Aaron wanted to make some money. Thing is, I don't think he was any more enthused about the job than Tom Sawyer was - LOL. He did keep at it until he got the one side done though.

Who IS the Fairest of them All???

 

More Fair . . .

 

Yes, we really do do more than just goats!! Aaron took a cooking project this year and had alot of fun with it. As you can see, he got a blue ribbon on his chocolate chip cookies! He also showed his guinea pig in the pocket pet show and was named Grand Champion Jr. Showman (all I had was my cell phone and the picture quality is not good). The fair theme was "The Fairest Fair of them All" - thus the midievial decorations . . .

Gem Boise/County Fair

 

We just finished up with the county fair! It sure was HOT and kind of miserable at times but our club did fantastic at all of the various events and shows that the kids participated in! Check out our goat blog for Aaron's goat show results!

Views Along the Columbia River

 

I think some of the most gorgeous country is that along the Columbia River Gorge! The river runs right along the border of Oregon and Washington. Aaron got some wonderful shots of Mount Hood and we finally saw a tug pushing a barge up the river too.

Aunt Carolyn's Hydrangea's

 

My aunt has some of the most GORGEOUS hydrangea bushes in her yard! Even as hot and dry as it was while we were there they were just beautiful!

Saturday Dinner at Mike and Melissa's

 

Saturday evening, after spending the day at Old Fashioned Days, we all headed to cousin Melissa and her husband Mike's house for dinner. Mike grilled some big ole' hamburgers and Aunt Carolyn made some awesome deviled eggs. Again the kids had fun playing while the adults visited - good times.

Old Fashioned Days - Newberg, Oregon

 

We hit Newberg on Old Fashioned Days week-end! Aaron had fun with Mackenzie and Masyn at the carnival - even though it was about 100 degrees in the shade! The boys had a great time with their big cousin Aaron! Then all three boys got air brushed tattoos - that was interesting to watch . . .

Dinner at Chris and Alison's

 

Friday evening we went to Tigard and had dinner at my cousin Chris' and his wife Alison's house. It was alot of fun - once we found it - it was kind of funny getting lost finding it too. We hadn't seen Chris and his family since my cousin Melissa got married when Aaron was one!

Facinating Wind Farms

 

We recently made a quciky run over to Newburg, Oregon to visit family. This was our first trip that way in a while and we were surprised to see all of the wind farms that have popped up along the Columbia River Gorge! They are certainly facinating and HUGE!. We saw various parts of the windmills being transported by truck and rail - each blade is as long as an airliner's wing - the post part breaks down into about four pieces - each an over size semi-load. The motors themselves were on train cars - two motors to a car! Some of the windmills were just barely moving while others were just churning up a storm!

Happy 50th Anniversary Mom & Dad!

 

My mom and dad celebrated their Golden Anniversary on July 16th. We had a family campout over in Eastern Idaho at Three Island State Park - mom, dad, Aaron and mom and dad's friends headed over the Monday of that week in their RVs and then my family and my brothers family headed over for the week-end - we stayed in the cute little cabins the park has.

Saturday evening we dressed up and went to the neighboring winery for a very good dinner followed by campfire fun and s'mores!