Madelyn participated in her first Dauphin County 4-H fair. It was so much fun, many memories were made as well as many new friends. The fair went from Wednesday-Saturday afternoon. It was a busy few days and the kids never stopped!
During he Opening Ceremonies each club dressed in attire from different decades. As they entered the arena each club read information about the history of 4-H from that decade. We represented the 1950's.
There was also a pet parade with a variety of different categories, dress alike, funny, etc. Breanna helped Madelyn make a camo skirt and matching outfit for her bunny. They had a lot of fun making this together and Maddy was so excited to be participating. She won third place in her category.
So here is our "fancy" living quarters in the small arena for 3 days. It was a bit like camping, not too much sleep for 3 days but certainly memories were made with our 2am roaster calls, a little animal aroma in the air, cows/goat noises, the air condition unit rattling and of course bugs. We shared our room with the rabbits, cavies, doves, roosters, chickens and the goose. Madelyn woke up one morning to a pig show! She sat up on her cot to watch the show. That doesn't happen every day!
The girls were asked to do a live interview for the local news. They were so excited and remained very steady as they were interviewed.
This is the view from behind the live coverage! Lori Jo, the awesome 4-H leader of the Fur and Feathers club, Bryan Garrido the 4-H Youth Coordinator for Dauphin County and my proud friend Peggy.
After a very busy morning of news coverage she was ready for a big day of rabbit showing! Madelyn was so excited to have the opportunity to be the "writer" at the judging table.
The judge answering questions. This certainly helped Madelyn's confidence with her desire to be a writer in the future. Madelyn would like to be a writer at an ARBA sanctioned show.
The 4-Hers were very serious as they prepared for the showmanship competition. Showmanship is not based on the animal but judged on how knowledgeable the 4-Hers are. They are judged by how they recognize condition, structure and health of the animal.
The girls are practicing with the information sheets that they will not be able to use during the showmanship. It will be solely on memorization and knowledge of the information on the sheet. and their own research.
The kids practiced as they waited....
It's Madelyn's turn! She did great for only her 2nd time doing showmanship.
She placed 4th in the showmanship!! So proud of all her hard work.
Madelyn entered a project in the Pet Science division. She had a face to face interview with a judge and proceeded to a written exam in the family opportunities division. Her project was about how to keep rabbits cool during the summer heat. The title was "Summer Heat is not a Treat"
She wrote on her website about this topic
click here.
Madelyn had the opportunity to meet and show the Department of Agriculture Secretary, George Greig the rabbit area at the 4-H fair. It's great to see these kids confidently talk with adults about their animals.
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Clean up crew!! They took turns cleaning up the rabbit area during the 3 days of the show.
As a parent, It was nice to see others invest into my daughter.
Rich Paradis took some time while visiting from NC to visit Madelyn at the farm show. This will hold a special place for her having someone interested and allowing her to explain/show an area that she has passion for. It certainly meant a lot.
There was certainly time to kick back! I just loved watching my children in this environment. They were kids just being kids.
Olivia, enjoyed meeting new friends as well!
It was fun to watch Logan play hard with all the boys. They played some fierce games of tag, great game of hide and seek and danced! Yes, my boy let loose with a big smile on his face and danced with all the other kids. Jacob, asked me about every 5 minutes when Logan would be back at the farm show.
These two were so sweet together.
One of the sweetest older teens that I have met, Rebecca
LOVE!
Friends!
And more friends!!
Madelyn was learning a new skill it seemed every time I turned around. She didn't waste an opportunity to learn something new. Here she was learning how to spin wool into yarn.
What else would you do at 10pm after waking up at 5:45am after a very full and busy day? These girls swarmed over to help milk the goats.
There was a time that I couldn't find Madelyn during the afternoon. After a couple trips around the room I see her head pop up from the sheep. She was just sitting with the baby sheep on her lap!
A total bonus, as Madelyn has the opportunity to meet new friends so did Billy and I!!! We have so enjoyed the "culture" of this 4-H club. The parents are involved and it is refreshing to see many men investing in their children. This group is not a "drop your kid and leave" kind of group. Many of the parents stay at the meetings & events. There are many opportunities to meet several great families.
Our sweet girl, hard work does pay off!
