4-H: State Fair

As mentioned in a previous post, Hailey was chosen as a State Fair delegate for her Entomology project.  Our county's judging date was Saturday, August 13th.  We headed down on Friday afternoon to be ready to leave at 8:00 a.m. the next morning to arrive in time for project check-in.  Parking was a bit challenging (possibly due to the flooding they incurred on Friday from 5.3" that fell in less than 2 hours), so Brian dropped the girls and I off at a gate a little bit closer to the 4-H building so we could hurry to get checked in.  Hailey's judging time was at 1:40 pm and there were 7 Entomology 1 exhibits.  Each exhibitor met with the judge for about 10 minutes to discuss his/her project and display.  A State Fair rosary ribbon is given in recognition for being chosen as the highest placement in his/her county.  Then, if the judge feels that the exhibitor did an exceptional job in this discussion and display, the project can also be awarded a Superior ribbon.  Hailey didn't receive a Superior ribbon this time, but she gave it her best effort!  She learned a lot and made some great memories, so now she knows what to work towards for the future!  She wants to continue on with Entomology for next year, so we're excited to see how next year's collection turns out!

Ironically, our trip to the State Fair fell on Brian's and my 11th anniversary.  Brian proposed to me 12 years ago after we had attended the Indiana State Fair, so state fairs are memorable for us!  We walked around, rode a couple rides, ate some fair food, stood in line for a half hour waiting to meet the Paw Patrol characters, and went through a few livestock barns.  My niece also made it to the fair with her coffee cake, so we got to experience some of the fair with my sister and her kids as well.  My sister's Fitbit logged 10 miles of walking!  It was a fun but exhausting day!

We're here!

Talking with the judge about her project.

The sign next to all the Entomology displays.

Next to her State Fair rosary ribbon!

4-H Pledge

Excited to be exhibiting at the State Fair!

With her cousin, Laura!

Clara's favorite TV show right now is Paw Patrol on Nickelodeon.  Her favorite two characters are Skye and Chase.  We found out that they were going to be at the fair that day, so we kept it a secret from her until we walked up to the event.  She was so excited!!  The girls give Chase a hug.

With Skye and Chase together.  Clara was on Cloud 9!

Clara was too short to ride the Scrambler with just Hailey, so I had to ride along, too.  This is my most favorite fair ride so I didn't mind!

We were having so much fun!

Flying swings

Spider/Octopus ride.  The girls did not like this one at all, but unfortunately since it cost $25 to ride just these 3 rides, we couldn't afford to put them on another one to make up for it!  Why did fair rides get so expensive??