Day One- The Fair 2011

The clock says it's 10. The windows show darkness. So, I'm going with p.m.
Youngest and Eldest are dashing around the kitchen, flour flying out of the mixer, Eldest madly flailing at a can of tomatoes with a blunt instrument, thinking the top might open under this assault as the can opener was taken to the camper at The Fair, and we are home preparing for tomorrow's judgings. Eldest is making a stab at creating manicotti, Youngest conjuring up strawberry bread. Both successfully managing to make a colossal mess. There will be mashed berriies, ricotta cheese and parmesan to pry off the floor, counter, and burners, the sink a glued mess of flour and water. Ahh, The Fair.
I have chicken poop all down my hip and an entire big cup of iced tea dried on my person, but we had no power when we arrived home, and when the miracle of power arrived, we were deep into the process of making food without modern convenience, and quickly before it was too dark to see. I in my position as main Answerer of Questions. "Well, I'd use the potato masher to smash the strawberries. The Parmesan is in the cheese drawer in the fridge. Yes, you do have to break the egg in a small bowl first." So, I have yet to try to become one of the clean.
We have made it through the first two, most grueling for us, days of The Fair. Monday morning dawned early, with a former race horse that hadn't been ridden in a week expected to perform calmly in the horse show arena with Middlest showing in her first class requiring a canter (this the third fastest gait of the horse, the only one faster being the gallop- a gait a race horse excells at..)
So, down to the arena at an early hour to get some of Mikey's pent up energy out. He was a star, and did a great job of spreading the energy around. I went running with him- he's a great jogging partner. He's polite, doesn't cut you off, and keeps a strong pace. I thought that early morning run would be my exercise for the day. Optimist. Ahh, The Fair.
We waited throughout the morning, as class after class showed in the arena. Lunchtime came and went, with hours left before her first class.
The clouds gathered, the wind picked up. We closed up the trailer and decided to hoof it back to the barn, give Mike a break from the action and see how things were going at the dog show. Youngest was showing Dog Obedience, and I didn't want to miss it. The way things were going  at the horse arena, we had plenty of time. So we went a sat in the dog show watching the amazingly well behaved canines shown by the eldest participants. I had another Mom at the horse show sending me periodic texts to keep me apprised of the pace at the horse arena, about 1/2-3/4 of a mile from the dog show. I got a text that said they were moving faster due to the coming storm. Then another text saying it was moving really fast, then increasingly urgent texts saying "Come Down NOW!" We left the dog show, wishing Youngest best of luck, and hoping to make it back to see him show. When we arrived at the horse barn to collect the horse and head the 1/2 mile to the arena, the Advisor running the horse show was there in her golf cart to charge down with Middlest so she could dress rapidly. ( Advisor is also Middlest's instructor and wanted her to not miss her classes!)
So, they zoomed off in the golf cart, leaving Mom to have another run with the horse. This one in the rain, and at an even faster pace. My toes still hurt. Running in muddy horse boots not the best choice.
We had the horse tacked up just in time for warm up. Then she showed her first class, being nervous and a bit more scattered than usual- this kid is a quiet rider- and placed 7th in a fairly large class.
Then, as she went in to her second class, Huz called to say Youngest was in the ring with Tucker, starting to show. And I was going to miss it. Ahh, The Fair.
Middlest placed 5th in a steady downpour, earning a pretty green ribbon.
Up at the dog show...
Huz: "He did great!"
Youngest: "It was fun!"
My males aren't big on details.
This is what I found out from squeezing all eyes present:
He and Tucker were excellent. They had a  nearly flawless presentation, losing only 9 points out of 230, and crushing the competition. Until.... the long sit. This is where you tell your dog to sit. Then you tell him to stay. Then you walk away and stand at the end of the leash and wait. The dog should stay. Tucker is good at this. No, Tucker is the best at this. Tucker is a sitter of champion quality. Youngest said "Sit." Tucker sat. Youngest said "Stay!" Tucker stayed. Youngest went out to the end of the leash. Tucker STOOD. Ugh. Then, sensibly, he sat back down, and completed the exercise. But they were toast. 20 points gone. This put them into a close second, and still, a grand performance.
The Big Dog of The Fair  ( the guy in charge of the dog show) encouraged Youngest to take Tucker to the Ohio State Fair Dog Show. Obedient boy.
By now, it was evening, and time to line up for The Fair Parade. So, our club, in their new day-glo yellow shirts and trailed by our Queen Candidate in the bed of a vintage orange pick up, marched around The Fairgrounds. Queens perched on hoods of Camaros and truckbeds, in the rain, holding dainty umbrellas and wearing summer dresses, hair in curls.
At this juncture we were joined by one of my favoritest friends ever, Wenders (high school)  and her family of WendyHuz, and four terrific, personable, smart kids. I love this bunch. They marched with us, then watched the Queen and King Contest, cheering on the show-wers of hogs and raisers of steers as they answered questions for the crowd and judges. "What makes 4-H valuable?" "What is your favorite 4-H memory?" Questions were answered, crowns awarded and Best of Show pies, cakes and breads auctioned off. We were the proud winners of a 4 layer chocolate cake and an apple pie.
Then, a quick bite at the camper- Huz had whipped up a french dip in the crock pot and an excellent potato salad, and then we headed to the not-to-be-missed Combine Derby.
Five huge combines, decorated like OSU football helmets, US Flags and camo skidding around in a sea of mud, smashing each other to smithereens, and declaring in spray paint on the sides "Kill Cancer!" "U.S.A!" and "Anti- Obama!" Oh, my. Ahhh, The Fair.
As the sun was starting to set, we set off for Cowfeathers home, with the Wenders to do barn chores and return the dog. Barn chores were at first fascinating to our guests, but watching poop get moved around gets tiring to watch after an hour or so.
Chasing fireflies is more fun.
As it neared pumpkin-transformation-time, the Wenders headed to their hotel, and we headed back to The Fair. For another round of barn chores. Clean the pens, stalls, new water, full food, safety check. And the campers for fellowship of late night recap, generous sharing of coolers and the chirps and squeals of trucks "running mud" in the background. Ahh, The Fair.