How to Shoot Pigs and Goats.....

Made you look didn't I?

It was really funny to post that on facebook and

see what kind of comments I received.

The top collage is Hunter and Holden.

This was their first experience with goats.

They are experienced pig kids.

I think I was able to convince them that goats

are pretty neat and smell just a tad

bit better than the pigs.

The next collage is of Naomi and her pig, Shemaria.

  Naomi took at least 45 minutes to scrub

Shemaria until she sparkled and it took the pig 10 seconds to find

a mud hole.

The last set is of Poss and his pig, Gordy.

Gordy cooperates much better than Shemaria.

Gordy also knows when he has had enough picture taking....

he just bowls Poss over and gets the heck out of Dodge!

How to Excercise Goats for Stockshows

Remember JoJo the GOOSE CHASER?

I managed to get a video of his excitement

when it comes to exercising our show goats.

This is not a posh poodle...he would happily

live outside in the barn with the goats.

BEFORE YOU HIT PLAY

SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM

AND PAUSE THE MUSIC!

Our "other" kids......

Meet Sally and Otis.

Sally and Otis lost their mother... :(

We are now Sally's and Otis' mother.

 3 times a day, we get to "bond" with

Sally and Otis.

They don't care what we look like, they

are too busy searching for an udder....

I know my knees are fat, but I refuse

to think they remotely resemble

and UDDER!!

Mission accomplished.....

It was too hard for me to feed them AND take a picture

of them nursing the bottle.

So, I took a picture of the empty bottle....

I wonder if there is any coke residue in the bottle

and does that make it a goat coke float?

Do You Need to Make a Special Thank You Gift?

We are 2/3 completed with the spring stockshows.

Sydni and Regan both made the premium sale at the regional show.

For those who don't know about premium sales, here's the down-low....

The exhibitor's animals go through a sale pretty much like a normal auction.

The difference is, the animal is not really "sold".

The money is given as a donation and the "buyer" gets a tax-deduction and a really pretty picture w/ the exhibitor, the animal and themselves.

To show our appreciation to the "buyers", we give them a token gift for their generous support. Most "buyers" are businesses who hang the pictures in their office to show off their community support.

We have done special shirts to baked items to baskets to towels!

I found these floating frames and knew exactly what I could do with them!

Do you see that they have see through glass.....really adds a POW to the picture.

Sydni's steer was "bought" by Armstrong Bank for $600.00!

Regan's looks black because she has the black shirt behind it....

As with all the pics on this blog, you can click them to see them LARGER.

Regan's goat was "bought" by Munding Milling Feed for $650.00!

This was Sydni's last time to show at the regional show...sniff, sniff.

I can't believe she is only a few months away from graduating homeschool high school....sigh.....

I will post pictures of the local show when I get them in.....stay tuned!!!

How to Tell if a Manly-Man has a Daughter....

If you know me at all, you know I go to stockshows to PEOPLE WATCH!

This is a friend of ours who shall remain nameless for obvious reasons....other than the fact that he KNOWS where I live!

I just thought this was precious...I do believe it will tug at all mommy hearts out there.....not to mention all those millions of daddy's girls.

I wonder what he learned about his daughter by listening to her IPOD?

What Does it Take to Put On a Stockshow?

As many of you already know, we are a farm family. The man of the house is an Agriculture Instructor at the local high school. Husband's specialty is livestock. Many a years ago, we decided to raise the children in the livestock area of farming. This meant that it would be our main ACTIVITY as a family. We didn't want to be divided...me taking one child to an event, him taking another child and then having grandparents taking a third child to a different event.

4-H and FFA is a very non-age segregated activity. When dad goes somewhere to work, the whole family can go as well and participate.

Now don't get me wrong, our children played sports at a young age....we burned them out on it before they were old enough to show livestock...yep, that's how we did it.

So, back to putting on a stockshow. We attend many, many, many stockshows through the year. Our local show is actually run by us (the local Ag Boosters).

It takes many, many, many, many, many...you get the picture....hours.

We really start planning for this FEBRUARY show in OCTOBER.

This post is about our trip to Sam's Club to get the items for the BBQ dinner that is the money maker to put on the show.

We leave the house at 5:30 AM.

I am pretty sure I woke up the rooster when I started the car...

We tank up on plenty of coffee....isn't that a pretty cup? I really feel 'pecial when I use my 'pecial coffee cup and saucer!

After I had to turn around and drive back home to get my "list", I make it to the Showbarn (the building we have the stockshow in).
Teri and Rachel are taking inventory of items. I am checking my "list" and making any changes before we head to Sam's Club.

Rachel brought her son, Tanner. Tanner just thought he was was going to go with us so he could ride around on the big fancy flat carts at Sam's.

We gave him the important job of throwing out the old salt and pepper shakers....

He is almost finished with 1/3 of this ONE shaker....he is SHAKING out all the salt.

Is that a boy thing or what? Can you see the container on the bar? It is FULL of salt and pepper shakers....hmmm, maybe by the time Tanner is 21, he will have shook out all the salt and pepper.

We made it to Sam's Club and purchased $753.00 of "stuff".

What you are looking at is what we carry ourselves.

We met a really nice worker, Zach, who put all our other "stuff" on a pallet.

Yep, each year is a learning experience...we used to stack our own 3,000 cans of pop.

Didn't Zach do a great job? Last year, our pallet was TWICE that size!

We've learned to assess and make changes. We also learned to use a flatbed trailer instead of a pick-up bed to haul the goodies.

We are now back at the Showbarn and have unloaded the stuff.

We tried really hard to get Zach to come with us so HE could unload that pallet of pop....

Then we REMEMBERED Tanner!! We remembered that he was young, energetic, and um, gullible....yah, that's it.

Did I mention it was FREEZING that day as well?

Also, that we had to stop and air up a tire?

Oh and we had to make another stop to make sure the stuff was strapped down!

We did the firemen's line and got the stuff into the Showbarn.

Here I am checking the ceiling (that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

Rachel is not in this picture.

You see, Rachel thought the bathrooms were working at the Showbarn. Rachel didn't use Sam's Club or Quiktrip's pretty bathrooms.....she thought she could "hold it" til we got to the Showbarn....insert evil laugh....

Rachel didn't know that the water was shut off to the building so it wouldn't freeze and bust like it has on more than one occasion. (Last month's gas bill was $700.00)

So, needless to say, we HURRIED to get the stuff into the building and Rachel made a beeline to the house.....

There you have it...one small part of putting on a local stockshow. Stay tuned for more posts about hosting a stockshow.

Sign of the TIMES we are in......

We don't want to get the piggies sick!!!

This was a sign at the state fair....have you seen them at your fair?

What Creature is THIS?

I think I've discovered how movie writers come up with some of the weird creatures in the sci-fi movies.....

They take pictures of ordinary things and then focus on just ONE area....take a look and see if you can see the MONSTER....

Don't tell me you can't see a resemblance to the the Loch Ness Monster.....

Here is a little bit friendlier version......

Seriously, should a creature really have CLEAN teeth.....

I am thinking that I could count the ridges like rings on a tree to find this creature's age....

Yep, this is a Priefert Percherons at the State Fair....he just kept begging me to take his picture even when I couldn't see his eyes because he was tethered at the top.....but he knew...he knew how to get my attention....

If you want to know more about these beauties...then check out their website: BIG SCARY HORSES

Just know that they won't look near as scary as what you see on this blog!

The Post that will bring the MOST Traffic this blog Has EVER seen....

Like I've told you many may times...the life of showing livestock tends to get a little boring in between checking in, showing the animals and then waiting for the evening feed time.

So, what is a person to do with SOOOO much time on their hands?

You buy LARVAE and see who has the nerve to EAT THEM!

Of course I KNEW they wouldn't eat just PLAIN Larvae...had to get BBQ...EVERYTHING is better with BBQ right?

This is Kyle.

Kyle is NOT like Mikey(from the LIFE cereal)...he does NOT eat anything.

I would have probably bet that Kyle would have been the last person I would have expected to eat larvae. Well...he put it on his tongue......

Here....let's get a close-up....it REALLY is a WORM!!!
Not to mention that his orthodontist will probably use this picture for what NOT to eat while wearing braces!

He closes his mouth.....and eyes.....

Now, my friends comes the really great stuff....so sorry for the poor picture quality...have you tried to take pics of something moving at lightning speed while you are laughing so hard you just might need to get "DEPENDS"?


You can see it in his eyes and pursing of his lips.....

He is thinking...."What did I just DO?"

Do you see a change in his complexion?

He jumps up...quickly does the universal sign for

"Oh no, I can't believe I just did that".

While trying to spit out the worm...he accidentally almost but not quite...spits out his TONGUE!!!

Then comes the retching sound....

avert your eyes.....

You still had to look didn't you?

Thank goodness I was too busy retching that I didn't snap a picture...

No, seriously, he spent the next 30 minutes trying to spit out the individual body segments of the worm.....and not once did he let go of that state fair RIBBON!!!

FOOTNOTE: This is where I would like to tell you that no Larvae were harmed in the making of this blog post.....but I can't.

ANOTHER FOOTNOTE: Kyle gave me permission to do this blog because he is hoping that some cute girls might recognize him and want his autograph since this is such a famous blog and all!

ANOTHER FOOTNOTE FOOTNOTE: I have been banned from putting his father's picture on this famous blog because he is afraid the cops might recognize him on this famous blog!

Life of the Farm Kid....

When farm kids show livestock....often the reality is that they will have to learn to say goodbye. Regan showed "Phantom" at the fair this past weekend and "Phantom" did very well. He was the 3rd best goat in the show of more than 100 goats.

"Phantom" made it into the sale...which meant that "Phantom" would not be

going home with Regan.

"Phantom" was a special goat since he was out of her herd of goats. Often, show animals are bought and brought to the farm.

"Phantom" was sold for over $600.00.

So goes the life of a farm child.

Goodbye Phantom....we love you and will miss you!!