Fair Week: Ezri and Barb Take the Stage

The big news of this past week has been our involvement with the Allegan County Fair.  There has been much excitement leading up to fair week.  Months of preparing crafts and projects, weeks of working with a new project rabbit and learning all about the aspects of showing a rabbit, hours of practice and rehearsal - all of it led up to this past week.

We visited the fair last Sunday with Jay & Becci, where we spent time walking through the barns and checking out the scene.  Of course, our first stop was to see Barb in his temporary home at the fair.  Ezri was thrilled to see her name on the front of his cage!

 And very excited to be able to hold him again.

 We also went and found her exhibit in the youth barn, and she was quite proud to point out all of the things she had made over the past year: a hula hoop, canvas painting, canvas bag, Christmas card, candle, candies and cookies, pencil holder, sun catcher, matchstick ornament, travel checkers game and a hand painted t-shirt.

 Lunch was at our usual 4-H food booth and then the girls enjoyed a ride on the old village merry-go-round for a bit before we ventured on.

 The "Farmer For A Day" exhibit is always a hit with the girls, and they made sure we did not forget they wanted to stop there.  Inside, they got to pick apples from the tree, gather eggs, dig for potatoes, milk the cow and play.

 New at the fair this year was a tiger show, and we were all very curious and excited to see it.  The wait was hard for the girls, but we got a decent (thought hot) place to sit where we could see well.

 The show wasn't as exciting as we hoped, but still very cool and we all enjoyed seeing the huge tigers perform.  They were quite beautiful.

Though perhaps not quite as beautiful as the little ones enjoying the animals...

 

A trip through the baby animal barn was necessary, as was a stop at the tractors so all of the kids (big and little) could climb onto them.  Then, with very tired girls, we headed home to rest and prepare for the big day coming on Monday.

We woke Monday and tackled as much school as distracted little girls could handle before packing up and heading to Allegan.  We wanted to get there early so Ezri had time to groom Barb and prepare him for the show before the barn filled with the rest of the rabbit showmen doing the same.  It gave her more time to learn the process and spend some time with Barb.  After he was all groomed, we let him rest and took some time to walk around a little more.

By 3:30, we were back in the rabbit barn getting Ezri and Barb dressed and ready for the show that began at 4.  Becci joined us just to watch, and she was happy to have someone come just to see her. 

Ezri was so excited!!!  This mama may have teared up a bit at the sight of her all decked out in her show clothes, with her first year 4-H pin proudly showing on her collar at her request.  She sat anxiously in the stands, waiting as patiently as she could for the show to begin.  As a Cloverbud, she and her fellow young showmen got to go first.  

 

When it was time for the show to start, Ezri proudly and without hesitation hopped right up and approached her assigned table, where she waited for the judge.

When it came her turn to show Barb, she did just as she had practiced, very thorough and following all of the steps she had worked so hard to remember.  Even with a judge in front of her and a whole lot of people watching, she was calm and collected and never acted nervous.  

When Barb fidgeted a few times and flipped from his back to his feet, she handled it like a pro and stuck with her routine, working to flip him back over, no frustration visible.  

 She then waited patiently as the other children took their turns showing, holding Barb still and waiting with smiles.

We were so proud to see her step up to the challenge and bravely tackle this new venture with smiles and courage.  She used great eye contact and talked clearly to the judge, answering questions and taking suggestions maturely.

You can see her full presentation in the video below:

When it was all said and done, she received her participation ribbon with the biggest smile and proudly came back to sit and watch the rest of the Cloverbud show respectfully, even with her cousin and Grandma who had arrived after she showed asking her to go ride rides.  She knew she needed to stay and offer them the same courtesy and again we were proud.  This little girl has grown and changed so much with this opportunity and we couldn't be more proud!

 Finally, after the Cloverbuds had finished and the older showmen began their portion of the show, we allowed Ezri to leave and change.  Barb had peed all over her jacket during her part of the show, and though she never complained once, it was time to get her out of those clothes and into some clean ones.  We ran into Great Grandma and Aunt Vicky & Uncle Jerry who had missed the show, where she received hugs and congratulations.  Then we got her changed and moved on to the rest of the night.  As we were walking away from the rabbit barn after her portion of the show, Ezri turned to me and proclaimed, "I wish tomorrow was next year so I could show Barb at the fair again!"

With Barb safely back in place, Ezri was ready to go on some rides!  The girls each got to go on a few rides we paid for  and then some with their cousins Aubrey and Wesley, who had come with Grandpa and Grandma to the fair for rides.  They had such a great time!

We ended our night with a few more visits to Barb mixed in with Dinner and the fair Parade (followed by another visit to Barb before heading home).  It was surely one of the most exciting and proud days our family has shared together so far.  

Back at home, Ezri anxiously counted the days until the fair was done, she couldn't wait to get her exhibits and have Barb come to live with us.  We filled some time painting the cars the girls had made with Daddy.  Ezri, of course, painted Barb on hers.

Saturday, Daddy used the time to catch up on some machine work, so the girls and I spent the afternoon outside.  What started out as me planning to vacuum the van turned into me washing it as the girls excitedly asked to wear bathing suits and help.  Soon, they were more interested in the mud in the yard and making their own fun!

The van eventually got washed, though it took a few times since some little muddy hands kept touching it.  But, the girls had a blast (until it was time to hose them off with the cold water)!  A family movie night ended our evening and we called it a good day as we put them to bed with much anticipation filling the room for Sunday, since Barb would be coming home to us.

Life has handed us some challenges, but this week has given us pause to appreciate the small moments that make life and family worth it all.  This life, with all of its challenges, is so overflowing with blessings if we just pause to look for them and see them for what they really are.