Cows, Calves, Goats, And Kids (The Human Kind)

Some families are sports families. I know band parents, who spend their weekends working the concession stand to make money to keep the band afloat. There are dance moms and swim team families. There are academic teams and science events for other folks.

But no one works harder than these 4H families. This past weekend, moms and dads hauled kids and cows (and goats and rabbits and dogs) from all over the state to spend hours in a hot barn to show their animals. Judging is based on the condition of the animal and the skill of the handler. It is serious business.

Showing animals involves the entire family. Moms were brushing cows. Dads were grooming goats. Brothers and sisters tagged along to and help out where they could.

In the not-so-serious category, this year, for the first time there, was a category for cow costumes. The children showing these cows also were in costume. This was just plain fun.

Daddy-O worked hard, along with other members of the Cattlemen's Association, to put this show together. The show gets bigger every year. It was nice to see kids doing something that didn't involve a cellphone for a change!

And for those of you worried about Daddy-O going hungry during my don't-want-to-cook-spell...while he was busy with the livestock show, I spent most of Saturday in the kitchen cooking to restock the freezer. A 3-Packet Pot Roast in the slow cooker was divided into three small bags and frozen. (Remember there are only two of us here.) Meatballs in marinara in two small bags. Chicken was cooked and half frozen and the other half made into chicken salad. Pork chops and brown rice was cooked for supper—and half of that was frozen for later, too. And I made a huge bowl of pasta salad that went to church yesterday. And some of that came back home, so we will have that to eat this week. He's not going to starve.