And Then It’s Over for Another Year…

It’s all over.

It was a l-o-n-g day of 4H judging at the County Fair, but it’s all over now.

And I’m a proud momma.

The kids did well.

4 projects are going to the State Fair.

2 projects are Outstanding Junior exhibits.

7 projects got a blue ribbon and one project got a red ribbon.

But most importantly, the kids did a great job exhibiting, had good attitudes and showed maturity (at least for one afternoon!)

I am beyond tired.

My brain feels numb.

But it’s all over for another year.

(She sighs a happy sigh)

Twas the Night Before the County Fair

4H County Fair

I am a 4H mom and the county fair is tomorrow.

Some of you can appreciate the stress that is implied in that sentence.

I have spent the last 14 hours of my life answering questions, finding lost pieces to projects, giving advise, tasting cookie dough, reading project reports, finding lost recipes, printing project reports, filling out exhibit tags, reminding, encouraging, prodding, and multi- tasking.

Notice I didn’t say yelling. Or crying.

Not yet anyway.

Things have gone amazingly smooth this year and most of the projects are done. We have a few little details to finish up in the morning and 4 children have baked goods to make so they are fresh for the judging tomorrow afternoon.

It’s a big day.

We have five kids with 14 4H projects and 11 open class exhibits.

I still have my sanity – for now.

Stay tuned…

Lunching a Farm Auction

Homemade apple pieWe just spent the entire day helping our 4H Club lunch a neighbor’s farm auction. We’ve discovered that although it’s a lot of work, it does bring in some good money for the club, and it’s lots of fun!

Lunching an auction means we carried in tables, prepared pork sandwiches, bought chips, plates, pop and water and made a whole lotta desserts. We had 2 entire tables full of cakes, brownies, cookies, and several kinds of homemade pies.

Then we spent the rest of the day selling it all. Since we were the only food or drinks on the farm, we had a monopoly on sales and did quite well. (Especially with pop and bottled water as the afternoon heated up!)

This was our third auction to lunch and I think we finally have the food figured out. The first auction we ran out of food quite early. The second one we had way too much, but this one turned out really well. Although you never really know how many to expect and how hungry or thirsty they’ll be!

A farm auction is quite a social event and brings out all the neighbors. I saw lots of denim and cowboy boots today with a nice mix of hats, both cowboy and seed corn. There were Grandpas with their grandchildren, young newly-married Amish couples, friends, neighbors and the occasional antique dealer.

Some were there looking for a deal, others were just there to socialize. But everybody needed to be fed!

It was a fun day, but a tiring one. I’m ready for a cool shower, a large glass of water and a some time on the couch. I probably won’t look at another pork sandwich for a long time!

Killer Brownie Alert!

I just got back from 4H a few minutes ago. Tonight was the night of my children’s favorite meeting all year, the Pizza Party and the Installation of New Officers.

Normally we eat quite healthy at 4H meetings, crackers and cheese, fruit, veggies and dip, or sandwiches. But once a year, on the night we install the new officers for the year, the club celebrates with a Pizza Party.

One of the leaders picked up several pizza’s from Casey’s and whipped up a batch of brownies. Now, on the surface, these brownies looked like your regular, run-of-the mill straight from the box brownies.

But inside, they were hiding a secret that transformed them from the normal into Killer Brownies. These delicious chunks of chocolate goodness were filled with Nestle’s Raspberry Swirl Chips.

Each bite provided a chocolate berry taste that would Kill any diet, fast! All she did was sprinkle the chips on the brownie dough before she baked it and wow! did it pack a punch! It might be worth it to start a diet just so I can kill it with a panful of those treats!

I bet those chips would be also be great melted into my Special Sister Chocolate Pie, or added to my favorite hot fudge sauce and poured over ice cream, or mixed into my truffles or fudge at Christmas. I think I have a new staple for my chocolate cupboard. I will definitely be adding this one to my grocery list!