New Mexico State Fair - A Fabulous First for Us!

Aaaah - the New Mexico State Fair! Colton heard all my stories about it and how it was my favorite 4-H/FFA trip of my youth when we used to go and show hogs and lambs.  He bugged us and bugged us until we finally gave in and decided he and Cady needed that experience, especially because he only has one year left to show after this one. 

 

We clipped our heifers and got them beautiful and ready for the big show at our own house this time, which was really nice!

 The kids worked hard and their heifers looked great when the day was over!

 Tuesday came and Colton and Colin headed out for Albuquerque that morning:

 Cady and I joined them after I got off work and she put in a half day of school.  The kids washed their heifers and touched them up:

 They then had to classify them.  Love this shot my friend Amy got of Cady and her friend, Emily, laughing and visiting during classification:

 This guy was totally excited to be at the fair! He even stayed there in the dorms like I used to:

 Taking a stroll around the show ring that Tuesday night:

 Wednesday morning, Cady and I had time to do a little exploring around the fair:

 She even found her the cool pullover jacket she'd been wanting. Funny thing is that I bought one of those when I used to show at the State Fair, too!

 Then it was time to get the girls ready for the big show:

 Dad was good at holding their tails while they used the bathroom so they wouldn't get dirty!!

 Almost showtime:

 Cady and Clover were up first with the Class 2 heifers:

 Another shot my friend Amy got of Cady interacting with the judge:

He put her in 2nd place right away and she stayed there for quite a while until he moved the 3rd place heifer to 1st place which pushed her to 3rd.  There were 14 heifers in her class, though, and we were tickled!! The judge even said that when she walked in, he looked at her heifer and thought, "Here is my winner".  She just needed more leg to compete with the 1st and 2nd place heifers.  It really was exciting though, and you can see how thrilled she is in this picture:

 While she was showing, her Uncle Jeff, cousins Jaycelyn and Trevor, and Gramma Mary all showed up to watch:

 Gramma Mary actually rode up to Albuquerque with Cady and I and then went home with Tammi and the kids to spend time with them that week.  The kids loved having all of them there to help cheer them on!

Then it was Colton's and Mooesha's turn for Class 6:

 They, too, got placed in 2nd and then moved to 3rd! It was so funny how it happened the same for both kids!

 Again, another proud kiddo:

 So proud of these two:

 Next up was Showmanship.  Emily and Cady are waiting to go in the ring for the Junior competition:

 Cady and Clover did well, but didn't win it this time. Cady has a long time to hone in on her showing skills, though.  She will get there!

Colton was ready for his turn:

He and Mooesha showed their hearts out and there were 19 seniors competing!! He did get pulled out in the top of the bunch, that the judge was watching closely, but it wasn't his year, either.  Maybe for Southern next week!  Fingers crossed!

 

Then, after the shows were done, Cady and I had to unfortunately hit the road and head back home so I could work the next day.  It was a short trip, but a great one and we can't complain about anything - what a great first experience!

 

Colton and Colin stayed one more night - Colin actually had a work meeting in Albuquerque on Thursday and Colton was competing in the Livestock Judging contest.  Here were the Dona Ana judgers:



 



Grady,Kaydens, Colton, Kaitlyn and Logan

Goodbye, New Mexico State Fair! We can't wait for next year!!  Now time to get ready for El Paso and Southern - gotta love fair season!

Daytrippin' to Catron County

Over Labor Day Weekend, we really wanted to take the camper out for the weekend, but... we have animals!!  So, we opted for a daytrip.  Colin and I had been to the Catwalk up near Glenwood many, many years ago - before we had kids and before the flooding wiped it all out and they redid it.  Cady and I went a few years ago, when Catron County hosted the Southwest District 4-H Contests and, although it didn't go back as far as it had originally, the part that was redone was really cool!  So, we wanted Colin and Colton to see it.

 

We got up early that Saturday and hit the road.  The Catwalk was our first destination and it didn't disappoint!

 The kids' favorite part was where the official trail ended and they got to play in the water!

 Colin and I trying to get a decent selfie with the kids around is tough!  Little photobombers!!

 We finally got one!!

 The old part of the trail was marked as "Enter at your own risk" but we didn't let that scare us!

 

 After a few hours of exploring around the Catwalk, we stopped at the Hatchery and then drove over to Mogollon where we enjoyed some milkshakes:

 On the way down from Mogollon, Colton killed his first rattlesnake (with help from his Dad).  Colin thought he had a picture on his phone of the snake before it was killed, but for some reason it didn't take.  Here is Colton with the rattle, though, or what was left of it when they finished it off:

 On our way home, Papa and Gramma met us in Silver for a delicious dinner at Jaliscos:

 It was a beautiful day with my most favorite people in the world!!