Canyon County Fair 2013

1st Day of Fair: Competition on Quality of Sheep

Mikayla started out nevous for this one. It was her first fair, her first show, and she was first in line! She was nervous because Shawn the Sheep gets stubborn sometimes and doesn't lead very well. She was in there with girls of all ages and all levels of experience...this class was all the same sized-sheep.  She got out there and did her best, but the judge was looking for quality, which pretty much means the meatiest sheep with the most muscle. So even though we worked really hard, fed him a lot and walked him every day, sometimes even twice a day, he wasn't the best quality, and the judge ranked them in order, sending her almost to the end. She was heartbroken, in tears and very discouraged. Notice in the pictures you can almost see her nervousness!

She still did very well walking him, etc.

It was right about here she realized she wasn't winning.



She still got a ribbon, and I still got a smile out of her! She's standing in front of the pen where we keep the sheep at the Fair. Isn't that a cute sign with her name on it? People in our 4-H group made it. We had an awesome 4-H group...it's called BAAAD Company. They were all so supportive, helpful and taught us a lot!



Also in the pen at the Fair, this is Pam the Lamb with a sheep blanket on to keep her clean before her competition. We took her along to show for breeding, but unfortunately as we went to get Mikayla and Pam the Lamb to get them back to where they needed to be, 3 classes in front of her the people didn't show, and so by the time we got back there they had already called her name twice and moved on. Not fair I know! We were all disappointed. Pam the Lamb could have gone far!

DAY 2 at the Fair: Competition on Showmanship

In this competition, the kids are separated by level. So Mikayla was in the novice group, with other novice kiddos. This one was about how the kids handle their lambs, how quickly and efficiently they "set up" their lambs, and well, showmanship! You always look at the judge, smile, and never stand with your back towards him. All stuff she learned in her 4-H group. I guess all the encouraging and pep talks worked, because she went out there today and owned it! She was more comfortable, more confident, and as you can see by the pictures, much happier! She ended up placing in the TOP FIVE in this one! We were so happy, and of course she was too!


Mikayla "setting up" her lamb. You must get their legs and back straight, and then push on their chest to get their muscles to "pop" out! Mikayla is the one right in the middle.



Sorry you have to look at his rear end in this picture, but Mikayla is so cute and doing such a good job holding him!



Mikayla getting him to walk. Yes, you have to push on his tail area to get him to go sometimes!




They look great!



Of course my favorite picture. She had just gotten in the top five for showmanship in her class and she couldn't stop grinning. Now she's waiting to move on the the run-offs. It would be the top 5 from each of the 3 novice classes.

Mikayla at the run-off competition. The winners from all 3 novice classes. She was set up, smiling and ready very quickly every time she stopped. I was so proud of her!

Getting Shawn set up again.

Getting Shawn set up again, and she was still all smiles! It was SO hot in there...about 101 outside...you can see how red her face is!

Poor thing...I just wanna give her some water!



So all in all, we all learned a ton from all of this. One day was hard, the next day was better. Even though she didn't place in the run-offs, she did SO well for her first year, and will rock even more next year! Thank you to all who taught us, helped us, and to those of you who supported her financially through the add-ons. The auction is Saturday morning, and in October she will receive a check for the sale price of the lamb plus all the add-on money. We will let her spend a little, but most will go in her savings!

New puppy, vacation and Bekah

So we didn't think 28 chickens, 6 sheep and a guinea pig were enough, so we added a puppy! Call us crazy! But he's sure cute and the kids love him!

VACATION 2013:

On the LONG 8-hour or so trip to get to the coast, the kids trying to pass time in the van!

Thank goodness for the DVD player and their iPods/iPad.

1st stop: Multnomah Falls, just before we got to Portland

 

 

2nd STOP: Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, OR

Bryce took this picture of some jellyfish. Looks like it could be on a postcard!

Love this picture of my girls!

This was taken inside a walk-through aquarium. It was cool!

 

 

 

THEN, we went to Ripley's Believe It or Not. No pictures though...it was pretty dark in there! BUT, one of my favorite memories from our trip was when we went through the museum, and Erica stopped me saying something like, "WAIT! They're taking a picture." So I briefly glanced, stopped and looked around for a bit. I glanced at the couple taking a picture again, and noticed it was WAX! It was hilarious! We laughed forever about that!

THEN, off to the beach at Newport. I have never seen/felt so much wind in my life! And it was cold too! Needless to say we didn't get to stay very long! Oh and no pictures of Mikayla...she was on a quest to find seashells, but as soon as she put her pail down the 1000mph winds blew it away, and blew it fast! So her and Rick spent the next little while chasing the pail!

Awesome lighthouse at Newport

 

 



Like I said, IT WAS COLD! Especially for someone like me who is ALWAYS cold anyway!



Erica was cold too!

Then, we stopped by Depoe Bay to check out the views. They were incredible!

NEXT DAY: We headed to the Tillamook Cheese Factory (our favorite kind of ice cream) and watched how they make cheese, then ate lots of ice cream afterwards!

THEN, off to Pacific City to visit another beach. AGAIN, it was very windy and cold! Mikayla and Rick set off to find seashells again, this time, with pail in hand!

My boys! And a really cool rock in the ocean behind them.

Erica and I still sat there freezing!



But, at least there was a great big sand hill that Bryce and Erica had fun running up and down.




I just sat there with my feet in the sand because it kept them warm, then I just decided to go ahead and bury my legs in the sand too! Hey I stayed warm for awhile!





BEFORE...



...AFTER!!!  Erica bit the dust! Literally!

The Mortensen Feet! Nice tan line, Bryce!

NEXT DAY: Hung around Lincoln City and played all day! We went to a parade where Rick got sunburned pretty bad and Bryce a little too. We went to the fireworks on the beach at night. It was awesome! The tide kept creeping up on us, and Mikayla built a sand fort around our chairs. We all moved our chairs back, and Mikayla kept the faith! The waves kept creeping in and creeping in, finally reaching her sand wall. Her wall protected her and her chair up until about the last 10 minutes! Another Mortensen memory! But I don't have pictures of the actual fort or fireworks.



I love this picture of Mikayla!



They loved running and escaping the waves

Look really closely behind Erica to see Bryce...a HUGE wave unexpectedly came and thew down Bryce and Mikayla (far left). It was hilarious! Rick, Bryce and Mikayla were all totally DRENCHED!

Mikayla SOAKED and REALLY COLD!

During our trip, we found out that Rick's Aunt Kathy had passed away. She was Sue's sister and had Huntington's. So I thought I would include a picture of her from our wedding reception...she was an amazing piano player and played beautifully for us at our reception. We'll miss her!

Right before we left on vacation to Oregon, my dad and Helen, and Kai, Michelle and Bekah came for a visit. We went to Roaring Springs water park (too hard to take pictures there) and I got a few pictures of Bekah...

And last but not least, Mikayla all decked out with her 2 lambs that she will be showing at the Canyon County Fair at the end of July. She's been working SO hard! On the left is Shawn the Sheep and on the right is the famous Pam the Lamb!