Sunday after church, we rushed home so the kids (actually all of us) could cook their dishes for the Mason County 4-H Food Show. Ashlyn did it last year and really enjoyed it, so Colten decided he wanted to try it out, too (I think he just thought it was cool to get a prize). Anyway, they both did very well. They surprised me with how relaxed and confident they were compared to the other kids. Everyone else had the jitters and my kids were just playing around not worried one bit. If you aren't familiar with how food shows work, the kids get to pick a dish to make that is nutritious and fits into one of the predefined categories. They have to know what nutrients are in their dish and what ingredients they come from and what they do for your health. They also need to be familiar with the food pyramid and with food safety. The county show is a little different since the judges actually taste the food, but at district, they are basically judged on the recipe, how the food is presented and how well they answer the questions (no tasting). Colten is just a beginner so he won't get to go to district, but he still had fun and I think he did pretty good answering the questions. He made BBQ Beef filled Biscuits and was happy that everyone liked them. 
Ashlyn is an intermediate this year (last year she was a junior), so she will again get to compete at the district show in Abilene. She made Beef Bundles this year which are a small piece of steak wrapped around a spinach-cheese mixture and rolled in whole wheat Ritz cracker crumbs. After we changed the recipe a bit, they were pretty tasty and even Ashlyn liked them!
They also had a beef competition (with a cash prize) at this contest so that is why they both used it as an ingredient. Unfortunately, they didn't win that, but oh well. Colten got first in his category (beginner main dish) (out of 1) and got some measuring cups and spoons as a prize and Ashlyn got first in intermediate main dish (out of 2) and got a measuring cup and wooden spoon as prize.
This is a picture of all of the kids that competed at this show along with their food... not too many, but district will be another story!
I know dead elephants are an Aggie senior-year thing, but I swear we have a dying elephant in the house on occasion. Or maybe it's just Ashlyn practicing playing the trumpet. Either way it gives me a headache :)
All kidding aside, it's neat to see her practicing (even though hearing it isn't all that fun, yet). She chose to be in band this year since the only other option for her was a health class and she heard that it was "soooooo hard!". We convinced her that she wanted to play the trumpet since Omie B. still had John's trumpet that he had played in school. It's still in good shape if you ignore the lady-in-a-swimsuit sticker on the side of it that we couldn't get off (her friends all giggled about that). Plus, John can help her practice since he still mostly remembers how to play it. It also didn't hurt that one of her good friends also plays the trumpet. I'm glad she's learning to play an instrument, though. I'll let you know when she can actually play a recognizable song. Who knows... she may surprise us and get really good at it! Until then, I'll have to listen to the squeaks and squawks and the "Stop that Ashlyn! I can't hear the TV!" complaints.
John took Colten to a pediatric neurologist today to make sure that the headache/nausea/nap episodes he has occasionally aren't seizures, and from what they can tell, they're not! Yay! Of course, this means he is more than likely having migraines based on family history, so we'll have to watch that. Thankfully, though, it's nothing worse.
John has been determined to get an apology (and insurance money) from the person who ran over the calves the other day. He mostly just wanted them to admit to it, take responsibility. So, we've been on the lookout for a truck with a smashed front end, missing several pieces, that was probably a Dodge based on what was left at the crash site. He went by the body shops in Mason, and low-and-behold, one of them said a man had just come in to get his truck fixed. He had hit a cow and wanted to pay cash. Hmmmm.... coincidence, I think not! Now armed with the name of the probable suspect, John filed a police report. They were able to coerce a confession out of him... alright he just admitted it, and he called to apologize and give his insurance information. He apparently thought he'd only hit one and thought he saw it run off into the bushes. Somehow he missed the one laying in the road, but it was dark, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. He had several other excuses, but at least he fessed up and John can relax and quit his temporary job of crime scene investigator. :)
This morning I decided it has been a bad week for the cows on the ranch. First, the cow that had been stuck in the mud is still limping and John had decided to call the vet to come out and look at it. She's still in luck as they decided that since her leg isn't swelling as much that it might get better and they might as well just let it be for now instead of putting her down. She can get around on her own, but her leg looks really funny.
Next, one cow has been prolapsing. It had gone back to normal on it's own at first, but then it happened again and of course didn't fix itself the second time. John managed to pen the cow, who was very angry and upset about her issue. I don't blame her. She was looking like she wanted to charge us. Good thing she was in a pen! He took her to the vet yesterday to get fixed up and now she has to wait for 30 days to heal and then gets a nice ride to the auction.
Lastly, but certainly not least, two calves got hit on the road this morning. John was fuming that the people drove off and left them there without telling anyone. One of them was still alive, but had a badly broken leg and John had to put it down. Unfortunately, there's nothing that can be done about it, but we've been trying to think of ways to alert people that the cows could be on the road. Apparently the "Loose Livestock" signs don't help. The problem has gotten worse as traffic has been increasing on the highway the last few years and most people are going 70+mph through there. The best solution would be to fence off the pasture, but that isn't simple since there isn't water easily available. Hopefully we'll figure something out. I drove by where they got hit this morning and it broke my heart to see the momma cows standing vigil over their babies, wondering why they're not getting up.
John has been spending a lot of time lately getting an old livestock scale on the ranch back in working order. He doesn't remember it ever being used, and so he wasn't sure if even worked anymore. After tinkering with it for awhile to see if it would still weigh accurately, he decided to rebuild it. I decided to post a picture since this is a bit of history being rebuilt. I should have taken a picture before he worked on it, but it was basically just a cement frame in the ground grown over with weeds as far as I can remember. Now it weighs people accurately to within 1 or 2 pounds. Once the gates are installed, he'll be able to use it again for it's intended purpose, instead of it just sitting around rusting.
Ashlyn got her braces off yesterday. It's only temporary until the rest of her permanent teeth come in, but it's still a nice break for her. She has a permanent retainer now (you can see the line across her teeth). Yesterday was also picture day at school and she it made back from the orthodontist just in time!
We had another busy weekend. Friday evening we went to a memorial and reception for one of our neighbors, which was sad, but nice. The kids had a good time playing with their friends at the reception. Saturday evening, John & I went to a birthday party and saw a lot of people we hadn't seen since high school. Time sure does fly! Sunday was mostly gone by the time we got home after church and grocery shopping and working on getting Roseline's new computer online (I thought I had it working, but I still haven't gotten an email from her... computers can be so frustrating!!!). That evening, John grilled shrimp for my birthday. YUMMY!
Ashlyn is an intermediate this year (last year she was a junior), so she will again get to compete at the district show in Abilene. She made Beef Bundles this year which are a small piece of steak wrapped around a spinach-cheese mixture and rolled in whole wheat Ritz cracker crumbs. After we changed the recipe a bit, they were pretty tasty and even Ashlyn liked them!
They also had a beef competition (with a cash prize) at this contest so that is why they both used it as an ingredient. Unfortunately, they didn't win that, but oh well. Colten got first in his category (beginner main dish) (out of 1) and got some measuring cups and spoons as a prize and Ashlyn got first in intermediate main dish (out of 2) and got a measuring cup and wooden spoon as prize.
This is a picture of all of the kids that competed at this show along with their food... not too many, but district will be another story!
