Food Show Frazzle

Unfortunately for Ashlyn, things didn't start out well for her at the food show Saturday. When we got there, a man in the kitchen was kicking all of the parents out saying that the kids had to assemble their dishes alone. This was a shock to us parents who were able to help them get it all together last year. None of us were prepared for that. So, I quickly gave her all the items she needed and brief instructions on heating up and assembling her dish and worriedly waited outside the kitchen. All of a sudden, there was a commotion in the kitchen and yes, it was Ashlyn. She had put one of the containers of food in the microwave, grabbed it out too quickly while it was still really hot and dropped it on the floor. I ran in and helped her clean up (I really didn't care that I wasn't supposed to be in there at that point) and we were able to save two of the bundles to still display (putting them in spots where we would know not to eat them) and I told her to put the other container in the microwave for not as long. Needless to say, we were both pretty frazzled from this incident and I was even more worried for her. She managed to get out of the kitchen with a nice display of food despite this and then I waited for her to get judged with the other moms. When she came out, she didn't look too happy and said she thought she didn't do too well. I tried to encourage her, but when she was the only one of the group from Mason who didn't make 2nd or 3rd place, she was pretty upset. I reminded her that she had gotten 2nd last year and promised that next year we'll be more prepared. That didn't help too much, but I think she got her mind off of it when we went to the Abilene Zoo as a reward for their hard work.
Here are some pics of the highlights of the zoo... the bridge to feed the giraffes from and the humongous zoo sign at the entrance (note the six small bodies inside the letters).