2010 Ohio State Fair

Back in August we went to the state fair, and for several years I've been working with a couple friends of mine.  They have heard of dairy show cattle. 

Fair time is my favorite time of year.  I think for me, it is better than Christmas.  (Seeing as I'm not a huge Christmas fan and all!)

This year, we decided the boys were old enough to have some fun this year at state fair.  The plan was for one to come down with me on Friday to stay the night in the barn and help with chores and getting ready for the show.  Keith and the other would come down on Saturday for the day and swap kids.  Keith doesn't share my love for all things show cattle, so he just comes along for the ride sometimes.  And this gave me the opportunity to have both kids there, without having to have both kids there at the same time under my watch!  Great plan right?

Caleb and I arrived Friday evening after work.  John met us in the parking lot to to drive us in.  We park in the way back with the trailers to avoid getting towed over night when we don't have a rooftop pass.  So I parked next to the cattle trailer and their other truck, loaded up the truck and headed into the barn. 

By the time we got into the barn, Marla had diner made for us in the barn. We hung around and Caleb played, until we realized our air bed for the night was still out in the truck.  John headed out to get the bed for Caleb and I to sleep on.  Things continued as usual, scooping poop and such until John's daughter, stops over.  Their truck is gone.  Marla needs to head out the parking lot immediately. 

And there I sat.  I felt so helpless!  There was nothing I could do to help.  The truck was stolen, they were filling out the police reports at the state highway patrol post.  At least I kept the cows clean.  I was the best cow pooper scooper that night.  I don't like feeling like there's nothing I can do to help.

While I was waiting to hear from them, I took some time to put Caleb to sleep.  If you think normal bed time is difficult, try putting a 4 year old to sleep in a busy cow barn with cows, people, noise, the continuous hum of barn fans, and my personal favorite, the lights that never turn off. 

Around 11:30 or so they arrive back at the fairgrounds.  But there was still a lot to be done.  First was to go move the cattle trailer and my truck up closer to the fairgrounds, and closer to where there were more people and patrolling.  There had also been several cars broken into that evening to have things stolen from inside.  We moved my truck and the cattle trailer up to an open spot on the center isle, locked everything up and headed back in.

At first thought, it's just a car, it can be replaced, everyone is okay, but it really is an invasion of privacy it is.  More than likely, you keep your registration and proof of insurance in your car, probably in you glove box.  If your car is stolen, the criminal has access to that information, and any other information/items you may have in your car.  It's scary stuff.

Luckily sometimes around 2 or 3 that morning they had gotten a phone call that their truck was recovered in Columbus.  Everyone could breathe a little easier, and catch some shut eye for a brief few hours before we were up for chores and to prepare for the show that day!

As we worked our way through show prep, I felt continually worse.  I either had a terrible allergic reaction to something in the barn this year, or I caught a cold at a terrible time.  I suffered my way through the show amongst my nose literally dripping snot on the barn floor and looking like Rudolf since all we had in the barn were paper towels to wipe my nose on. No matter how bad I felt, I had a commitment to help them with the show and help I did!  I wiped cow butts, I brushed them, I walked them to and from the show rings, and I did my best to keep track of who was to be where when.

Once the show was finally over, we ate lunch in the barn before they headed to recover their truck from impound.  There was some damage done to it, but it was still drivable, with a screwdriver. 

Once they returned, I took a quick nap, then we packed up our kiddos and headed home.  I couldn't take anymore of the fun with the miserable cold symptoms.  Caden is still reminding me, 3 months later, that I owe him a night of sleeping in the barn.  We'll have to work on that for next year!