Jackson County Fair, or should I say, The Week the Marino Family Lost Their Minds!!

The week started out early morning Sunday to help hang up curtains in the horse stalls. Why? Because the kids needed a "clean" place to change their clothes. Only 4H and FFA kids would think a horse stall is a clean place. The curtains went up with little or no To Do, which is almost unheard of. It always needs to be bigger, better, faster, brighter.Somehow by Grace, I was working with a group of Moms who had not yet lost their minds. Then it was off to our FFA area to decorate. I managed to smash my finger with the staple gun and let off some very adult words. It was not my shining moment. I dont think anyone heard me or they were to afraid of the crazy woman jumping around holding her finger to say anything. I ended up using a broken ruler for a splint, classy I know.

Next step, going home getting everything loaded. Hog food,soap, all of Moms towels, decorations, hair straighteners, snacks, water for both human and pigs, clippers, camera, tack box, table, chairs, signs, pens, papers, you get the idea. Dang near everything that is in the barn goes and then some.

Monday morning the alarm went off at 5 blasted am. Yes, 5 am to get up to get ready to go to the fair grounds. Bob asked the silly question" why do you need to do your hair and make up to load and unload pigs?" You could of heard the crickets that were still chirping outside.. he made the good decision to set down at the kitchen table and wait.

Out to load hogs.They are about as happy as we were getting up. Then they needed washed, because the pig MUST not show up at the fair grounds dirty. I dont know who made up that rule? Really, pigs dont mind being dirty. It is not as if they sit around and talk crap about one another." Did you SEE Hilda? Her butt was all muddy. As if I would ever show up here looking like that!!" I think its more like." Where is the food and water man, cause that ride was something else over here." If they say anything at all.

This year Haleys pig was heavy and Mackenzies pig was light. In fact, we had to 'push' Mackenzies pig a bit. How does one push a pig? Well, you invest in many boxes of vanilla cake mix. You then get your gumpy 15 yr old twins up at 6 am so they can then go outside, mix the cake mix with the pig food and water, seperate the pigs and watch them eat. Repeat 4 or 5 times a day until the pig makes the weight it needs to. The pigs must weigh between 230 and 280 to sell. If they do not, they dont sell and your stuck with the pig. Wall E, Mackenzie pig weighed 236 and Haleys was 260.

Anyhoo, back to the fairgrounds, we arrive. Along with 35 other people at the same exact time. Have you ever tried to herd cats? Well it is easier than unloading pigs. Because some of the pigs are really mad and not so well behaved. They come screaming out of the trailers,hellbent on taking everything and everyone they come up to out at the knees. This causes much yelling, cursing, squeeling and chasing. It is fun to watch if it not your pig causing all the trouble.

Luckily, Wall E and Bailey were well behaved pigs and walked right to their pens.

Tuesday we were up at 5 am again, to the barn by 6:30. I wish I could share the level of noise 170 some hogs can make at 7 am. It is simply awe inspiring, if your into that sort of thing.

The girls needed to feed, water, wash Wall E and Bailey to get ready to show. Along with getting dresses in "OD" or Offical Dress. Black pants, white shirt, tie and the famous Blue Jacket. It is warm in the middle of December, in July it is darn near suffocating. They wait till the last possible second to get dressed. It is a common sight to see a kid attempting to take off the sweats they put over their pants to wash the pig, buttoning their shirt, zipping their jacket all while attempting to keep the pig from running all over the barn on the way to the show arena. FFA kids can multi task if nothing else.

They did great in the Market class. Mackenzie placed 1st in her class,*purple ribbon* all all FFA hogs, Haley placed 2nd in her class,*purple ribbon* 3rd over all. They far exceeded their goals and did a wonderful job representing Rogue River FFA. They sold 11th and 17th place in the sell order,which means out of 160 something pigs, they sold in the top 20 which is very very hard to do in Jackson County. They managed to pay their bills and have enough left over to purchase some black boots to show in.Way to go Girls!!!!

Now, lets talk about the boys that always show up. They come in assorted sizes, but are always cute, attempt to charm Mom and give Dad a good firm handshake. They manage to charm me, but Bob just crushes their hands..LOL.

This year we had a boy who we will call C. C kept circling around looking for one of the girls, but would never sit down, ever after I offered a soda and chips. He was either scared or not sure what to make of 3 Marino girls all together, maybe both. He was a cutie pie, but didn't stick around. We had the same ol' boys come visit as usual. Some to visit, some to eat our food, all to flirt. It is same thing every year, in fact, I caught it in the act right out side the barn. Proof it starts early.

The 3 girls helped load out pigs. What is loading out pigs? Let me tell you...After the Auction, the kill trucks come. Yes, they are called Kill trucks. A group of brave girls and hormone driven boys volunteer to take the hogs from their pens, walk them down the alley and on to the truck. This is done at 1am in the morning. I was not invited, I guess I am not cool enough to join in. So, this is all second hand information. Apparently, the group of girls are much more efficient at getting the work done. As the boys are to busy learning how to chew and bragging about who is stronger. Funny how something never change with age, huh? **hahaha**

Once the fun is over, the kids must spend the night at the fair grounds or be picked up by an adult. Period, no one, not even the adults who participate drive by themselves. They are worried someone will fall asleep and crash. I appreciate the fact the people who deal with my kids look out for them. They are well loved and cared for by all the adults who help out. The girls spent the night in the truck. Apparently it is not all that comfortable and they are planning something different for next year.Once you volunteer, you are a repeat customer till either you move out of the country or break a leg.

So, that is Fair 2010. A huge success and the last thing that was said to the local hog breeder was "Keep us on your list, in fact put us #1." Yes, we have lost our minds!

We have been busy around here. The girls went to a Rabbit Rally. It was the first time they showed rabbits. They both did very well. Mackenzie received a "call back." Which means she did well enough when she showed to try again. They both learned a ton and we all had a great time.
They purchased the doe they are holding. Her name is Fred, after a rabbit I had as a child.





I love this picture. They love eachother, even in the pig barn!






Mackenzie and her buck, named Simba.He will be part of the breeding program the girls are planning on starting very soon.






This is Haley's doe, named April. She is a mini rex, just like Mackenzie's. She is the female part of the breeding program.












This years market hogs. The belted pig is named Payton, he is a barrow.The blue butt pig is a guilt, she is Haley's and not yet named.








The pigs are still skittish around people. Soon enough they will be eating out of the girls hands.







The lambs are getting big and fat. They are running and exercising them. Making them into champions we hope.

We will continue to post pictures and updates when we can. It seems as if everyday comes some new adventure with the animals. The girls have weigh in and ear tags for the lambs this weekend. I will attempt to get some pictures so you all can see how crazy it is when a bunch of teenagers and their crazy lambs all get together in one place!

Come back again soon!!!