I'm Singing in the Rain!!!

I woke up at 4:37 this morning to the beautiful sound of not just a sprinkle, but a real rain. I woke Grace up - living in the Northwest and not having a real rain is a very important reason to be awoken. Once she heard my cause, she too was thrilled. When I woke up 3 and 1/2 hours later, it was still going on (though it has now stopped). 

If you didn't get to enjoy the rain this morning, I'm sorry - but I hope you enjoy the effects of the rain. :) Have a great Saturday!

Music on the Lawn

Sarah had her studio's Music on the Lawn Friday evening. All of her students performed well - Sarah said that the most lessons anyone had over the summer was 6.
There were two duet performances - Daniel and James who opened the recital with "Bring Him Home" and then Olivia and Grace who concluded the recital with "Forgotten Fantasia" - you don't know the composer for that one? Ben wrote it originally for Sarah (piano) and her friend Jenny (cello) for another friend's movie. The movie never came to be, but the music lives on.

We were all suppose to make something to share for afterward, so I made cheese covered olives. These ended up being part of dinner and Madeline made peanut butter cookies to share instead. A superb idea.

Mix all ingredients but olives together.
Wrap each olive with cheese mixture.
Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet.

Mom and Dad gave me a cookbook for my birthday - one for me to place recipes in and to decorate. I decided that on one side of the page I will put the original recipe and on the other I will put gluten free, dairy free, and paleo variations on. Now that I have a plan, I can slowly start to get moving. :)

The Fair is in Full Swing

It's still dark at 5:42am...

Technically, it was in full swing last Friday, but we have just gotten back from our first full day at the fair. We
(Josh, Grace, and I) got up early - until you hear that our friends got up at 3:00am.

Hurdle #1 at the CC Fair: Vet Check

Slightly lighter 10 minutes later

This usually goes really well and we expected the same this year. The weather was dry, so we didn't have to worry about hoof rot but we've never had to deal with sore mouth before; however, now we know what sore mouth looks like and will be discovering how to heal it as Joshua and Madeline's lambs couldn't enter the fair because of it. I always feel badly for the people who don't make it. Was there anything I could have done to help change that? I had not even thought about the vet check and jumped to the second hurdle. I don't love it but it is a great assurance to know that God is in total control and has a perfect plan. Josh and Madeline - they are being a great example to everyone else in the sheep barn. I'm blessed by them.

Morning in the fairgrounds in the
stadium

Hurdle #2 at the CC Fair: Final Weigh-In
This one always makes everyone nervous. Each lamb needs to gain about .4lbs everyday to be able to sell at the auction (though more is acceptable). With all the warm weather, the lambs hadn't been eating as much, which caused their owners to be slightly paranoid. All of us who entered the fair were able to jump this hurdle as well.

Hurdle #3 at the CC Fair: Market Ready
This won't happen till tomorrow, but this is where the judge will go and make sure there is enough meat on the lamb to sell. Rarely, but sometimes, will a lamb pass Weigh-In and not pass the Market Ready - so we're all hoping that that will remain case.

Tomorrow is another fun day and there are still things to do tonight - I should get going.

~Rachel