July 14, 2007--Blue and purple ribbons

Well, Joy didn't get a champion on her skirt after all. I don't know why--she was the only one, and the judge liked her skirt. Maybe she thought it was good enough for a blue ribbon but not good enough for a champion? I thought she did a really nice job. She worked very hard on it. Or maybe the judge thought there wasn't a point in awarding a champion since there was only one girl in that division? I don't know. Some judges are hard to figure out. Joy got a blue ribbon on her cookies yesterday. There was a lot of competition, and the judge did consider them for champion, but she did have several things to critique about the cookies. The judge showed Joy the bottom of two of the cookies to show that one was slightly darker than the other. Also, the edges of some of the cookies at the edge of the plate had warped slightly, to conform to the curve of the plate. She said they could have been baked about 30 seconds longer, too. My little sister got a reserve champion, though. My brothers and sisters have all done well so far. One of my sisters got a grand champion in fine arts--she painted a picture of Sarah. It's so pretty! Today was woodworking judging. The judge was very detailed and took a long time with each child. Jay got a blue ribbon, but just barely. He had a lot to critique about his bookends. One was taller than the other, it only had one coat of finish (that's because he did it last night) and the edges didn't butt up against each other quite right and there were some gaps. It was also Sarah's mini-4-H judging day. She doesn't compete in mini 4-H, but the judge still looked at her projects. She had a pillow, a first aid kit, and a plate of Rice Krispie treats she showed today. Erick is going to have some competing to do, as well! Wal-Mart picked him to represent their store in some kind of auto-tech rodeo competion event. I don't know much about it, but it's next week, and it's up north somewhere. He'll get paid for it. They picked him because the fastest tech they have. He can do an oil change in ten minutes. I'm so proud of him!