Utah State Fair

 A couple of ladies on the fair board made the trip up to SLC to attend the State Fair. Our goal was to see some specific ways they do things. For example: what table setups do they have, how do they manage flies and ants on the food, do they get a representative of entries from across the state? Also, how are their garbage cans spread out, how do they place visual maps, and what do their entry tags look like. We were able to see all of these things plus more. 

At one point, I had a chance to talk with some of the volunteers. Come to find out they aren't volunteers. They get paid $15/hour with shifts that last 6-8 hours long. We had a tight schedule while we were there so we weren't able to see everything. What we did see was pretty amazing things - including two ladies that were making bobbin lace. I found out they have a group that meets on Saturdays at the Provo library. I am so tempted to go.

I'm already planning to go and spend more time at next year's State fair because we didn't even have a chance to look at any of the animals. Sadness. Here is a few of the things I found most amazing. 

August is over

It's so weird to realize that the month is over already. I don't know how that happened! The corn has been very happy this year. You can't even see the house in this background. It's crazy to me how tall it's gotten.,

I've started on a Christmas project. I'm not sure if I will finish it in time for the holidays, but at least I've started. I think it's so adorable!

My cherry tomato plant has been providing us with lots of tomatoes. So far I've eating a lot, the boys have had none, I've sent a container to Bran's work, plus taken a container to my work. I love cherry tomatoes!

100 miles of summer

At the beginning of my summer break, I was reading the Liahona and stumbled upon a story of President Kimball. This part of the story struck a chord deep within me:  

As was the case with President Kimball, reaching for and achieving a challenging goal at a young age can bring feelings of confidence and satisfaction to serve us throughout life.

While pondering on what challenging goal I could do, I decided to make a goal to walk 100 miles during my summer break from work. It took a lot of early mornings (the only way to walk for an hour when daytime temps were in the 100's), and a lot of pushing deep for motivation. This past Saturday I made it to 100 miles. I'm proud and a bit amazed. It feels good to accomplish something that seemed to be too challenging in the beginning. 

2025 Fair week

The Utah County Fair is epic, absolutely epic. There is no other word to describe it. I really love getting to know so many volunteers that come to serve during the fair. I also love our fair board members that give up SO much of their time during fair week. I love all the entries, exhibits, and fun events. The food is also pretty great - between the snacks, and the food vendors we all gain weight during this week. I have only one regret - this year I made the mistake of relying on caffeine to help me with extra energy. I won't be doing that ever again. It was awful trying to get off of that energy high. I hope that the people that come down to the fair could sense how much the fair board loves doing this for them. 

This is the fair office where I live for the week. I have t-shirts and meal vouchers for all my volunteers. Plus, lots of snacks/drinks. We went through 16 Costco size containers of water this year. This year I also got a local grocery store to donate a box of apples (still feeling grateful about that), and we bought 3 large bunches of bananas from Costco too. Not shown is all the ice-cream sandwiches, popsicles, and drumsticks that are in the freezer. 

The very first day I walked into the office I immediately saw this little tiny Jesus. It's a thing right now for people to buy these and put them in random places. It was fun to have him in there the whole week. 

These are my Jr Fairboard members. They are teens in the community who volunteer at least 25 hours during the fair. I am their advisor. I love and appreciate each of them so much. This year we had a 'rat' theme. It was just a silly way to bring some pizazz to the fair. If you zoom in on the back of our shirts you will see we all got a 'title'. 

This year I lost four Jr Fairboard members as they have aged out of the opportunity. They have graduated from high school and will be going on missions/school. It's sad, but I am thrilled for them. They are such great kids! 

I wanted to spend more time watching the live stock competitions and showcases. Sadly, I didn't get to see any of that. But, one morning I wander around and interact with the farm family and get some cute animal pictures. 

The farm families that come are the most amazing group of people ever. They are there early in the morning getting their animals ready, and they stay late into the evening making sure their animals are fed and cared for. Some of them will even bring trailers and camp over for the entire week. It's fun seeing the sheep getting sheered and the goats/cows/sheep getting a shower. Just epic all around. 

Plus, we have the 4H and open class exhibits to see. So many talented people make and bring things. I tried harder to get out and see more of them this year. Here are a few of my favorites....

This last picture was created by my friend - Chelsea - who is also a member of the fair board. She was so incredibly sweet, and she painted it for me! It's based on a conversation I had with her while we were on a walk together this summer. It's also a wonderful reminder to me that there is beauty where I am right now. This picture is the pumpkin patch field down the road that we call "Jakers". 

This year I got ask to help judge the food category at the Juab County fair in Nephi. It was SO much fun! I hope I get a chance to do it every single year. I got to judge pies, cookies, yeast breads, and sweet breads. I even gave out two 'best of show' ribbons. I didn't feel qualified for such a thing, but I did it anyway because the items were worth it. This sweet lady with the pink glasses asked me if I would come help judge at the State Fair. I think I will. It sounds delightful. 

July

The week started off with a squeaky dryer. It was so bad that I really couldn't do any loads. Thanks goodness for a kind neighbor that helped with my laundry. I decided to reach out to my ministering brothers for help. They happily came over and fixed this, plus a toilet problem I was having. I am super grateful for them. 

This week Larry's Dad also passed away. It's been such a comfort to know that he is with Larry. His health hasn't been good the past couple of years which makes his passing a little bit easier. The last time I went to see Larry's parents was a week or so after after Larry passed away. Dad K was moving so slow, and he looked breakable. Yet, he was still getting up every single day and doing a series of exercises. His determination and quiet strength is something I will always treasure. I hope he and Larry are having some deep spiritual conversations now. 

This week was also full of lots of walking. I managed to get a beautiful sunrise the other morning. I also had a rare morning where I heard the frogs croaking in the pastures. I always feel a lot of peace when it's just me out that early in the morning. It will be difficult to give up these early morning walks when I go back to work. 

Simple pleasures

Luke has been enjoying apples for his lunches every single day. This also includes weekends. I am very glad that Ream's Market always has fabulous apple. Every single morning after I eat breakfast I cut up Luke's apples. My favorite part is eating some of the peels that he won't eat. Doing this is one of my favorite simple pleasures. 

Just keep swimming

Look at how cute these two are! I clean their tank out every second week. They both are so much fun to watch just swimming around in their tank.