Tractors & Tutus

This 4H Fair season looked a lot different for us because Johnny decided to show a Dairy Cow! While we were usually at the fair just about every day, this year required us to do some actual caring for an animal. While we were totally exhausted by the end of the week, it was a BLAST! The kids all did so well with each of their projects, and Johnny did an amazing job showing "Tilly". To top it all off, Gammy was able to come and spend the week with us and we really loved having her here! We are already talking about next year!

Before actual fair, I snapped some pictures of the kids working on their projects. Mellany working on her skirt for sewing and fashion revue.....

Johnny with his Shooting Sports poster which won Reserve Champion!

The farmer who runs the dairy cow project offered up some show boxes to anyone who needed one; of course we took him up on it! It needed some TLC after sitting in a barn for about 30 years and our resident artist had no issues with revitalizing it! It turned out amazing and paid homage to "Byersland" farm with the cow on the side that was originally on the top. We cannot wait to use this for many more years.

Johnny was only required to attend weekly practices for the dairy cow lease program, but he eventually decided he wanted to go more often and ended up at the farm just about every single night. We were so proud of his commitment and dedication! What made it all worth it, was how much he enjoyed it!

Charlie chose to complete a lego project again this year and his creativity blows my mind! He totally designed and crafted this board by himself (at least as much as he could....John had to assist with a few things) and it turned out incredible.

Mellany submitted a drawing again this year (inspired by a Degas painting) and it received a blue ribbon. Her skills constantly amaze us!

Johnny's Ford 1960 F-100 truck and trailer model won champion!

Mellany and Charlotte signed up for several work shifts for their Jr. Leader program and while they loved working at the pop stand and tractor operator project, they didn't really love the "Meet and Greet" shift. :)

Judging day for fashion revue and sewing is a long one, but a fun one! Mellany with Lindsay who helped her construct her project; we are so incredibly thankful she takes the time to work with Mellany!

The Saturday prior to animal arrival at the fair, Johnny was responsible for clipping Tilly. She didn't love having her feet clipped but looked so good by the end!

On animal arrival day, John and the boys were at the farm by 7am to load up the cows and head to fair! Once they got Tilly to fair, she had to be bathed and cleaned up. While they did that, I worked a shift at the milkshake stand with Mellany. Charlie kinda went back and forth between the two activities.

Once the work was done, the sitting around in the barn began. Which Johnny loved!

And then it was dairy cow show day! We were up extra early on this day to make sure Tilly was washed and dry and ready to show at 8am! Everyone was so excited that it really wasn't too difficult waking up and getting going though.

Johnny had a great first show day! He won 1st in his Holstein class, reserve grand champion Holstein and then won Beginner Champion Showmanship!! He got to compete for Grand Champion Showmanship which was an amazing experience for him! He was pretty bummed he didn't win that class but when you're competing against high schoolers, you are pretty much just a technicality entry. :) We were on cloud 9 for our sweet boy! We've never really seen him as happy as he was that day! He loves his animals and to see his hard work pay off and the smile on his face, made all the early mornings and late nights worth it!

We ran out of standing room near the gate so John and I grabbed a quick seat in the stands in front of one of our friends and she snapped this pic which I thought was super sweet. You can't tell it but we were both a ball of nerves!

Later that night, Mellany had her public fashion revue. She didn't win an award that night, but her dress was stunning and fit her so well. She has so much to be proud of. She chose a satin fabric and that can be so tricky to work with!

Lots of hanging out the next couple days. I love that our kids get to spend time with their friends like this! A friend sent this pic of them playing skip bo.

When it was time for Tilly to leave and go back to the farm, Johnny was pretty upset so he got quite a few snuggles and hugs while he could.

I don't have any pictures (I only took video) but another highlight of the week was the greased watermelon contest! Johnny was chosen to run for the dairy barn and did so well! The dairy barn made it to the second round but lost when they busted the second watermelon.

It was such a long week and we ate way too much fair food, but the kids claimed it as one of the best weeks of the summer so I call it a success!

Johnny is 11!!!

Johnny has truly had a great year! His 4th grade year was amazing and he has learned so much about himself. Animals are still his favorite over people and his laugh is truly contagious! I'm so incredibly thankful for this sweet boy of ours!

Here's a little bit about Johnny:

Fourth grade was a much better year than 3rd. He truly loved his teacher and he was placed in a class with great classmates. Academically he also did great but was pretty challenged. He learned a lot about his learning style and how hard he needs to work to maintain good grades and we are so proud that he finished off the year with all A's and B's great scores on his characteristic traits! He also developed some testing anxiety so being able to work through that was something he had to work on as well.
Johnny is still a typical boy when it comes to academic things....he can read very well, he can write well, and he does a great job at math, but most of the time, he just doesn't want to do any of it. And he will rush through his work quickly just to be done. He struggles a bit with spelling but found out that actually studying the words and working on them helps so much. He doesn't enjoy homework at all and will do anything possible to not do it. He literally will do anything else before homework.
He is still a "protector"...if anybody messes with his brother, they better watch out.....if someone is messing with his sister, he's gonna let them know.....if someone is giving his best buddy Simon a hard time, Johnny is all over it! I love this about him so much! He even stood up to one of his friends for a girl in class, when the friend wasn't being kind to her. We talked about how that takes true courage and we were so proud of him.
He has a long "fuse"....but when his fuse reaches the end, you are definitely going to know it. He can get pretty angry.
He still says he's not getting married when he's grown up. His plan is to have a dog and be a police officer. Although, he did have his first girlfriend this year (Maya-the girl he had a crush on for his entire 3rd grade year and was pretty good buddies with), so I still anticipate that might change.
He has an "old man soul" ....his elaborate, monotone stories are the best and he just fits right in with the retired crowd. He can tell a story like the best of them.....giving you all of the tiniest details.
His belly laugh will make anyone laugh and is one of the very best sounds EVER
He can take just about anything apart and will! He loves figuring out how things work...which usually results in taking things apart.
He is the absolute happiest when he is riding a tractor, 4 wheeler or lawn mower and loves them even more if he can drive by himself. He has even gotten to drive John's truck and car many times and does a great job!
He can hear a sound from any vehicle and 9 times out of 10 can identify what it is (motorcycle, truck, train, firetruck, bus, etc.)
He does not like to disappoint adults and it crushes him if he thinks someone is upset with him.
Johnny and Winston have a special bond. If Johnny is happy, Winston is there. When Johnny is sad or sick, Winston is there and Johnny immediately feels better when Winston comes around. They also get each other super excited and rowdy! Johnny has been a huge help with Winston....helping feed him, take him outside, gather toys, etc. etc.
If he's not really good at something, he easily gets discouraged. If he gets mad about something, he shuts down and needs some time to regroup.
He will play with pretty much anyone, but playing with his best buddy Simon and Charlie is his favorite.
Johnny is still pretty introverted but has learned how to manage it really well. He would rather be home by himself instead of with a crowd of people out and about somewhere. If he does go out and is around a bunch of people/in a group doing something fun, he is fine during the event but then wants to come home and retreats to his room to play with legos or transformers.
His favorite shows are: Bluey, Big City Greens, Star Wars and Home Improvement
His favorite movies: Transformers, Tron, Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Wars
Clothing sizes range from 8-12 and his feet are size 4 or 5 depending on the shoe
Johnny loves to help out....it doesn't matter what it is, he will happily help you with it! He has continued helping me in the kitchen as often as possible (dishes are his favorite but he loves to help cook too) and really has enjoyed helping John in the barn with the garden, lawn mower, etc.
Johnny absolutely LOVES breakfast! He will eat a large breakfast then not eat much for lunch or dinner. We've kind of started forcing him to eat through the day though because he's not real good at recognizing that he is hungry until he is "hangry".
Johnny is our foodie.....He will try anything and loves pretty much anything that John eats.
He sleeps really well...he is usually in bed around 8:30 and will sleep all night. If he doesn't sleep through the night, he comes into our room and snuggles--he is the best snuggler! His stuffed lovie "Douglas" is still a favorite and he loves to line up his legos on his nightstand just before getting into bed.
He is our early riser....he is usually the first one up. He likes to have two ZBars or poptarts if they are in the pantry, while he sits in the recliner and watches a show until it's time to eat his actual breakfast and get ready for the day. If for some reason he doesn't get this alone time, he can be pretty grumpy.
His favorite books are: Hazardous Tales, Dog Man, Hatchet, Holes, Bad Guys and Investi-gator. Graphic novels are his favorite!
Johnny has developed a love for history, specifically the Civil War, WWI & WWII
When he wants to (as with all kids)....Johnny follows a set of instructions very well and is usually very compliant with what he's been asked to do
One of his favorite times is when mama comes home from the grocery store with bags of food....he is really good at helping me get the bags out of the car and carry them inside
He still loves to wear a hat and he pretty much lives in Under Armour clothes. Even on sundays to church he is in under armour clothes.
He truly loves Mellany and Charlie and plays with them very well. He wants to do anything Mellany is doing and loves showing Charlie the "ropes". He and Charlie really play well together and do all things "boys".
He has really great manners and is very helpful to others-holding doors open, letting others go first, bringing things to people, etc.
When Johnny does mess up and it requires punishment we typically only have to take away technology time or send him to bed 10 minutes early and the behavior is corrected. He really dislikes being in trouble and disappointing adults.
His favorite song right now is just about anything by Imagine Dragons, Metallica and Kane Brown.
Johnny still absolutely loves his chickens! He currently has 8.... He checks on them all throughout the day, makes sure they are fed and watered, cleans the coop, gets the eggs, etc etc. He really enjoys having them! He has decided not to show them for 4H but still really enjoys selling his eggs to the neighbors.
Playing the Nintendo switch, iPad and playstation are things he really loves!! And he is honestly pretty good at them (he almost always beats John and I). But, we do have to limit the amount of time he plays on them because when he plays, he is "all in" and it is hard to come back to "reality".
When Johnny is zoned in on something, he literally hears nothing else....it can definitely be a good thing, but also can be very "trying"
Legos are one of Johnny's favorite things to do (besides video games). He could sit and put together a lego set all day long if he wanted to
Johnny really enjoyed playing flag football again this past year and decided to play it again in the spring. He wasn't a standout player, but he was a great teammate and had fun!
Johnny is still enjoying 4H this year too. He is in the shooting sports project where he chose shotgun as his discipline. He has also decided to put together another model this year as well as show dairy cattle.
He has such a love for animals that I could see him being a veterinarian when he is older.

11 Year Wellness Exam

Weight: 69 pounds (gained 7 pounds from last year)

Height: 4'8" (grew 2" in the past year)

It was another exam that couldn't have gone any better! Johnny's health is fantastic! Dr. Fahler and Johnny discussed his amazing eating habits, his activity level and sports, puberty and how that is coming in a few years most likely, his chickens (Johnny even brought Dr. Fahler some eggs which he loved!), technology and they even talked about Johnny's testing anxiety and some coping mechanisms for when he starts to feel it coming on. A couple routine vaccinations for middle school (coming next year) and Johnny was out the door and ready for a cake pop and McAlister's lunch.

Birthday Celebration

For his birthday party this year, Johnny opted for a trampoline park with some friends from school and church. He requested a bass pro theme cake, pizza and some time jumping! Parties like this are my favorite because set up and clean up are a breeze and the kids are able to run wild!