Mama, Julie and I were able to attend, but Daddy and the fellas were off enjoying their Guys Weekend. It was definitely a fun evening and we thank Rich for being such a gracious host.
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| Rebecca and Rich |
Friday, September 28, 2012
An evening of American Music
My dear friend, Rich, hosted 'An Evening of American Music' in his home as a fundraiser for Rebecca McClanahan. What a lovely evening it was! We were treated to a private concert of Rich playing the piano and also had the opportunity to hear Rebecca speak. Wonderful stuff!
Jay Nixon Event
Early in September we helped Mom and Dad host an event for Gov. Jay Nixon. The weather could not have been prettier, following rain earlier in the week which finally greened things up a bit. There was a good sized crowd and everyone enjoyed the catered meal from Westerns (YUM!) and good conversation. The day was a great success!
Here are some photos from the day, but you can see the entire album by clicking here.
Here are some photos from the day, but you can see the entire album by clicking here.
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| Jonathan and Adrian |
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| Daddy introducing the Governor |
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| Gov. Jay Nixon |
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| It was so nice to see Denese and Gary |
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| Can't see Kristina back there, but the rest of them are visible along with Gigi. |
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| Mia and Gigi cracked me up. They went around asking for photos with pretty much everyone. This time it was the security guys. |
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| Then it was the interns... |
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| Here are Gigi and Mia with Mrs. Nixon. |
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| And here they are with Rebecca and Wes. |
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| They even let me get one of them with these two fellas... :) |
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| Cousin Jane and her friend, Christine, drove up for the event. |
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| And it is always wonderful to see Robert, Dorothy, Cheryl and Wes. |
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| Rebecca and Marvin (who I always tease and tell him he is my 2nd favorite Marvin!) :) |
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| pulling the wagon back home - by driving the tractor backwards! :) |
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Chicken Corn Chowder
It is certainly feeling more like soup weather around here. I am loving that! Here is another take on the basic creamy veggie soup recipe that adds some chicken in case you have fellas in your house who don't want 'just vegetables'. :)
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| Chicken Corn Chowder with Biscuits Supreme |
Chicken Corn Chowder
melt a couple pats of butter in skillet
add 1/2 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, sliced
about 7 red potatoes, diced (can use any kind of potato... I just had red potatoes)
saute with lid on until veggies are crisp tender (more crisp than tender if you are in a hurry)
Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup flour and seasonings - salt, pepper, garlic (about 1 tsp. each?? or more? I just shake until I think I am done.)
Add about 1/3 gallon skim milk
Add 6 chicken bouillon cubes
add about 5 cups water
I added about 2 cups of frozen shredded rotisserie chicken that I had in the freezer.
I also added about 5 crispy cooked bacon strips, crumbled.
let pot simmer
add bag of frozen corn
add about 1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar jack)
Serve when heated through and when potatoes are tender.
add 1/2 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, sliced
about 7 red potatoes, diced (can use any kind of potato... I just had red potatoes)
saute with lid on until veggies are crisp tender (more crisp than tender if you are in a hurry)
Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup flour and seasonings - salt, pepper, garlic (about 1 tsp. each?? or more? I just shake until I think I am done.)
Add about 1/3 gallon skim milk
Add 6 chicken bouillon cubes
add about 5 cups water
I added about 2 cups of frozen shredded rotisserie chicken that I had in the freezer.
I also added about 5 crispy cooked bacon strips, crumbled.
let pot simmer
add bag of frozen corn
add about 1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar jack)
Serve when heated through and when potatoes are tender.
Back to School Party
Way back at the beginning of September Jackson hosted a 'Back to School' party. He was hopeful that it could be a bonfire, but the long drought was still ongoing so a fire was not an option. The kids made the best of it, though, and had a terrific evening watching Dr. Who, playing Just Dance and Pictionary, celebrating Katie's birthday, making music and just hanging out.
Have I mentioned what a terrific group of kids this is? They are smart and fun-loving and a joy to have around.
I'll just let the photos tell the story of the evening. :)
Have I mentioned what a terrific group of kids this is? They are smart and fun-loving and a joy to have around.
I'll just let the photos tell the story of the evening. :)
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| Deb made this lovely birthday cake for Katie! |
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| Mia made this ADORABLE cupcake for Katie. |
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| Katie, Gigi and Mia admiring the cupcake. :) |
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| Aaron made cupcakes, too. |
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| Happy Birthday to Katie! |
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| Joey, Michael and Aaron |
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| Back Row -Katie, Gigi, Mia, Nils, Joey, Aaron, Michael Front Row - Jackson and Adrian |
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| Katie, Gigi, Mia, Nils, Joey, Michael, Jackson, Aaron, Adrian |
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| Playing Just Dance |
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| :) |
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| chowing down! |
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| This was after the fellas pulled the girls in the horse wagon... wish I had gotten a photo of that! |
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| fellas watching Dr. Who |
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| Katie, Mia and Gigi decided to play pool instead. :) |
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| Playing Pictionary |
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| Tenea and Bridget had arrived by this time... |
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| Jackson teaching Tenea to play guitar. Next time he'll teach Bridget, too! :) |
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| Gigi playing her ukulele |
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| Bridget's masterpiece on the Pictionary whiteboard. :) |
Sunday, September 16, 2012
The last weekend of the fair
Thursday night Hannah and Susanna arrived at the fair while we were at the Jake Owen concert. They decided sort of spur of the moment to drive up and join us and we were so glad they did! Friday morning Hannah, Susanna, Jackson and Jonathan headed out to explore the fair. I tagged along for a little while as we wandered through the machinery area and then looked at RV's. What a nice feeling it was to not see any camper there that I liked better than ours! :) Although, Jonathan may not totally agree with me on that one...
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| Susanna, Hannah, Jonathan and Jackson |
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| Susanna and Hannah |
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| Jonathan sitting in the living room of a fifth wheel that had 2 slides with 2 full size sofas, a fireplace and huge TV. He decided he could 'make it' in that fifth wheel! :) |
After the machinery and RV's, we made the guys go through the 4H building to see the cakes and exhibits. They did pretty well but still ended up taking refuge outside after a bit. :)
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| Jackson and Jonathan patiently waiting... |
We also made a stop in the Fine Arts building to see Jackson's photography displayed. Then we went to the Agriculture building to buy Jonathan his favorite... Elk sticks. The people are so friendly and after visiting with Jonathan for a bit they let him come behind their booth and have his picture taken with the mounted elk head. :)
The largest pumpkin and watermelon were further proof of our terrible drought here in Missouri this summer. Both were many hundreds of pounds smaller than usual.
The most powerful exhibit at the fair this year was found in the Agriculture building. It was a wall of photos honoring Missouri's fallen soldiers since Sept. 11, 2001. I actually visited this memorial multiple times during the fair. It certainly left a lasting impression with me. The combination of childhood photos with more recent photos sure hit me. During the fair the memorial 'grew' with friends and family leaving mementos and notes alongside their loved ones photos. I get teary eyed all over again just typing this.
Switching gears... this was a fun display - a three and a half ton truck made entirely of canned food to be donated to the food bank. They had a video running alongside it showing how it was built. I thought the sign next to it was worth noting. :)
The most powerful exhibit at the fair this year was found in the Agriculture building. It was a wall of photos honoring Missouri's fallen soldiers since Sept. 11, 2001. I actually visited this memorial multiple times during the fair. It certainly left a lasting impression with me. The combination of childhood photos with more recent photos sure hit me. During the fair the memorial 'grew' with friends and family leaving mementos and notes alongside their loved ones photos. I get teary eyed all over again just typing this.
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| Showing two of the three local soldiers who have died since 2001. |
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| you can see the addition of the note on this photo... just gets me. |
Switching gears... this was a fun display - a three and a half ton truck made entirely of canned food to be donated to the food bank. They had a video running alongside it showing how it was built. I thought the sign next to it was worth noting. :)
Then there was the lady who makes sculpture out of osage orange branches that she finds in fields. I had read about her but couldn't quite picture it. After seeing her work, all I can say is it was amazing!
On Saturday, Hannah and I slipped off by ourselves for a few hours to look through the 4H building, the Home Economics building and other 'girly' stuff. What a joy it was for me to have her to do that with!! It was so much fun!
It is always exciting to see the draft horse teams roll in for the final weekend of competition. I LOVE the draft horse events more than any other equine event at the fair (and that is truly saying something!). If you ever get a chance to see a draft horse hitch competition where you live, I encourage you to GO! You won't be sorry! :)
I was so glad that Hannah and Susanna could be with us to share in the excitement of the draft horse hitch competition this year. Friday night was a great competition and our favorite hitch, The Mark Messenger Memorial Hitch, won the night. Saturday evening we gathered again for the Show Me Classic competition. I always talk about the skill of the drivers and how part of the excitement of the competition is the awareness that these drivers are handling such powerful animals - disaster could be just around the corner. Most of the drivers we see compete are incredibly skilled and cautious and aware of the potential for disaster. This year there was one driver/team (which I won't name) who really had us nervous from the get-go. In fact, following Friday nights competition we saw them re-enter the arena to work out their 6 horse hitch and witnessed a complete wreck with their horses as the driver carelessly worked the team out in such a way that they got tangled up (literally!) and almost flipped the wagon. I have never seen anything like it in my life and was NOT impressed. So, on Saturday night, having witnessed that 'performance', I was a bit worried about that driver and team, especially when thinking about the final event of the 6 horse hitch. With so many teams in the arena at one time, it can be especially challenging.
Well, there WAS a disaster that night, but amazingly, not with that team. Thankfully, the disaster occurred when there were only 2 teams in the arena (or I firmly believe the result would have been so much worse). For the 6 horse hitch competition the judge only brings 2 or 3 teams in at once to actually do their competing. Then, when he has seen all the teams, he brings them all back in to line up and pass out the awards. That in itself is a feat of organization because you have to have everyone line up exactly in the right spot so that all teams have room to turn out and exit the arena. The last 2 teams to be judged were pulling in for their line up (so that the other teams could re-enter and also line up) when the 2nd team seemed to change their mind at the last minute regarding where they would park. The complicated end result of that decision was that one of the lead horses clipped the back of the other (parked) wagon as it was coming in. I believe the horses felt the indecision of the driver and they literally freaked out. They spooked and took off running, dragging the rest of the team and the wagon. They hit the arena wall and broke their harness, separating them completely from the rest of the team. They then started running wildly in the arena, scattering all the people who were on the floor (judge, ring steward, photographer, grooms, etc.) The poor driver of the other (parked) team reacted instantly and stood up to try to keep control of his own team. I still don't know how he did that with the loose horses and all the screaming, but he did. That probably saved a lot of people from injury right there. Meanwhile, the judge, ring steward and others were trying to stop the frightened horses - with absolutely no luck. They were totally out of control and the broken harness was hitting them as they ran, making it all worse. They again hit the arena wall which broke them apart from each other. (can you imagine the force of these hits to actually BREAK their harness???) At that point, someone was able to stop one of the horses, so only one remained on the loose. Finally, Manny, the Budweiser Clydesdale driver who had been at the gate watching the show, managed to get inside the arena and he stopped the last horse. What a true hero!
I really don't have the words to properly express the level of danger of what happened that night - or the fear that was palpable throughout that arena. I still can't quite believe that no one was hurt and that the other team of horses never moved a step. Incredible. I felt so sorry for the team that caused this disaster. Honestly, they had been one of the top teams up until that point. I never felt that they were unsafe in any way. I still think it was one of those totally crazy things that just happened and that they will be reevaluating that momentary indecision for a long, long time. It does go to show, however, that horses, especially these huge draft horses, are not a sure thing. As Marvin says, anytime you work with a horse, you have a small chance of a great disaster happening. Just because it usually doesn't happen, doesn't mean it can't happen.
So, after all that extreme drama, and after clearing out that whole team and wagon (which had to be pushed out of the arena) the remaining teams did come in to receive their awards. All the horses were a bit juiced up by that time, as you can imagine. But, everyone was cautious and careful. We in the audience were a bit more subdued with our cheering than usual, but I don't think any driver minded. What a night. I hope to never see anything like that happen again. And as for photos or even video, both Jackson and I had our cameras on our laps and never even thought to raise them. Honestly, we were so fearful about what we were watching that even if I had thought to photograph it, I wouldn't have. It just wouldn't have felt appropriate. I did go do a You Tube search later to see if anyone else in the arena had captured it, but amazingly, there is nothing. I think everyone there was doing the same thing... praying for safety for everyone on the floor.
Sunday morning Hannah and Susanna headed back to Oklahoma and we went back into the fair for our last few hours. The last day of the fair is always melancholy to me. Even though we are there for such a long time, I am never quite ready to leave and come home. As we came through the walking tunnel to the campground for our last time at the 2012 state fair, I looked back at the fairgrounds and smiled. Another wonderful summer at the fair. I can't wait until next year!
To see an entire album of photos from the last weekend of the fair, click here.
On Saturday, Hannah and I slipped off by ourselves for a few hours to look through the 4H building, the Home Economics building and other 'girly' stuff. What a joy it was for me to have her to do that with!! It was so much fun!
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| Hannah reading about an antique wedding dress. |
It is always exciting to see the draft horse teams roll in for the final weekend of competition. I LOVE the draft horse events more than any other equine event at the fair (and that is truly saying something!). If you ever get a chance to see a draft horse hitch competition where you live, I encourage you to GO! You won't be sorry! :)
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| Mark Messenger Memorial Hitch - our favorite. :) |
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| She won the costume class - as the Long Ranger on Silver... "Hi Ho, Silver!" |
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| takes some pretty stout harness and tack for these teams |
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| arena full of 6 horse hitches |
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| the Budweiser 8 horse hitch doing a demonstration in the arena Friday night |
I was so glad that Hannah and Susanna could be with us to share in the excitement of the draft horse hitch competition this year. Friday night was a great competition and our favorite hitch, The Mark Messenger Memorial Hitch, won the night. Saturday evening we gathered again for the Show Me Classic competition. I always talk about the skill of the drivers and how part of the excitement of the competition is the awareness that these drivers are handling such powerful animals - disaster could be just around the corner. Most of the drivers we see compete are incredibly skilled and cautious and aware of the potential for disaster. This year there was one driver/team (which I won't name) who really had us nervous from the get-go. In fact, following Friday nights competition we saw them re-enter the arena to work out their 6 horse hitch and witnessed a complete wreck with their horses as the driver carelessly worked the team out in such a way that they got tangled up (literally!) and almost flipped the wagon. I have never seen anything like it in my life and was NOT impressed. So, on Saturday night, having witnessed that 'performance', I was a bit worried about that driver and team, especially when thinking about the final event of the 6 horse hitch. With so many teams in the arena at one time, it can be especially challenging.
Well, there WAS a disaster that night, but amazingly, not with that team. Thankfully, the disaster occurred when there were only 2 teams in the arena (or I firmly believe the result would have been so much worse). For the 6 horse hitch competition the judge only brings 2 or 3 teams in at once to actually do their competing. Then, when he has seen all the teams, he brings them all back in to line up and pass out the awards. That in itself is a feat of organization because you have to have everyone line up exactly in the right spot so that all teams have room to turn out and exit the arena. The last 2 teams to be judged were pulling in for their line up (so that the other teams could re-enter and also line up) when the 2nd team seemed to change their mind at the last minute regarding where they would park. The complicated end result of that decision was that one of the lead horses clipped the back of the other (parked) wagon as it was coming in. I believe the horses felt the indecision of the driver and they literally freaked out. They spooked and took off running, dragging the rest of the team and the wagon. They hit the arena wall and broke their harness, separating them completely from the rest of the team. They then started running wildly in the arena, scattering all the people who were on the floor (judge, ring steward, photographer, grooms, etc.) The poor driver of the other (parked) team reacted instantly and stood up to try to keep control of his own team. I still don't know how he did that with the loose horses and all the screaming, but he did. That probably saved a lot of people from injury right there. Meanwhile, the judge, ring steward and others were trying to stop the frightened horses - with absolutely no luck. They were totally out of control and the broken harness was hitting them as they ran, making it all worse. They again hit the arena wall which broke them apart from each other. (can you imagine the force of these hits to actually BREAK their harness???) At that point, someone was able to stop one of the horses, so only one remained on the loose. Finally, Manny, the Budweiser Clydesdale driver who had been at the gate watching the show, managed to get inside the arena and he stopped the last horse. What a true hero!
I really don't have the words to properly express the level of danger of what happened that night - or the fear that was palpable throughout that arena. I still can't quite believe that no one was hurt and that the other team of horses never moved a step. Incredible. I felt so sorry for the team that caused this disaster. Honestly, they had been one of the top teams up until that point. I never felt that they were unsafe in any way. I still think it was one of those totally crazy things that just happened and that they will be reevaluating that momentary indecision for a long, long time. It does go to show, however, that horses, especially these huge draft horses, are not a sure thing. As Marvin says, anytime you work with a horse, you have a small chance of a great disaster happening. Just because it usually doesn't happen, doesn't mean it can't happen.
So, after all that extreme drama, and after clearing out that whole team and wagon (which had to be pushed out of the arena) the remaining teams did come in to receive their awards. All the horses were a bit juiced up by that time, as you can imagine. But, everyone was cautious and careful. We in the audience were a bit more subdued with our cheering than usual, but I don't think any driver minded. What a night. I hope to never see anything like that happen again. And as for photos or even video, both Jackson and I had our cameras on our laps and never even thought to raise them. Honestly, we were so fearful about what we were watching that even if I had thought to photograph it, I wouldn't have. It just wouldn't have felt appropriate. I did go do a You Tube search later to see if anyone else in the arena had captured it, but amazingly, there is nothing. I think everyone there was doing the same thing... praying for safety for everyone on the floor.
Sunday morning Hannah and Susanna headed back to Oklahoma and we went back into the fair for our last few hours. The last day of the fair is always melancholy to me. Even though we are there for such a long time, I am never quite ready to leave and come home. As we came through the walking tunnel to the campground for our last time at the 2012 state fair, I looked back at the fairgrounds and smiled. Another wonderful summer at the fair. I can't wait until next year!
To see an entire album of photos from the last weekend of the fair, click here.
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