Cody's Last Platte County Fair

It was a day filled with bittersweet feelings. Cody showed today for the last time at the Platte County Fair. Cody first showed at the county fair when he was only 8 years old. We have so many wonderful memories of the fair--showing cattle, fun times with friends, and the weather--it's almost always steaming hot during the county fair.

Today Cody showed Crash, and Crash was named Champion Market Steer! Cody had never had the Champion steer at the county fair this year, and it was a great way to end his county-fair career.

Summer Fun--Cattle Shows! Charolais Junior Nationals

Morgan (and her heifer Princess) beat out more than 70 other competitors to be named Champion Showman at the Charolais Junior Nationals in South Dakota. Great job Morgan and Princess!

State Fair Champion!

Morgan showed her heifer, Amber, at the State Fair today. She received the honor of winning Grand Champion Open Class Heifer! Many, many people were involved in making it a successful day, and some of them are pictured here.

Trip to Denver

WOW--it's been a busy few weeks!

The day after my last post we (Cody, Morgan, and I) went to the National Western Stock Show in Denver. Cody drove, and we all had fun on the way there talking and guessing the songs on the radio and the singer. Cody and I had a close battle going for awhile, but he ultimately pulled ahead and won.

We saw a lot of good friends in Denver, friends we don't see often during the year. Our family and several other families stalled together (had our cattle by each other) and everyone helped everyone else get their cattle ready. All the adults made sure the kids got to the ring on time to show, and then back to the stalls.

On Saturday the families who were working together had cattle in classes 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 12. There were several calves, and therefore several kids, in each class. It was quite a challenge to get everyone where they needed to be, at the right time, but it got done! We had a successful day with several calves in the champion drive.

We show with one family frequently, and the dad and two sisters came to Denver. The mom had to work and take care of the cattle at home, so was unable to come. As her daughter showed (and Morgan was in the same class) I got the inspiration to take a picture of her daughter with my cell phone and send it to her. She was thrilled to be part of the day even though she couldn't be there. I also sent pictures throughout the day to my mother-in-law. (I would have done the same for my parents, but I don't think they can get pictures on their phone). It was fun to share the day with loved ones who couldn't be there.

The show was very successful for us, and for the families who were there. It was a busy week, but one of the high points of our showing year.

Denver--National Western Stock Shoow

We had a fun trip to Denver and a successful show.

Cody was the Champion Senior Showman, with his steer Pumpkinhead

Moran's heifer, Sadie, was the Reserve Grand Champion Prospect Heifer

Busy Days!

The kids and I are going to Denver for a few days, to the National Western Stock Show. They'll show their cattle and sheep there and we're all looking forward to it!

I've felt more than a little overwhelmed the last few days, trying to get ready to go. My mom always made sure the house was clean before we went on a trip, and I've inherited that desire to come home to a clean house.

Besides cleaning the house I've had Nebraska Family Times business to do, and I worked two days this week at my nursing job.

I gave a presentation at our church last night to a youth group that is going on a mission trip this summer. (See above post for more details.)

While we're gone I plan to spend some time scrapbooking, so I was going through pictures I'd taken in the last 18 months or so, FINALLY choosing the ones I wanted prints of and ordering them online.

To throw another little twist in my planning, my computer has been acting goofy all week. One day it locked up at least eight times and I had to restart it . . . usually while I was trying to download pictures to the WalMart website to get developed.

And . . . it's been soooooo bitterly cold here for the last few days--below zero and then windy . . . I just do not like the cold! I try very hard not to be crabby about it, but it tires me out.

I won't whine any more . . . I have many, many things to be thankful for. I was worried for awhile that the computer problem stemmed from my photo program and I would lose the photos I hadn't saved. Thankfully they're all printed now! I am thankful that I can check my e-mail (I think the problem is in my Outlook Express program) through another website. I have a warm home, warm clothes, and a reliable vehicle to keep me out of the weather. AND . . . I have a friend who is helping me with the paper, and when I asked her if she'd get the boxes of papers mailed, she said YES! WHEW! What a relief it was to get that off of my lists.

It seems everything is coming together! Tim said it was 50 degrees in Denver yesterday--yeah! My house probably won't be "mom clean" but it will be good enough (I continue to hope that the cleaning elves come while I'm gone!) I'm getting everything done and if it doesn't get done, it's not that important.

Many Hats

I think all moms wear many hats (dads too, for that matter), and I'm no exception!

This morning I started with my "mom" hat. Tim and the kids are traveling to Kentucky to a cattle show this weekend, and I was running through my own checklist with the kids this morning, asking if they'd remembered pajamas, underwear (Cody rolled his eyes at that!), shampoo, and so on. Since they're flying they were working to minimize their luggage as much as possible.

After a few "looks" (anyone who has or has ever had teenagers knows the "look") and eye-rolls from the kids, I concentrated on preparing to wear my nurse hat for my shift with my private duty patient. I enjoy my patient and her family and I am so blessed to have a job that fits into the other aspects of my family and life so well.

Tim picked the kids up at school so they could go to the airport, and since I had errands in Columbus anyway I met them at school for one more hug (Cody checked to be sure none of his friends were watching . . . Morgan was generous with long and tight hugs, and so was Tim!) and to wish them a safe, fun, and successful trip.

Then I put on my "errand" hat and did a few things around Columbus (see next post for details on what I shopped for).

My mom called as I was on my way home, and it was so nice to talk with her and catch up with what's happening in Missouri, where mom and dad and grandpa live. As an added treat, my dad called later! We don't get to talk very often so it was great that he called.

By the time I got home it was time for the "feed the animals" hat--namely, Morgan's sheep and the dogs.

Now, it's finally time to put on my "newspaper publisher and editor" hat! I'm working on some records and writing and mailing a Christmas letter to all of the advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors. I love reviewing our year and writing a Christmas letter, and this year was FULL of changes and momentous happenings.

If you are interested in the Nebraska Family Times, or this blog, please e-mail me (at shelly@shellyburke.net) with your name and address. I'll send you a sample issue of the paper AND our Christmas letter.

I am blessed to have the time and opportunity to wear so many hats! And I hope you enjoy your own hats as well.

Family Happenings

Tim, Cody, and Morgan are now in Kansas City at the American Royal Livestock Show. They're excited about being there but we've only communicated through brief text messages, so I don't know much about what's going on, but I know they're keeping busy. Some of their out-of-state friends are there also.

The kids do miss some days of school for cattle shows and FFA events, but they're keeping up with their classes and getting excellent grades, so their teachers understand (most of them anyway!). I know that they are learning many "life lessons" when they are responsible for caring for their cattle, getting them ready for shows, and so on. Most days their day starts well before 6:00 AM so it's not like they're on vacation!

Parent-Teacher Conferences were today, and I spent several hours this morning meeting with the teachers. I had crib notes--the kids told me a little bit about each class and teacher. One teacher goes to our church, one teacher is in charge of the Mock Trial team (which Morgan is a part of), and so on.

I really enjoyed meeting all of the teachers (since this is just the second year the kids have gone to school at Lakeview, most of the teachers are new to me), and they're very happy with the kids' grades and behaviors. I learned more about the trip to National FFA Convention from their FFA advisor than I did from Cody and Morgan!

I had some errands to do after conferences, so didn't get home until later than I'd planned . . . putting me behind in completing items on my to-do list. Oh well, to-do lists are just a suggestion, right???