The Bottle Calf Show

On Friday evening all bottle calves had to report to the fairgrounds in preparation for the Saturday afternoon show. Cooper was completely in his element.  As kids and bottle calves arrived he made his way through the barn talking to every kid and petting every calf.  What he talked about with all these kids, I have no idea.  But, watching him, there was no doubt whose son he was.  The apple does not fall far from the tree (and I'm not talking about this tree).

By Saturday morning, the kids were excited!  They went in early to get Cowgirl all cleaned up and to eat breakfast at one of the food stands.  They came home, rested, picked out their "calf showing clothes" and we headed back to the fair for the big event.  The kids were split into classes by age.  Each participant in the class had to walk their calf around the ring, answer interview questions from the judge, and keep their calf under control while the other participants were interviewed.  Both kids and, more importantly, Cowgirl, did great!  

There was no doubt that Cooper enjoyed every manure-filled, sweaty second of it.  He was grinning from ear to ear the whole time.  He was all about the show.  Layla was super composed and did awesome on her interview.  She went from just tolerating it all on Friday to really enjoying the process on Saturday.  

One of the things that made it so special for our kids was all of the friends and family who came to watch. Even the announcer commented on their cheering section when he announced their names when they entered the ring.  They are incredibly blessed kids to have so many people in their lives who care about what they do!  And, as we said prayers tonight, they both thanked God for Cowgirl and said they're ready to do it again next year.