2011 Ohio State Fair

Overall, we had a great (but exhausting!!) time at the Ohio State Fair. We drove up to Columbus eight times in 13 days, in addition to spending three nights in the Comfort Suites and Chelsea spending two nights in the state fair dorm. We practically LIVED at the state fair this year.

Chelsea competed in skit on opening day (July 27), and the team won, once again. We looked at the score sheet, and we noticed that we had a perfect score. We must have lost the tie break b/c the original score was erased, and we ended up in second place-- still wonderful, but not the clock... After nabbing their Outstanding of the Day ribbons, Elena and Chelsea promptly announced their retirement. Seven Outstanding of the Day recognitions and one clock trophy in eight years of competition-- not a bad run!!

On the very next day (July 28), Emmy competed in scrapbooking, and she did awesome, placing second in the state and earning an Outstanding of the Day. She did the family scrapbook of our trip out west, and the judge was very impressed.

Chelsea worked the poultry judging competition, livestock judging competition, creative arts day, and two functions related to the Hall of Fame breakfast as a state ambassador. She made some new friends and enjoyed working the shows :)

On August 1, Emmy and Coco competed in showmanship and rally. Emmy placed 17th in the state, earning an Outstanding of the Day ribbon, as well as a Silver medal in rally. Although not as good as last year, Emmy still did very well!! She's now one point away from a Championship title, which she should easily earn next year. Unfortunately, Emmy became sick during the day, and we ended up taking her to the doctor on the next day, and she got on antibiotics.

On August 5, Emmy competed with her sports nutrition project. She studied hard, in spite of being sick, but, unfortunately, she still missed an interview question. At the state level, people need to be practically perfect in order to place, and that missed question cost her a purple ribbon. She was really bummed, after all of her hard work, but we still had a fun time during the day. Meanwhile, Britti picked Chelsea up at tennis try-outs and drove her up to the state fair so that she could work on event. Britti, Emmy, and Christie ate one last dinner at the Top of the Fair buffet and then headed home, after a brief stop at the first aid stand b/c Emmy got stung on top of her eye by some infect.

After returning to pick up Chelsea on August 6, we said good-bye to the 2011 Ohio State Fair. Definitely one of our more hectic state fair experiences, Chelsea and Emmy still had great success, and we all had special memories.

Now, a little over 24 hours after bringing Chelsea back to Athens, we're going to be taking her rabbits to the Athens County Fair and starting our own fair week back here at home. No wonder that we're all tired :)