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Our Day at the Fair

Last Friday, we were presented with “The Way we Live Award” at the Iowa State Fair.  The award is for farm families who are dedicated to livestock production.img_9354(rev 0)

We started out the day in the Animal Learning Center.  This is such a neat building.  It has a variety of farm animals, and you can even watch live births of livestock like pigs, an opportunity most fair go-ers don’t get very often!  It’s located close to all of the action, air conditioned, AND has nice bathrooms, so it’s a really popular spot!

The stage in the Animal Learning Center hosted the “Thank a Farmer Magic Show” right before our awards ceremony, and it was so fun to watch!  Great message and great entertainment!img_9360(rev 0)

Then it was our turn.  The president of the fair board, Gary McConnell, read our nomination essay and presented us with our plaque.  Other members of the fair board were on hand to congratulate us, and the state fair queen came for a photo.  Our parents and siblings were there, along with some fellow turkey farmers, family and friends.

img_9368After our awards ceremony, we took some pictures…this cardboard cutout is actually a photo of Bart.  People have been texting us and facebook tagging us with pictures of THEIR
faces on Bart’s body.  It’s given us quite a laugh. :)img_9379img_9380

Then it was time to head out to enjoy the rest of the fair.  We were absolutely blessed with beautiful weather.  Iowa State Fair and blistering heat seem to go together, so the mild temps (60s that morning! and 80s in the afternoon) were a real treat.

img_9404img_9405img_9409-1(rev 0)img_9412-1(rev 0)img_9420-1(rev 0)img_9416-1(rev 0)img_9423(rev 0)img_9424-1(rev 0)img_9428img_9432(rev 0)img_9434img_9436(rev 0)img_9443-1(rev 0)Adam loved the carnival rides, and Bart ate like a champ (like usual!)  There were so many things to see and do…wish we would have been there for more than one day, but the turkeys were waiting at home, so home we went.

 

It was such an awesome day and such an awesome honor.  I’ve said it before – there are a LOT of other families working as hard as we do everyday, but it’s nice to be acknowledged for our work.  Bart works 365 days a year with no vacation, and he’s often (often!) envious of those with “town jobs” who have work-free weekends and vacations.  He (and other farmers) are the hardest workers I know.  Our award helps remind him that people appreciate the work that he does, and that it’s something he should be proud of.

Would you like to comment?

  1. I appreciate what you guys do and I know the hard work behind it! What an honor to be recognized and so well deserved! Looks like so much fun and the perfect weather for the fair. State Fair is one of my favorite movies! It always made me want to go to the Iowa state fair!

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  2. congrats on the award! that is awesome! :)

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  3. So wonderful! Congrats! I love the cutout with your head in it and him standing next to you, totally cracking me up!

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  4. Congrats! Love that cut out! LOL! Missed y'all by a day. Scott and I went on Saturday. :D

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  5. So fantastic!! I hope you'll get to keep that cutout!

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  6. You guys look great! I love the picture cut-out, that's too funny (a good idea for a 40th birthday too. . . haha). Your state fair looks like it's a blast!

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