Cook Family Blog
County Fair 2021
The county fair was fun, fun, fun!
All three kids won state fair trips with their static projects. Kenna and Rocky in Fine Arts (Kenna painted and embroidered a pair of shoes and Rocky did a sketch art of his dog Henry). Chole won in Self Determined (she presented a couple sets of dryer balls and the process to make and sell them).
With their animals both girls won state trips with their horses and Rocky will be going to the state fair with his dog Henry. Both girls won a first place in showmanship (Kenna with her horse and Chloe with her alpaca) and got to compete in premiere showmanship at the fair (where winners of each animal class in showmanship get to compete by showing all of the top fair animals). It was a ton of fun and they learned a lot about each of the animal groups that come to the fair.
The alpacas had their first trip to the county fair and did amazing (not too much spitting). Rocky took overall reserve champion with Lucky Penny and won a buckle. Chloe was grand champion with Maizy Star in showmanship and Kenna was reserve champion with Cherry Berry. Then it was time for costume - Chloe was a "bat" and her alpaca was a "man" (check out her top hat). Kenna was a pirate and her alpaca was the parrot. Kenna also did a costume with her horse, she was the Grinch and her horse was Max!
All three kids won state fair trips with their static projects. Kenna and Rocky in Fine Arts (Kenna painted and embroidered a pair of shoes and Rocky did a sketch art of his dog Henry). Chole won in Self Determined (she presented a couple sets of dryer balls and the process to make and sell them).
With their animals both girls won state trips with their horses and Rocky will be going to the state fair with his dog Henry. Both girls won a first place in showmanship (Kenna with her horse and Chloe with her alpaca) and got to compete in premiere showmanship at the fair (where winners of each animal class in showmanship get to compete by showing all of the top fair animals). It was a ton of fun and they learned a lot about each of the animal groups that come to the fair.
The alpacas had their first trip to the county fair and did amazing (not too much spitting). Rocky took overall reserve champion with Lucky Penny and won a buckle. Chloe was grand champion with Maizy Star in showmanship and Kenna was reserve champion with Cherry Berry. Then it was time for costume - Chloe was a "bat" and her alpaca was a "man" (check out her top hat). Kenna was a pirate and her alpaca was the parrot. Kenna also did a costume with her horse, she was the Grinch and her horse was Max!
Barrel Racing Summer 2021
For years we paid for riding lessons, now those lessons are paying off as the girls have been giving me a few pointers. I was able to gently compete at a few shows this summer and loved spending every minute of it on my horse and with my girls - while I may not be good - I'm having a great time. PS these were my first professional pictures at a barrel race and I lost my hat every time, so don't judge the hair...
Deer season 2020, sister success, making memories!
Rocky attempts a new product...
Rocky wanted to do a product by himself, so with a little help we are currently trialing what he made. Pretty exciting and he is proud of taking it on himself. Anyone want to try and guess what he’s crafting????
Making Dryer Balls
Wow! Did we learn a lot this summer for the art and craft of making dryer balls. Through a little trial an error, we discovered a process that created soft and amazing dryer balls. We even discovered the time goes faster when we project a movie on the door of the shop - ha! In the photo below, it still shows us learning (small movie playing on the door) as we now project movies with a much larger image. While our fiber is now out for the season (We only shear alpacas once a year in Northern Minnesota) and the dryer balls are sold out, we get a little break but look forward to working from home in our assembly line again next summer.
Paca Poo Process
The kids manage the paca poo process. Starting from collecting the poo on a daily basis (keeps the pen neat and the flies down). They spread it out on cardboard and sun dry the poo. Once dried, they poor through a screen and screen out any hay or debris. Ending with fabulous dry “beans” to be packaged. They take great pride in the presentation of the poo they sell. Ha!❤️