Holiday Classic

Last weekend was another milestone for sweet Dottie as she competed in her first Holiday Classic. This two-day show is put on by 4-H and the Extension Agency and is one of our favorites each year. Tonto and Taylor decided to leave Sprocket at home so they could focus on the heifer. She's really a good girl and I think she's quite pretty as  well. :)

On Saturday, Tiny and I stayed at home so she could rest up from a week of daycare (she sleeps a LOT on Saturdays to compensate) and, honestly, I wasn't brave enough to wrestle the baby two days at a stock show. Just keeping it real.

So the big two headed down to Belton and got Dottie settled, visited with friends, enjoyed some clinics and the showmanship competition.

They also had lunch at an old favorite - Jody's - and introduced some of the girl's friends to the best cheeseburgers in the ENTIRE world. :)

Apparently Dottie took a short walk while they were out for lunch but she eventually settled in for the evening with some hay.

The next morning we were there bright and early getting ready for Class 3. And. She. Won. We were sooooo excited!!!

And then she went in for the champion drive for the American division and SHE WON AGAIN!!!

Taylor was THRILLED and it was so awesome to see her finally win one of the top prizes. Goats are fun, y'all, but we have never had a ton of success with them. That's one of the main reasons we decided to move over to heifers and it has definitely been worth it.

We waited around for the British and Exotic divisions because she was needed for the Supreme Drive. (!!!) Her first. :)

In the end, the British heifers took both Supreme and Reserve Supreme, which happens a lot because they're pretty and flashy, and the judge told Taylor he had Dottie third and ahead of the Exotic champ. So, basically, she was the third best heifer at the ENTIRE SHOW.

At the end of the day, Taylor and Dottie both gained some confidence, garnered their first champion tag and had fun in the process. That's a win all the way around, y'all. And I could not be more proud of either of them. :)

Halloween Happenings

I know...these posts become fewer and farther between as the year progresses but it's definitely not for lack of content - we're just super busy! Life has been crazy with the goat, heifer and LDE preparation for Taylor. Tiny is growing, babbling, crawling, pulling up and is basically just EVERYWHERE. 

Love them both so much - even if one doesn't participate in Halloween events anymore and the other's face still can't be shown. Though her bio parents did sign away rights a week ago unexpectedly. HUGE blessing. HUGE relief. And hopefully her face will be lighting up everyone else's worlds soon. :)

Anyway...the weekend before Halloween we finally had some time to enjoy the season with the little one. She got dressed up in her fall finest and headed to the pumpkin patch. She truly had no idea what those big orange things were and was kind of amazed. She was not a huge fan of hay but was still absolutely precious. Obviously.

The next night we took her to the church's Fall Festival while Taylor and the youth had some fall fun of their own. It was sooooo hot that she only wore her pumpkin costume for a few minutes and then just sported the jack o' lantern onesie. She also tried a Dum Dum for the first time this evening and, y'all, SHE IS A FAN.

We spent the next week wearing cute Halloween outfits, leggings, pajamas and hats (thank you, Maw Maw!) because, well, we are nothing if not festive.

On Halloween day, she donned her cute dress again but had to add leggings this time because we live in Texas and it was approximately 45 degrees cooler than it had been at the festival a few days earlier. 

That evening we went to the last Midway football game of the season where the fleece pumpkin costume was perfect for the cooler temps. We started out with the pumpkin hat but had to move on to the owl because it was windy and someone's little ears needed to be protected. Or so said her daddy.

Can't wait until this little one can trick or treat next year, have a say in what she wants to dress up as and we show her sweet face in a million pictures. But, for now, we're just enjoying every second with this sweet one and her sister. Life has changed soooooo much in the past year (that's a whole post of its own) and we wouldn't change it for the world.