Catch Up-State Fair

I think I posted some about the State Fair while we were there.  Just a few updates from our day, but I never posted the pictures.  Let me just say again - I have never been so hot in all my life.  At least one thing to look forward to was that long time fair goers said it was the hottest one they had ever been to.  If this occurrs only once or twice in a lifetime I can handle it.  If it's like that every year until Cade is 22...I don't know if I'll survive!!

We got there Thursday evening about 8pm.  We traveled that evening because it would be cooler for the cattle.  I will never ever forget walking into the cattle barn that evening and feeling the oppressive heat in there....and that was after the sun was down!  For a brief moment I had one of those toddler moments come over me.  I was extremely tempted to throw myself down on the ground and say that I didn't want to do it.  It was too hot!!!!  That moment passed and I helped Jay unload the trailer.  That in itself was an adventure - I was a novice and it was dark and the stuff is big and bulky and heavy and we were both hot and crabby.  There were some sharp words exchanged which made me really want to throw myself down and say I was done! 

The worst part about unloading though was Buttons.  I thought he was going to die.  He was so hot he laid out on his side and panted.  All I could think was Great!  Our bull is going to die in Sedalia.  I'm going to have to deal with Cade being upset and it will probably cost $1M to have someone haul him off.  I had to haul buckets of water over to him and pour on him.  Finally he perked up and looked like he might live.  He ended up surviving the week, which I was very thankful for.  While writing this post it made me think about what would happen if a cow were to die during the fair.  With the way the barns are built I wondered how you would get them out.  Jay said you'd have to get a skid steer to drag it out.  I'm guessing that's something no person wants to think about while they are at the state fair....hauling out a dead animal would not be the best way to spend your time in Sedalia. 

Ruby placed 4th out of 6 and Buttons placed 3rd out of 9.  We were pleased with how things turned out.

Here is a family picture.  Trust me, this one will not be appearing on our Christmas cards or in our adoption profile update.  Charity and I discussed that week how we are not pretty sweaters.  There are some people who can sweat and yet they still look good.  We didn't get those genetics...as you can see.  And Sunday, the day of the show, was not nearly as hot as the other days.  You can imagine how pretty I looked the other two days.  My hair is an awkward length for heavy duty sweating...long enough that the heat really messes with it but too short to put in pony tail.  Thank goodness we had a hotel.  I can't imagine what I would've looked like if we had camped there...or how crabby we would've been!

After the show Jay and I started loading the trailer.  At least this time it was daylight so that cut down on some of the crabiness.  Cade though started a bad habit that week.  He's at a somewhat awkward age - he thinks he's too big to be with us all the time, but yet we aren't comfortable having him out of our sight.  We did try to relax and let him play with some kids while we were loading the trailer.  He was outside the barn and since we were going in and out loading the trailer I thought it would be fine.  And it was until I lost him... twice.  The first time wasn't a big deal, I just had to search a few seconds longer than normal.  I spotted him and it was ok.  The second time though was one of those where it makes your heart pound and your knees go weak.  I could not find him anywhere.  I asked the kids he was playing with and they didn't know where he had gone.  I went racing into the barn and he wasn't there.  I was really starting to get worried at that point.  Finally I found Jay and he had just seen Cade.  It was one of those deals where Cade was in the barn while I was outside and then he left the barn right as I walked in.  It ended up not being a big deal, but since I was weak kneeded I made him sit in the the truck.  We were almost done anyway and I intended to make it home with everything we took to the fair...bull and boy especially!

Catch Up - Ozark Empire

I have several pictures that I need to post so I can get caught up.  Our Internet has been spotty the last few months so I got behind.  It seemed to work out to where when it was working, I didn't feel like sitting at the computer.  We finally got the phone company to look at it the day after Thanksgiving.  This little guy was a miracle worker and we now have wireless.  Out here in this part of Lawrence county high speed wireless is a rare thing.  Our poor neighbors 100 yards away are "too far" away to get it.  Hopefully being able to sit on the couch and use Jay's laptop will be more of an incentive to post pictures.

The Ozark Empire Fair was the first week of August.  That was the week after we found out about the first negative test and the same week Jay and The Icebox were in Columbia.  It was a hectic week.  On the first night the cattle were in Springfield Jay went to Columbia to get things set up.  Cade went with a friend to Springfield Cardinals game so that left me to watch the cattle and take them to tie outs.  Did I mention this was the first time I'd ever been left alone with cattle at the fair?  Jay got some people from Miller to help me out.  I told them thank you and the mom said we all have our first fair...yeah, it's just usually not when you are 33.  When it was time for tie outs her daughters (7th grade and Freshman) help me lead them and they tied the knots.  I didn't even know how to do that!  It was a little embarrassing.  I guess I'll eventually learn over the years....

Here Cade is talking to a friend that he made.  It was so funny to watch him around the other kids.  Even though it was pretty warm that week and it was a lot of long hours Cade did really well. 

Here's Jim and Jay getting Ruby ready while Cade did something else...

 Here is Cade and Ruby.  Ruby ended up 6th in her class.  She didn't do as well as we had hoped. My totally untrained opinion is that she will do better next year when she's a little older and bigger.  She is a really pretty cow - very feminine.  Who would've thought I'd ever think about such things???



Here is Jay and Buttons.  He showed Buttons because we didn't want Cade in there with 6 other 1500 pound bulls.  Buttons placed 3rd in his class.  I think he placed better than we thought he would.

It was fun, it was an experience, but I was so glad when Jim and Jay got the stuff loaded and we headed for home!

Cancellation...

Saturday night Jay wanted to take Cade, Buttons and Ruby to a show in Republic.  I had to go to Springfield that afternoon to buy 75# of sugar so I was going to meet them there.  About the time I left Springfield it started clouding up.  When Jay got about half way between home and Republic is started pouring, then hailing.  It rained hard on us for about an hour.  This all happened about 5pm that night, but the show wasn't until 7pm.  For some reason they decided to cancel it.  By 7pm though it was back to being sunny and hot.  It was disappointing for everyone.  I'd say Jay was the most disappointed, but then I think about it from Buttons and Ruby's perspective....they were taken from their surroundings, washed with cold water from the hose, loaded on a trailer, drove through pounding sheets of rain and hail all to sit in a McDonald's parking lot while we ate then they were hauled back home and turned out.  I'm sure they were very confused!

I snapped this picture of Cade because he looked kind of pittiful sitting there eating his ice cream cone.  He was all dressed up with no place to go! 

Also, I've mentioned Skyler Sanders on this blog several times the last couple of years.  He is the 8 year old battling the brain tumor.  I used to work with his dad.  Please keep Skyler and his family in your prayers.  I can't imagine what they are going through. I really don't know what else to say.....you can check out his website at http://www.skylersanders.com/    

 

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Oh The Country Life...

Changing pastures from the rented ground to our house.  Led the calves about a mile down the road.  Jay needs to "prepare" them for a show next weekend.  Jay's truck had to go to the shop (wheel bearing was out, YEAH for us!!!) so he improvised.  Good exercise and good practice for all parties involved!

I think I'm going to recall this as the summer I sweated more than any other summer in my life.

Ash Grove Show

Our first show of the "showing" season was Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend.  Jay loaded up Buttons and Ruby and we all headed to the metropolis of Ash Grove, Mo. 

For those of you needing a recap, here is a rundown of our current livestock...

Buttons - He's our first calf born from an embryo transfer.  He was a year old in February and is turning out to be a good show bull.  His real name is Anticipation, but Cade nicknamed him Buttons because he was born with horns.

Ruby - She is a heifer that Papa Jim got for Cade last fall.  She is not quite a year old yet so she is the perfect size for Cade to show this year.  Buttons is a little big for Cade to handle, but Ruby is just his size.  Cade came up with Ruby's name.

Jewels - She is Button's full genetic sister.  She was also transferred to the same cow, Sally, that raised Buttons.  Jewels was born in February (2 days after the failed adoption) and she will be what Cade will show this fall and next year.  Cade also came up with Jewels...but to say it right you have to really draw out the first part of the word...Ju...els. So far she is showing a lot of potential, or at least that's what I've been told.

  This is Ruby.  See how she is a good size for Cade.

This is a little tykes show...aren't they cute.

Cade and Ruby in the Little Tykes show

Ruby in breed show. She won her class.

Cade and Buttons.  Jay hung around to make sure he didn't get too wild.  Buttons won his class and then won Grand Champion Hereford Bull.

Supreme Champion

The moment that Jay had been visualizing ever since we were in the ultrasound room and heard the tech say "it's a boy" happened last weekend.  We took Cade and Buttons to their first show.  They both did so well.  They were both very well behaved.  We were more worried about the cow than Cade of course.  We knew Cade would do well, Buttons on the other hand was the wild card, but he did better than we all expected.  We didn't win anything (the judge was blind!!!), but that really was ok with us.  After winning Grand Champion with his chickens, we didn't want Cade to thinkt that he'll win every time he shows.  The funniest part happened during the Little Tykes show.  All of the little kids won a trophy.  As soon as Cade saw his he threw down the halter and his show stick to grab the tropy.  Luckily Buttons didn't realize that for a few seconds he was free

Our second (and last show this year) occurred Saturday.  Buttons wasn't quite as easy to handle so Jay had to be a little more hands on.  That really didn't seem to matter though, because he won Grand Champion in the Hereford Bulls.  Then he went on to win Supreme Champion, which means he beat out all of the other breeds of bulls.  Cade had the biggest smile on his face when he realized that he got to bring home a pretty large tropy.  He kept saying "I won, I won". We kept trying to tell him to not say it so loud.  It was an exciting day for the whole family.  Even I am starting to get into it.  After seeing Cade's smile I knew that they money we spent on the embryos was well worth it!

Cade fell asleep on the way home Saturday still clutching his trophy.

Buttons at Home - Part 3

Trying to describe Cade’s relationship with Button’s is hard without sounding dumb or embarrassing Cade. But at the risk of sounding corny I’m going to say it anyway…Cade fell in love with Buttons as soon as he laid eyes on him. Ever since that day in February Cade has talked about him constantly. He always wanted to go to Jim and Sharon’s just to see Buttons. He even used some of his Summer School money to buy a halter for him. If you knew Cade’s relationship with his money you’d know that was a huge thing. He doesn’t care much for spending his own money.

Obsessed would be another way of describing how Cade feels about Buttons. Last weekend we were finally able to bring him to our house. Cade jumped out of bed on Saturday and didn’t stop moving all day long. He was beyond excited.

He even conned my parents into buying him some Hereford toys to play with when they took him to Silver Dollar City a couple of weeks ago. The next morning I went to get on our treadmill and this is what I found.

The day after we brought Buttons home Jay had to go to the State Fair to pick up the FFA projects. That afternoon Cade asked me no less than 16 times if he could go out and check on Buttons. He was in and out all afternoon. That evening Cade and I went so a church swimming party. On the way home I called Jay to see where he was at. We talked on our cell phones about Jay talking to Jim B (the guy we bought the embryos from). Jim said that his son-in-law was thinking about taking Buttons to the American Royal. I didn’t say anything about Buttons I just asked Jay if he would let Buttons go. Jay said he’d have to see then his phone cut out. After I hung up the phone Cade asked me why we were talking about Buttons. I tried to get out of it by telling him we weren’t. He told me that we were too talking about Buttons. I told him about Kevin wanting to take Buttons to the show. Cade thought for a minute and then asked if he would get to show him. I told him no, but that we could go watch the show. Cade thought for a minute and then said he didn’t want Buttons to go. It was His Bull and His Rules and Buttons wasn’t going to the American Royal.

After I told Jay that story he got to thinking about selling Buttons, which has been the plan from the start. Jay’s afraid Cade won’t want to sell him. On one hand I know that Cade has a concept of money and would understand that part…but Cade likes money that he can physically touch. I call him Scrooge McDuck all the time because he takes out his $1 bills and plays with them. We’re hoping to get more money out of Buttons than just a few $1 that Cade can jam in his wallet and hide in his Jammie drawer. We’re just not sure what Cade will think about that when the time comes. Jay started on a new saying with Cade this past week to go along with My Bull My Rules. The new one is If the Money Talks, the Bull Walks. We’ll see if Cade can actually follow through on it next year.

We’re planning on taking Buttons to a cattle show this next Saturday. It will also be Cade’s first show. That could be pretty exciting.

How Buttons became Buttons - Part 2

When we had originally talked about the calf we really hoped it was going to be a heifer. Since it was due around President’s Day we decided we’d name her First Lady. We hoped she would be our first in a long line of show cattle and it would be a good way to make a name “theme” for all of them. We’d continue to name all of our cattle after Presidents and their wives. Of course 4 years of infertility has still taught us nothing – things don’t always work out like we plan. The calf was born a bull about a week after Presidents Day so we just couldn’t make sense out of naming him George or Abraham. We didn’t have a name.

Normally Jay wouldn’t have been concerned about this. He had only named cattle out of necessity for their registration papers. In day to day life they were only referred to as the Show Bull or the Show Heifer. Of course that wasn’t going to work for me. I like to name my animals. Mostly I prefer real names like – Charlie, Sadie, Jacie, PJ, etc. but I knew we needed a “cool” name for the bull. We thought and thought and had nothing. Finally Sharon came up with the name we put on his registrations papers – Anticipation.
Considering that we had wrapped almost 2 years of our lives into this, made numerous phone calls back and forth and Sharon called the vet twice about it – it was a very fitting name.

Jay and I were all set with Anticipation, until Jay discovered something else about the bull. Once he discovered this, he chose not to tell me about it for a few days – which was probably smart. Since Buttons was bred from Polled Hereford stock I never gave any thought to the thing being born with horns. But, our calf had horns , which if you are unaware is a RECESSIVE gene. Of course I was concerned. I’ve watched 8 Seconds I’ve seen horns on bulls and I was not happy about the thought of my little boy showing a large bull with spikes shooting out of its head. My first question or maybe it was more statement was “we’ll dehorn him, right!!!” That’s when I was told that it was “tradition” to show cows with horns if that’s the way they were born. But Jay assured me that Buttons’ horns would never get that long and definitely wouldn’t be long while Cade was showing him. I’m still not sure if Jay was blowing smoke to make me feel better or what, but as it turns out it’s not something we had to worry about.

So Cade loved looking at his calf and talking about his calf. One day Cade and Papa Jim were discussing his horns. Papa Jim told him that when the horns are little nubs they are called….I bet you’ll never guess….Buttons. That’s how Buttons became Buttons. Jay loves the name. In fact if you see Jay you should ask him about his vision of Cade leading a bull that weighs 1300 who goes by the name Buttons into an arena. He loves talking about Buttons’ name.

The other thing that makes it even funny is to hear Cade say Buttons. It sounds like two different words put together with the emphasis on tons..But Tons. And even funnier was Cade went around telling everyone his name. Cade knows no stranger and always gives out way too much information to anyone – Jay’s students and parents, the checker at Wal-Mart, anyone at church, etc. So anyone who was “fresh meat” in Cade’s eyes got the story – I have a baby bull at Memo and Papa Jim’s. His real name is An pis i tation but I call him But Tons. He’d reverse the p and t in anticipation and accent every syllable exactly the way I typed it. Yes, it did sound like he said a bad word…everytime.

He’s finally learned how to say anticipation so the story isn’t quite as funny but it’s still being told a lot. Mom and Dad took him to SDC on Monday and he told the cashier all about his bull. Dad was trying to hurry him along, because there were 10 people behind him in line but Cade wasn’t budging until his story was finished.

The day after we had him dehorned Jay and Cade had to take me to work (it was during the car incident). Jay said something to Cade about changing his name since he no longer had buttons, which didn’t go over well. I made a joke and said we could call him Buttonholes. For some reason I was the only one laughing….

How Buttons Came to Be - Part 1

Here is the story of Buttons, Cade's Hereford Bull calf. Since this has been a huge part of our life the last 6 months it might get to be a long story, mostly because Cade's been hilarious talking about him, I'm going to break it into installments for your reading ease. Enjoy!

Buttons started his life as an embryo in a tank of liquid nitrogen. Jim B., a good friend of Jay’s family, raises Hereford cattle. At the Ozark Empire Fair a couple of years ago he had a silent auction for 2 embryos. Jay called me all excited about the possibility of purchasing these embryos. At that point in my life I was extremely skeptical about buying these things. For one, it was a considerable amount of money and for a couple who was spending a lot to get their adoption started it just didn’t seem like a good idea to me. Secondly, I was extremely grumpy when it came to talking about anything to do with embryos, fertility treatments, babies, etc. I really didn’t want to go from talking/focusing about my infertility issues to talking/focusing on those issues in a cow. Yes, fun times around our household for a few days.

Once Jay had the go ahead to get the embryos he was the happiest guy. His dreams of owning show cattle were just a thaw and implant away. I was grumbling because I had to open up the checkbook and shift money around to pay for the things all while my attitude towards us being able to produce a baby of any kind, human or bovine, was very very pessimistic. Jay was also a little scared because he knew if this didn’t work out his chances of ever doing something like this again were low (we’ve had numerous “livestock” disasters during our marriage).

After months of talking about it, observing the cow, and hauling the tank with the little embryos in it around FOREVER one of them was finally implanted in a Hereford/Dairy mix cow that now goes by the name of “Sally”.

Of course the big implant day couldn’t slide by without some sort of an incident, because after all it is US we are taking about. Cade, who has always been a good child, did something he had never, ever done before. He never got into things, he never emptied out our bathroom cabinets and tried to eat cleaning supplies. He never wrote on walls or furniture. We never had an incident until that day. For some unknown reason he decided to use a permanent marker, used to mark calf ear tags, and scribble on the inside of a tailgate that was attached to the truck of the man implanting the embryo. I’m so thankful that I wasn’t there and that Jay got to explain that one. Luckily the man laughed, shut his tailgate and rolled on. We were horrified.

So after some anxious weeks of daily phone calls to Jim and Sharon to make sure the cow wasn’t in heat it was safe to assume she was pregnant. Fast forward to February 14, 2009 and it was show time. Jay started making several phone calls a day to his parents to check on the status of the cow. Jim and Sharon were as anxious as we were. It was like we were all nervous first time parents. I think Sharon called the vet twice because the cow was acting funny. Finally a few nights later we got the phone call we had been waiting for….our baby calf was here. Sharon was so excited she called us before Jim even had a chance to see if it was a heifer or a bull. We were a little disappointed because it wasn’t a heifer, but we were just tickled that it was born alive. Since it was almost 10 at night I think Jay had a hard time containing himself until the next afternoon when he could go look over the calf. At this point the baby bull still did not have a name. That was to come later....thanks to Papa Jim.