Many kids made their First Communion today, so I enjoyed the little girls in their pretty white dresses. Most of them kept adjusting their veils. This reminded me of Bernadette's, when I was the one to continually fiddle with the veil. It sure shows on the video.

Meanwhile, two little boys took the offering up. The small one with the bowl of hosts had a brand new suit, that was about four inches too long. No one had hemmed it, so it was step-trip-step-trip all the way up the aisle. He kept his feet, though. I had a hard time not laughing, though.

I did well for Mother's Day. Monica and Roni had mentioned plans in a couple of weeks, so I wasn't expecting (much) to hear from them. I got a card and a ladybug pin from Niki yesterday. Bernadette and Rob sent an e-card. While we were out, I got calls from Roni and Monica. Finally, back at the house, the phone rang and it was Vince. He knew he'd better come through, especially after Niki did! He had sent an e-card but he had the wrong address. It was a good day!

We helped the Discovery Museum folks at the County Fair. We went early and watched baby pigs race. Rich's pig got first, so Rich got a blue ribbon. I'd answered a question about the country that eats the most pork, (China) and got a pin. They still have the sand sculptures from last year's state fair. They're a little worse for wear, but still recognizable. That was surprising.

We were supposed to be there from 2 to 6, but the people decided to pack up early, so Rich and I could really look around. I was particularly taken with an Americana quilt. The woman put her ancestors' names on the ships, and there was an actual $2 bill from the 1800s in it. Another thing that impressed me was a table setting that was from Star Wars. It had black napkins and very heavy china and glass, and a menu straight from the movies.

There's a homeschooling family in town I've been aware of before. They made 4 Flat Stanleys and sent them all over, and two of the albums won a Best of Show ribbon. The Stanleys spend a month with whichever family and send back pictures and postcards and, in this case, a bit of dirt. The 10-year-old girl also had a display of the different sands from various states, and that also had a best of show ribbon. Meanwhile, her 12-year-old brother had a display on the 2000 election, and won his own best of show. I suspect we'll see these again at the State Fair, if we go.

A kid had dissected a whole bunch of owl pellets. A class had designed a number of experiments for the space shuttle, and they were showing the results. They tested the effects of weightlessness on seeds, yeast, adhesive, film, and CDs.

Out near the table where we had paper and stamps and markers to make Mother's Day cards, the Army had an obstacle course for kids. These two very young soldiers would yell at the kids, make them do pushups, make them go through the tires again, etc. These guys had lost their voices and were having a really hard time keeping a straight face. Meanwhile, the children lined up to take this abuse. They loved it.

I saw a baby with a neat toy, a ball and chain.

We went back to look at the animals. We saw the tail end (no pun intended) of a horse judging, and suddenly the same kids were showing goats. We asked what was going on, and discovered that actually the animals were showing the kids. These 4-Hers had won bests on their own animals and were in a showmanship contest. The pigs were funny. They had their own minds, and one in particular only wanted to go back into his stall and sleep. That poor kid, after the five minutes of chasing it around with a cane and voice, looked totally tired of pork.

I enjoyed watching the kids on the climbing wall. That looks a lot easier than it apparently is. Finally, we sauntered back to the car and went home.