If Prizes Were Awarded for Enthusiasm...

...then Tobin would take home a blue ribbon.  You see, today for the first time, he entered something in the fair; and his excitement was a joy to see.

We weren't around on Sunday afternoon when most of the entries were to be dropped off at the fairgrounds, but we did have a chance this morning to drop off baked goods.  So late last evening, we decided to have Tobin, David, and Josiah each make something to enter--much to the anguish of Shav who couldn't understand why he couldn't also make something for the fair.  (Because supervising three baking projects when it's supposed to be bedtime on the day after a big trip to Pennsylvania and all five of my kids are sick was QUITE ENOUGH for this mom!  But next year, sweet Shavi, you can enter something.)  :)

Josiah made chocolate fudge with white chocolate chips in it--a variation on a kind of fudge I'd made before.  David made maple fudge--a totally new recipe for us, and OH MY WORD IS IT GOOD.  And Tobin made mint brownies--a stand-by dessert for me.

I was really proud of all three of them.  They all did the work well, and the atmosphere in the kitchen was joyful...after I put Moriah to bed and allowed Shav the privilege of getting ready for bed but then having "reading time" on his bed with the lamp on in his room.  He was consoled by that special privilege, and the other three were ready to dive into their projects.  (And I was thinking, "Even if no one wins any ribbons, at least we'll have three delicious desserts in the house that we'll need to eat up!!")  :)

This morning we needed to get up and at 'em earlier than we have been doing here in this lazy summertime, but one of my little guys didn't need to be woken up by me at all.  Tobin hopped out of bed and quickly got his clothes changed.  He was READY.  :)

 We decided to cut his brownies into heart shapes, just for a little extra fun.  I realize the photo below makes it look like one of the hearts has a bite out of it, but it really doesn't.  You can thank the glare on the plastic bag for that.  :)

 It was raining this morning, but happily for us, when we got to the fairgrounds, the rain had virtually stopped; and we made our way from the parking lot to the exhibit building mostly dry, which was especially nice because Josiah, David, and Tobin were each carrying their baked goods carefully and didn't want anything to mess them up.  (The way out from the exhibit building to the parking lot was an entirely different story because the rain had picked up again, and the one umbrella I brought--primarily for the benefit of Moriah and Shav--wasn't sufficient to keep all six of us dry, much to the consternation of the older boys who kept trying to sneak under its shelter.)  ;-)

When we got there, David and Josiah remembered how the process of registration goes, so they were off and away without any coaching from me.  But being the first time for Tobin, I helped him figure out where to go and what to do.

 This lady, the one who's smiling at Tobin in the photo below, was so very kind to him.  She encouraged him a lot, which made my heart sing.  I surely appreciate people who are kind to my kids!  :)  When she handed the claim ticket to Tobin, I offered to hang onto it so it wouldn't get lost; but he proudly put it into his own jacket pocket and zipped it shut to keep it safe.  He wanted to hang onto it himself.  :)

Our business finished, we headed for home, but paused by Silver Lake to count the swans (there were seven that we saw--I didn't realize so many swans call Silver Lake their home!) and snap some pictures.

Even a gray, rainy day couldn't dampen our spirits on such an exciting morning.  We can hardly wait to go back to the fair to see if we won anything!  :)

(And if not, we'll just console ourselves by having another piece of fudge...)  ;-)