Our January was full once again this year and we love it that way. It's completely exhausting and we miss a little bit of school and work, but the memories we make will be priceless one day.
Starting out with with the Fort Worth Jr. Livestock Show, our Audrey showed her Hereford heifer NH Miss Anabelle to much success. Fort Worth has never been the easiest show for us to even place well in. We've had some last, second to last, and more fourths, thirds and fifth places than I'd like to remember. But with those finishes are the learning curve and realization that we don't win them all and it's one judges opinion for one day in the ring. I want to make a tshirt one day that simply states.... 'Different Judge...Different Day. Today I was second, tomorrow Grand Champion!'
That exact qoute pretty much sums up my middle daugther Bethany's freshmen year when a second place heifer in Fort Worth garnered a Grand Champion win in Houston. Different judge, different day for sure and we realize with each show that this is just how it is. It's not about the ribbons, but how you got there with your family in tow.
So this year we were thrilled with our first Division Championship in the Senior Hereford Heifer with Audrey's heifer. It'll be Anabelle's last show as she is heavy bred, but she has been the type of heifer we felt confident in Audrey showing win or lose because of her temperment.
A bit weary and with the 'Fort Worth Crud' (that's the term for a cold from the show barn), we turned around the next weekend and returned to Cowtown for the National Hereford Show weekend with a full line up of our Texas Hereford & Polled Association, Texas Hereford Auxiliary, and Texas Pollette meetings. Audrey serves this year as our Texas Hereford Sweetheart and got to assist with the Commercial Heifer Show, Replacement Heifer Sale, Cowtown Select Sale and our annual meetings all weekend long.
I was extremley honored and humbled to be asked to be the speaker at my Texas Hereford Auxiliary Annual Meeting and tell about the process I went through beginning my The Ranch Kitchen Blog and adding my additional recipe site. It was fun to get to tell about my recent Chobani Greek Yogurt - #Delicious Bowl challenge for the Super Bowl and to also thank them all for their support over the years for my blog and site. Special thanks goes to Tonya Perez and Nia Hill of Agtown for helping me created my additional recipe site to seamlessly merge with my blog. These families, our events and their impact on my cooking is undeniable. It's the truest compliment when a Hereford junior like Ryon Cox continually tries my recipes while off at Texas A&M and messages to let me know. And to my daughter's added surprise when their friends tell them, 'Hey, I made your mom's recipe!'
It's also fun each year to know that my Chicken Spaghetti for a Crowd has become a favorite and expectation on Sunday for lunch. It's certainly not the easiest thing to plan and cook to feed the mounds of people we do on this day, but it's filled hungry kids and dad's tummies and made memories we wouldn't trade for.
This momma also enjoyed dolling up her newest teenager Audrey in her new blazers, hat with crown and sash this weekend as Texas Hereford Sweetheart. It's not always easy getting ready in a barn, but we've learned to adapt over the years and pull it off. I'm so glad daddy doesn't mind all the 'hair and makeup' over these last 27 yeards of marriage and kuddos to him for being the most wonderful example of a husband, dad and friend. We celebrated 27 years the Thursday he left to go back up to the Open Show and I'm looking forward to many more ahead with God's will.
Happily, we closed our weekend with a Reserve Division in the National Hereford Bull Show with our newest bull NH Bam Bam with half interest while there sold to Langford Hereford Ranch of Oklahoma. Audrey loves her bull Bam Bam (can you tell she named him) and was not very happy with her father for the partnership until she realized she couldn't show him at our state and Jr. National Hereford Expo this summer.
As a ranch we are very excited to have our bull show this next fall at the National Hereford Shows and are excited about our newest partnerships with Langford Herefords.
This Monday, as soon as we arrived home and Audrey began to catch up on her homework and came down with the 'vicious virus' as I hate to call it, I sat down finally to finish my Sure Champ Blog for February. I decided to share dessert recipes that we take to our stock shows each year that everyone seems to enjoy. These are also recipes that I have made for Valentine's Day parties, and are easy to transport and keep well for the week in my big black 'meal' box on wheels. Years ago my husband surprised me with my box for all my cooking aparatuses and home baked goods. Because of it I'm more organized at shows and can do my part in serving our family and friends over a cookies or my Chicken Spaghetti for a Crowd.
So now as I sit here blogging about my week, I realize yet again how very lucky we are to be a part of the agriculture and Herford family. It's full of work, we spend probably way too many weeks and weekends away from home, but it's afforded our girls a work ethic and friendships that will carry them through their lives ahead.
Our next big show will be the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and I'm already planning toward it. Warmer weather and spring break looks pretty good to this true southern girl who's a little tired of the cold winter we've experienced so far.
So enjoy February and Valentines Day. And if you are knee deep in stock show season like us, best of luck!
And we hope you'll try some of the sweets on the Sure Champ blog Recipes from the Ranch post for this month entitled 'Sweet Treats for Your Sweetheart'. None of these recipes are difficult to make and we promise you'll love them as much as we do. It's been a lot of fun blogging for Sure Champ VitaFerm this last year!
Click here for the Sure Champ's Recipes from the Ranch 'Sweet Treats for Your Sweetheart' February Blog post!
Happy Valentines Day from our ranch to yours!
Alise - The Ranch Kitchen
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| It's all business in the ring for our girls and especially Audrey! |
Starting out with with the Fort Worth Jr. Livestock Show, our Audrey showed her Hereford heifer NH Miss Anabelle to much success. Fort Worth has never been the easiest show for us to even place well in. We've had some last, second to last, and more fourths, thirds and fifth places than I'd like to remember. But with those finishes are the learning curve and realization that we don't win them all and it's one judges opinion for one day in the ring. I want to make a tshirt one day that simply states.... 'Different Judge...Different Day. Today I was second, tomorrow Grand Champion!'
 |
| Showing NH Miss Anabelle to a Division Championship! |
That exact qoute pretty much sums up my middle daugther Bethany's freshmen year when a second place heifer in Fort Worth garnered a Grand Champion win in Houston. Different judge, different day for sure and we realize with each show that this is just how it is. It's not about the ribbons, but how you got there with your family in tow.
So this year we were thrilled with our first Division Championship in the Senior Hereford Heifer with Audrey's heifer. It'll be Anabelle's last show as she is heavy bred, but she has been the type of heifer we felt confident in Audrey showing win or lose because of her temperment.
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| Audrey at the Fort Worth Jr. Hereford Livestock Show. |
A bit weary and with the 'Fort Worth Crud' (that's the term for a cold from the show barn), we turned around the next weekend and returned to Cowtown for the National Hereford Show weekend with a full line up of our Texas Hereford & Polled Association, Texas Hereford Auxiliary, and Texas Pollette meetings. Audrey serves this year as our Texas Hereford Sweetheart and got to assist with the Commercial Heifer Show, Replacement Heifer Sale, Cowtown Select Sale and our annual meetings all weekend long.
I was extremley honored and humbled to be asked to be the speaker at my Texas Hereford Auxiliary Annual Meeting and tell about the process I went through beginning my The Ranch Kitchen Blog and adding my additional recipe site. It was fun to get to tell about my recent Chobani Greek Yogurt - #Delicious Bowl challenge for the Super Bowl and to also thank them all for their support over the years for my blog and site. Special thanks goes to Tonya Perez and Nia Hill of Agtown for helping me created my additional recipe site to seamlessly merge with my blog. These families, our events and their impact on my cooking is undeniable. It's the truest compliment when a Hereford junior like Ryon Cox continually tries my recipes while off at Texas A&M and messages to let me know. And to my daughter's added surprise when their friends tell them, 'Hey, I made your mom's recipe!'
It's also fun each year to know that my Chicken Spaghetti for a Crowd has become a favorite and expectation on Sunday for lunch. It's certainly not the easiest thing to plan and cook to feed the mounds of people we do on this day, but it's filled hungry kids and dad's tummies and made memories we wouldn't trade for.
 |
| This batch of Chicken Spaghetti weighed seriously 60 pounds. Thank you Ryon for not dropping it! As you said, you would have NEVER have lived it down! |
This momma also enjoyed dolling up her newest teenager Audrey in her new blazers, hat with crown and sash this weekend as Texas Hereford Sweetheart. It's not always easy getting ready in a barn, but we've learned to adapt over the years and pull it off. I'm so glad daddy doesn't mind all the 'hair and makeup' over these last 27 yeards of marriage and kuddos to him for being the most wonderful example of a husband, dad and friend. We celebrated 27 years the Thursday he left to go back up to the Open Show and I'm looking forward to many more ahead with God's will.
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| We loved having Ilissa's friend Stewart with us for the weekend! |
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| Hannah Schneider our Texas Hereford Queen and Audrey as our Texas Hereford Auxiliary Meeting. Hannah has been so great with Audrey! |
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| Each Grand & Reserve winner this weekend received this beautiful Henry rifle specially made for the Texas Hereford Association. |
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| All our Texas Hereford and Polled Queen's, Sweethearts and Princesses along with Katie Nolles our National Hereford Queen holding the National Hereford Women's Original Oil by Bud Snidow which was auctioned off at the Cowtown Select Sale. |
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| National Hereford Show Texas Hereford Royalty |
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| Thanks for Jack Chastain for this family shot during the Texas Hereford Social. |
Happily, we closed our weekend with a Reserve Division in the National Hereford Bull Show with our newest bull NH Bam Bam with half interest while there sold to Langford Hereford Ranch of Oklahoma. Audrey loves her bull Bam Bam (can you tell she named him) and was not very happy with her father for the partnership until she realized she couldn't show him at our state and Jr. National Hereford Expo this summer.
As a ranch we are very excited to have our bull show this next fall at the National Hereford Shows and are excited about our newest partnerships with Langford Herefords.
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| NH Bam Bam recieves a first in class and Reserve Division at the National Hereford Show shown by Langford Herefords. |
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| Had to snap this of my husband Scott. Very rarely will you find him without dirt or God knows what else on him. Hard working for sure and this picture taken just after getting the cattle show ready! |
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| Holding those Grand and Reserve banners. |
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| Grand Champion Drive - with NH Bam Bam to your front far left. Proud, proud moment! |
This Monday, as soon as we arrived home and Audrey began to catch up on her homework and came down with the 'vicious virus' as I hate to call it, I sat down finally to finish my Sure Champ Blog for February. I decided to share dessert recipes that we take to our stock shows each year that everyone seems to enjoy. These are also recipes that I have made for Valentine's Day parties, and are easy to transport and keep well for the week in my big black 'meal' box on wheels. Years ago my husband surprised me with my box for all my cooking aparatuses and home baked goods. Because of it I'm more organized at shows and can do my part in serving our family and friends over a cookies or my Chicken Spaghetti for a Crowd.
 |
| My Chicken Spaghetti for a Crowd with Bam Bam looking on. |
So now as I sit here blogging about my week, I realize yet again how very lucky we are to be a part of the agriculture and Herford family. It's full of work, we spend probably way too many weeks and weekends away from home, but it's afforded our girls a work ethic and friendships that will carry them through their lives ahead.
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| Friend Eric Debord, Scott and Steve our Ranch Manager looking on as their kids show in the National Hereford Show. |
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| Before the Grand Champion drive...one last moment to visit. |
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| It was great having Katie Nolles back in Texas as our National Hereford Queen. She did a wonderful job all weekend and always represents the Hereford breed so well! |
And we hope you'll try some of the sweets on the Sure Champ blog Recipes from the Ranch post for this month entitled 'Sweet Treats for Your Sweetheart'. None of these recipes are difficult to make and we promise you'll love them as much as we do. It's been a lot of fun blogging for Sure Champ VitaFerm this last year!
Click here for the Sure Champ's Recipes from the Ranch 'Sweet Treats for Your Sweetheart' February Blog post!
Happy Valentines Day from our ranch to yours!
Alise - The Ranch Kitchen
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| One of the very newest additions to our Hereford family is Bode, son of dear family friends Jason and Jaci at his first National Hereford Show in Fort Worth! He was a trooper and slept through much of the show. |
