Houston for Spring Break and the Chicken Spaghetti Saga Continues....

March is here and with that is our annual trip south to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.  Each spring our show season for the winter comes to an end with our cattle at one of the biggest shows in the nation in H-Town. Houston is the culmination of show season for many kids from our part of Texas as our county fairs are held in the fall of each year.  Houston with it's big city lights, world famous rodeo and livestock shows are always a great way to ring in our spring break even with a few hiccups here and there.

So thankful for sweet friends who capture the picture off the internet for me of the live show feed!

Pulling into first place in her class!

For more years than I can honestly count, our girls have shown in Houston with our Hereford cattle and competed in their Agricultural Speaking Contest.  With the show usually falling right smack middle of our spring break, it's always been a blessing that our girls did not have to miss school.  One side bar of competing at these events is making sure your first priority of your education is taken care of. Thankfully our little district and our great teachers understand whole- heartedly realize the premier growth and leadership opportunities that our kids get to experience from these contest. So, ultimately when school is missed as this week when spring break fell a week later than Houston for us, they are more than accommodating and supportive our our FFA students.  Not every school is that lucky and thank you to our administrators and our fantastic teachers!

These girls are just going in and coming out from speaking as I type this post!
Wishing them all the best at the largest speaking contest in the USA!

This past week our daughter Audrey and our Gilmer FFA show team traveled to Houston to compete in the Junior Beef Heifer Show with her Hereford female, NH She's A Treasure.  From the name you can tell we think a lot of this new little heifer and she was a substitution for the show due to her heifer she had previously won Grand Champion with at Fort Worth calving with her little bull calf.  She's A Treasure has been up in our barn since she was weaned and it a heifer we are all excited about.

Waiting to take backdrop photo.

Audrey's first inaugural show with her went surprisingly well and she garnered a Division Championship in the middle division. With three divisions chosen, this meant that Audrey and her calf were in the Grand Champion drive again for the year.  That in itself was very exciting for our Audrey and family to have happen twice in the same year and something we honestly do not take for granted. It's taken a lot of years to breed our cattle to what we hoped would stand well in the ring.  All those last placed, second to last and middle class placings built character, perseverance and helped build our cattle herd in the process.  Our girls have learned that the lessons you learn first in the barn are those that carry you forth in the ring and later on in life.  For all those times, we grew as a family and slowly, slowly built our herd to one that thankfully was more competitive and above all else docile enough that we knew our daughters could handle them in the ring.  Our Hereford breed has given us more than we could have ever imagined over the years.

Two Houston H's. One for 1st in class and then the second for Division Champion.

Family photo with another smiling shot of dad!

Audrey and Ag. Advisor Kyle

Audrey with Bethany

Audrey with Ilissa

Audrey and proud Scott

As always at these shows, it is a tradition of mine to cook one day. Each year I plan, purchase, prep and pack everything we need in my big, black, cooking box on wheels.  Years ago I remember how excited I was when my husband Scott came dragging in the barn my first black box on wheels proudly smiling and saying, "Here you go!  Your very own cooking box on wheels!"  Now, some women might not have been as thrilled as me with a cooking box to store their wares, but cooking is and will always be my way to share and give to others.  So this rolling cooking box was definitely one of my favorite gifts he has ever given me.  To date I have cooked my fair share of meals for our hungry show team and fellow Hereford friends with this year was no exception.  However, what we didn't realize initially was what was left at home...

Chicken spaghetti is on! This was on my Instagram story for Saturday.

 Click here to follow The Ranch Kitchen's Instagram page!

Unloading at any stock show is a big event.  Trailers line up the night before, sit through until the light of dawn and gradually begin to file into the barn as the rooster crows.  This year much to our delight, dear family friend Grant Bitner made sure he was on the Houston Livestock Show Volunteer Welcoming Committee and had not one, but three tractors to unload all our gear.

Wish you could see a larger, more expansive picture of trailers unloading...

Grant, Grant as we call him has been one of our oldest daughter Ilissa's dearest friends since they were Texas FFA State Officers together their freshmen year of college.  They just clicked, attended Texas A&M together and has remained a dear family friend ever since. Grant and the over 40,000 volunteers for the three weeks of this event, make the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo run like none other for no pay other than the thank you from participants and visitors.  I am always amazed at the time and effort this show puts in to making everyone feel welcome and the world class event anything associated with HLSR is.  Thank you from all of us!  You all make this show a pleasure to attend each year!

Our Grant, Grant - Grant Bitner! 

This year after everything was unloaded and Scott walked in to check our stalling location, he called me a little frantic as my Bethany and I drove down after my work at 8:30 p.m.  "You're not cooking chicken spaghetti this year if we can't find your roaster!", he boomed over the phone.  I was like surely we packed it and he said he thought he saw it unloaded and placed out back with our table and chairs.  Many years before sadly, my favorite portable rocking chair had been stolen.  In my heart of hearts, I hoped this was not the same thing happening again.  Scott continued looking and Bethany started Googling for a Walmart on our route.  I knew innately how hard it was to buy one of these large 'turkey' roasters out of season and knew if we found one, we'd be lucky.

You see the saga of the chicken spaghetti was striking again!  First it was Fort Worth and now it was like the Houston of a year ago all over again.  Chicken spaghetti lunch was becoming more of a hassle than a positive.

Click here for the recipe for
The Ranch Kitchen's Chicken Spaghetti for a Crowd" - jumbo version!

Several years back while at Fort Worth, they stopped letting us cook in the barns to allow more money to be spent with the food vendors on the site.  While we all understood that, it just made us get a little more creative in how we fed our hungry crews of kids and adults.  One year in an effort to get my chicken spaghetti cooked in and in the barn and cooking it in the rental house before, I may or may not have parked my car just outside our barn and left it for a few seconds to cart in my roaster...  Just as I rounded the corner to our stalls a very overzealous police officer told me to move my suburban now or go to jail.... I was like seriously, I'm going to jail over my darn chicken spaghetti, this can't be real. Anger, tears, a few words about power going to someones head came out of my mouth and thankfully when I looked behind me after a feverish prayer, the cop was gone.  For the next few days the barn superintendents were so apologetic to me and thankful they also got a few bowls of my chicken spaghetti!  They are more hardened criminals running the streets than a woman carting chicken spaghetti in to a barn I promise you!

At Houston thankfully they still allow us to cook for our students in the barns.  We now have been moved to the outer edges and loading dock walkways to set up our 'camping' areas as they call them, but I am not complaining.  Each year mom's rush to find the spot with electrical outlets to plug in Crock Pot after Crock Pot.  Just this past years as I was cutting up my chicken spaghetti's onions, out at of the corner of my eye here come the Fire Marshall.  I thought, "Oh, good Lord....why me"... and yep, they were coming just for me out of an entire row a football field long line of mom's with Crock Pots and roasters!  I guess I must look approachable, but after they told me I had to turn off my roaster because I needed a surge protector, I quickly went into Moma Bear mode and pointedly told me if I went down, every lovely lady on the entire block was going down! I had some seriously hungry kids from the barn and especially their dad's would be sadly disappointed if they did not let me continue to cook.

As the saga continues this year, finding a plug meant cooking on top of the cooler for a bit to find a hot electrical outlet!  And yes...Fire Marshall found me again and I had to move.  LOL! You have to laugh...because in the grand scope of things, it's all small stuff!

Audrey and her fellow district officer Anna eating my chicken spaghetti!

I think as women get older, we don't take as much off people as we used too.  That day, as I turned to face a group of several maintenance workers and Fire Marshall and started pointing my finger at them excitedly, I must have looked quite a sight with the onion knife in my other hand.  I remember vaguely my Bethany taking it out of my hand and saying, "Just let me have that...."  Oh my...the memories....but you don't mess with chicken spaghetti day at the stock show around me!  Needless to say, I got to continue cooking... ;o)

Well, the saga continued this year with the missing roaster.  What could have been a small hiccup and expensive lunch for all on the grounds, thankfully turned out alright.  A new Oyster Roaster was found last minute at a Walmart on the outskirts of Houston and my chicken spaghetti for lunch on Saturday was on again.

Click here to buy your own from Walmart

Add liquid 3/4th of the way up the pan and gradually add noodles on highest setting until soft.

Spices in and ready to add cheese!  Almost lunch!

Life will throw you curves.  Although my chicken spaghetti curves are minor in the grand scheme of life, they have brought humor to my life in many ways.  I've fed many a hungry kid and parent over the years and met some of the nicest people as we share recipes from our cooking setups.  To me, cooking has always been a way to bring people together. My The Ranch Kitchen's Chicken Spaghetti for a Crowd is that recipe I know I'll always be remembered by.

And yes, in regards to the chicken, we are ranchers that proudly raise beef cattle and cook far more beef than any other meat.  But, my a bowl of chicken spaghetti will probably be etched on my tombstone one day!

Click here for The Ranch Kitchen's Chicken Spaghetti - family portion recipe (smaller sized)

So, today as I sit here supporting our Audrey and friends Jaici and McKenzie with her Ag. Advisor Sue Witt in her sixth Houston Agricultural Public Speaking Contest as her father and the rest of our crew loads our cattle and leaves for the ranch, I'm so extremely thankful for the life we lead.  The sometimes funny, stressful ups and downs of the show road with shenanigans like my chicken spaghetti make me realize how lucky we are to be involved in an industry we hold near and dear to our hearts. 

Audrey with her Ag. Advisor Sue Witt and friends Jaici and McKenzie!
They have competed for years together in FFA speaking contest! 

We go fast and we go hard, spending as much time as we can with our daughters and doing what we love, all while teaching them all we can in the process. Life is meant to be lived and we are trying to live it as fast and hard as we can. In life it's the small things that you look back on that make you laugh, smile and think what a great life we live even in the midst of a chicken spaghetti fiasco or two, or three!

Alise Nolan
The Ranch Kitchen

P.S.... as always you can also follow me on my The Ranch Kitchen Facebook page and Twitter for my newest recipes!

A January to Remember As A Family

January over the last thirty years was just one of those dreary, dull months.  Honestly the only thing I looked forward to used to be snow.  I'm an outdoor, sunshine kind of person who rarely sits down.  So January, and all the cold and wintry weather, never suited me. Then we started showing our Hereford cattle, our girls got involved in the FFA and January changed dramatically.  January is now one of my favorite months and this last one will be one I will always cherish and remember forever.

Show season at our ranch involves a lot of time spent in the barn and prepping our cattle for the Fort Worth Junior Hereford Show and the National Hereford Show there as well.  For two weekends in a row we make the treck up I-20 to Cowtown and live there almost two weeks out of the month of January.  It's an intensive month full of Scott, Audrey and Steve washing, blowing, walking and packing show supplies up for both shows.  Bethany and I pack and bake sweets!  For the junior show Audrey can only take one heifer to show because there are so many juniors and breeds across the state of Texas showing.  For the second, following weekend of National Hereford Show, breeders from across the US bring both their bulls and heifers to compete in this highly prestigious show.  We try to stay well and not come down with the 'Fort Worth crud' from the constant changes in temperatures and being around so many people.  The flu has hit our nation hard this year and I've tried to keep our family both well and loaded with vitamins in anticipation of these shows.

Audrey's first Fort Worth Stock show and still one of my very favorite photos taken by a friend

Since our oldest daughter Ilissa started showing over 19 years ago, our first large show was the Fort Worth Stock Show. In those days we traveled with our local school's FFA team which numbered over thirty one head of cattle and kids.  Add in two to three family members in there and it was one of the largest groups in the state.  In those days we used to cook meals in the barn to feed our crowd at lunch each day.  Mr. Thomas' stew was always something everyone loved and then there was that one year that everyone made spaghetti...  He blended it all together in large one pot!  That recipe is one that will go down in history for our juniors!  The kids secretly went and bought baked potatoes, hid and ate that year.  They still talk about it to this day! Fun memories!

During those humbling years and the process of building our Hereford herd Ilissa and later our middle daughter Bethany showed with many last places, second to last and mid-class showings with their show heifers.  Each year we'd excitedly come back to Fort Worth ready to show their newest heifer once again or one that was still old enough to show from the previous year.  We were always excited to see old friend and inevitably made new ones.  Just the hard work and perseverance it took and taught our girls still amazes me to this day. Our two older girls learned a lot during those years with both showing on how to lose graciously. Gradually, step by step, our cattle after seven years started to build into a herd that was competitive on the state and national level.  You can buy your cattle all day long and I promise you we did that early on to build our herd. But a home-grown win is the best of them all!

Audrey showing NH North her heifer in the junior show at Fort Worth Stock Show

This past month while at the Fort Worth Junior Hereford Stock Show our Audrey earned an honor that as a family our ranch has never achieved. When the final handshake was given, Audrey and her heifer NH North were awarded Grand Champion heifer of the horned breed!  To say we were thrilled is an understatement and to say we are still reeling from it is even truer.  This win was the result of years and years of Scott's and our girls breeding program on our ranch.  Most special of all was that this win was the product of both the sire (father) and the dam (mother) also being bred on our place.  As a breeder the best feeling of all is when the win is with the lineage of cattle totally off your place.  For Audrey and our entire family that day, this moment was even more special because we shared it as well with our great FFA chapter who had helped haul our girls all over the state and country for many, many years.  I honestly don't think our older two daughters could have been more excited even if it had happened to them.  Both in their own rights have won Grand Champion at The State Fair of Texas (Ilissa) and Houston Livestock Shows (Bethany), but Fort Worth had always been something that had eluded us. We'd hit all around the grand championship with a few division winners and been in the hunt at this show, but never achieved what for us seemed the hardest nut to crack - Fort Worth Grand Champion.

Fort Worth Grand Champion Jr. Hereford NH North with Audrey, family and Ag. Advisors Sue Witt and Kyle Keahey along with Texas Hereford royalty. 

The smile on my husbands face said it all as you'll see in the pictures above and below.  He later mentioned that as he haltered Audry's calf as she left the ring and asked her, "Do you realize what you just won?", she grew a few inches taller and could also not take the smile off her face and was in total shock.  Her sisters later told me that they mentioned to Audrey she could just 'enjoy' coming to Fort Worth after this year - no pressure- because she'd just won the pinnacle in their eyes!

I love the quiet, intensity on her face in this shot

For me as the mom, what meant the most was having our entire family there with all our daughters and Scott to watch as Audrey won.  Along with our Ag advisers Sue Witt and Kyle Keahey there,  and family friend Taylor Shackleford too, was huge to Audrey.  And to our friends and family who texted, messaged and came by to congratulate us, thank you as well. Your support and genuine smiles and words of congratulations meant the world as well to Scott, Audrey and the girls and I.

Kyle Keahey, our Ag Adivisor with our family!  So proud he is in Gilmer and as Scott said,
got to clip the Grand Champion! A rare, full face Scott smile!

Audrey with Gilmer FFA Ag. Advisor Sue Witt and Kyle Keahey

The following weekend we came home, washed some laundry, tried to rest and then Scott and Steve left for Fort Worth again on the following Thursday after arriving home on Monday.  It was time for the National Hereford Show and the Texas Hereford Association weekend of socials, meetings and show on Monday.  My favorite weekend in January was finally here where we could relax a little, visit with friends from across the state and nation and most of all be with all our girls again.

This year was even more special as Scott and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary!  On my Facebook post when I mentioned our anniversary, I told him that I wouldn't have it any other way than celebrating at a cattle show as we had for the last 20 and said here's to the next 30....he then commented, "I sure hope we can still go to a cow show when we are 83!"  It's become a tradition to celebrate our anniversary with a family dinner at least one night while there bringing along friends that have come in to town for to come to the events of the weekend.  This weekend as in many past, we enjoyed having our cousin Jennifer and husband Andy join us at one of our favorite restaurants the Silver Fox.  Thirty years have come and gone by so fast, but I could not imagine being more lucky to have Scott and our girls.  We married young as everyone did in those days. Looking back he's been my rock, best friend, supporter and biggest encourager all wrapped in one rough and tough package. I love you Scott and here's to another 30 or more years!

Anniversary dinner at Silver Fox

Throughout the entire weekend and anticipation of the National Show on Monday, our families thoughts and prayers were gearing up for another big event in our Audrey's life, her district officer election that she would compete in that Monday immediately following the show in Fort Worth.  For a period of eight years as soon as the two oldest girls showed their heifers and bulls in the National Hereford Show, we jumped in the car and headed east to the Daingerfield District FFA Convention  in just enought time for our our girls to run for district officer. Praying all the way, the girls try to take a quick nap, then gear up for their speech and thought quesions on the stage that follow while I just seriously pray that we arrive safely.  I know I make our Ag advisor Sue a nervous wreck!

Audrey with all our Gilmer FFA Ag Advisors.
Selfless, dedicated and love all our in Gilmer like their own!

A huge part of our girls lives are and will always be the FFA and a tradition for them is running for leadership positions in our chapter and then district, area and state levels.  This weekend it was finally our Audrey's turn and we all could not have been more excited for her or anxious.

Candidate #5 Audrey Nolan from Gilmer FFA!

With our first two girls, the practice for their speeches and competitions were always a part of our nightly routine where they'd get up and say them during commercials or with anyone that would hear them.  Audrey is different however and prefers to practice in her own way, quietly and more intensive with a great deal of self reflection.  More like her dad in many, many ways, her style works for her, but makes her mom a little nervous!  However, by the end of the night and a stellar speech performance and question response, Audrey was name our Daingerfield District officer from over 15 neighboring chapter FFA kids!  Our goal was to just be an officer.  When her name was called out last, I've never seen our sweet girl more confident and proud of herself than that night.  

Audrey as Daingerfield District President performing closing ceremonies.

As she closed the convention as the new president, all the years of watching our two older girls came flooding back with a great sense of pride.  Audrey was following in her sister's footsteps, but making on her own place in the world, one step at a time.

All smiles and a huge thumbs up for our Audrey!

As I reflect on the last two weeks, I give credit to God first of all for holding us safe and allowing us to do what we do as a family.  The life we live is fast paced and full of love, laughter and lots of hard work.  Agriculture, our beloved Hereford cattle, their people, associations and the FFA have left indelible marks in our hearts and soul.  Each of these, without a doubt have shaped our daughters in to the young women they are and have become.  We could not feel more blessed and thankful.

For a month that used to be dull, January is anything but but that now.  This past January was one for the record books in our little family's lives and we realize more than anything the events of it were years in the making.

Alise Nolan
The Ranch Kitchen 

2017 Jr. National Hereford Expo in Kentucky

Jr. National Hereford Expo backdrop for Kentucky was breathtaking!
Their  derby theme was carried throughout the entire show.

A whirlwind of a week has come to an end and as we drive the 11-hour journey home, I have time to look back on our fun, yet exhausting week at the Junior National Hereford Expo.  The words reunion, work, competitions and camaraderie come to mind as reflect on our close to 15 JNHE’s we have exhibited in as a family with our three daughters.  The days are early, long and filled to the brim with contest, showmanship’s, banquets and culminating shows that leave you with a deeper appreciation for the Hereford breed and our people.  Showin' For the Roses was a banner theme and event! 

Texas Jr. Hereford and Polled Hereford members taking our state picture before opening ceremonies.  These kids are always the loudest and sometimes wildest in the bunch!

Audrey and  Annalise decided to continue to wear their Grill Off costumes for Opening Ceremonies!  Too appropriate!

Audrey and Annalise carrying in the Texas flags.

Our Texas Jrs. at JNHE Opening Ceremonies

Louisville, Kentucky hosted our JNHE (Junior National Hereford Expo) this year to record breaking Hereford juniors and their families.  This 'cowcation' of sorts is sometimes the only vacation families get in a summer and one juniors anticipate, work toward and hone their skills during the hot months in advance for the various contest and shows by working their cattle, preparing for contest like Illustrated Speaking, Beef Quiz Bowl, Great American Certified Hereford Beef Grill Off, Livestock Judging, and Extemporaneious Speaking among others.  This year our Audrey competed with her team for Texas by preparing a Texas Stir Fry for their grill off team.  This oriental inspired meal was created by our own former Texas Jr. Hereford member Colby Rogers, who once competed with practically this same group of juniors several years back.  Now a chef, he created a recipe that was a wonderful with a few small tweaks from us due to contest rules on no beer.  

His recipe uses a Texas favorite Shiner Bock beer that we are sure would make his Texas Stir Fry even more tasty than it already was. Above and below are pictures of Audrey and her teammates as they prepared for their event in practice and later ready to go in for the contest.  Although we did not win this year, their two previous 1^st places assure them that they will come back next year with a vengeance!  ;o)  Click here for the Texas Stir Fry Recipe.  

                             Our Texas kids cooked and plated this dish.

Our week kicked off with a tailgate event sponsored by participating states. Texas having competed in this event as a state back at our Nebraska, decided to put a Kentucky touch to our menu on this night and prepared a grilled Hereford beef tenderloin served in corn tortillas along with chips and salsa.   For dessert Bramman Ranches offered up their precious Mexican bicycle cart with ice cream sandwiches and popsicles for the hot crowds. 

Myself, Bethany and Rhonda Stewart of Texas.    

Working our Texas Tailgate booth serving up Hereford beef, chips and salsa!

Our decorations carried on a Texas/Derby feel with the fantastic roses and my tried and true Mexican blankets that I’ve used for every junior nationals that I can remember.  Our booth was a hot spot for sure and request for the recipe frequent.  We however could not have pulled it off without our fabulous grill masters, Monte Williams GKB Ranch crew and Jeff Chaffin of W4 Ranch along with their wives.  Scott participated in the National Hereford Women’s dunking booth and helped raise funds for their scholarships and programs.  We were impressed his trusty old Texas A&M hat got a good cleaning during the dunking!

Scott got dunked quite a bit, including once from myself, Audrey and Bethany!

We also attended the National Queen Tea hosted by Annah Dobson of Wisconsin on that Sunday afternoon.  It was a fun event that little girls truly look forward too.  The cookie decorating was a huge hit with Annah and her mother putting on a fun event.  Below are my girls with Annah. Back when our Bethany was National Hereford Queen, bringing back the tea for our little girls was one of her initiatives.  We can't tell you how proud we are of how it has grown with each new queen's added touch and service project over the years.  

As the week rocked on my daughter Bethany and good friends Becky and the three Stephanies broke loose from the barns and took our own little bourbon tour in the gorgeous countryside of Kentucky at Woodford Reserve.  Only an hour from Louisville in Woodford County this gem of a bourbon distillery uses only Kentucky corn and products to create a delicious bourbon steeped in tradition.  It’s been years since any of us had bourbon balls (a sweet chocolate balled candy with just a touch of bourbon for flavoring) and we learned that when you pair it with a good Kentucky bourbon, you have a winning combination!  We got a little tickled at our tour guide as he warned the Texas ladies not to swig the bourbon…  We did however learn one little fact while there that bourbon is the same thing as whiskey, but can only be called bourbon when distilled in Kentucky. After two small ‘fingers’ of bourbon, I think I remembered that little fact right…

                                          Woodford Reserve Distillery

So enjoyed Bethany being with us at JNHE and this bourbon tour.



Just before the bourbon goes in to barrels it goes in the broilers!  These were gorgeous.  We all smelled like a glass of bourbon when we left...not too bad if I say so myself!



Bethany doing the proper 'sniffing' of the bourbon before you sip it!

'Sipping' our Kentucky Woodford Bourbon!  The smell was intoxicating! :o)

The Kentucky coutryside near Woodford Reserve we had to get out
and give the Texas A&M Gig'em sign!

My Bethany and I!

Just in the nick of time I made it back for a the National Hereford Women summer meeting where I demo’d three recipes from The Ranch Kitchen.  Of course, one recipe I served was beef inspired and I cooked up my My Big Girls Favorite Goulash that I will also be featuring at the State Fair of Texas this fall.  Alongside this I served my Penne Pretzels and Nolana's Family Hot Sauce and chips as appetizers that are always hits at our Hereford shows (click on links in this sentence for recipes). These dishes are easy to prepare while at shows or make and bag before you leave to serve later. 

As luck would have it though, my cooker did not work, so thankfully the Lockhart's whom we cooked with for dinner each night had a grill that I used to prepare my goulash on! Murphy's Law was in full gear on me that a.m. at 6:30 before the bourban tour...but I did not let it stop me.  With a little help from Scott and friend Sarah Hamman, The Ranch Kitchen got everything cooked, warmed up and ready to serve! Thank you!

              Thank you National Hereford Women for asking me to speak
                                  at your summer meeting.  It was fun! 

Having the opportunity to speak at the NHW meeting was very special to as a former board member.  My time on the board will always be a favorite memory because of the women who have became dear friends and the impact we made toward our National Junior Hereford Association members.  These ladies work tirelessly for 4 years running the various scholarships, contest and raising the much needed funds to enable them.  It was a real honor being asked to give back to a group that has done so much for my girls and all our juniors. 

Sweet NHW friend Beth Blinson that I served on the board with during our day.
 Love her and her great family!

As is tradition in Texas we eat together each day.  Life has become much easier at these shows now as Monte Williams, his family and EC Rosson love to do all the cooking.  Breakfast tacos (remember we are from Texas) and great lunches were prepared each day for our more than 100 plus Texans in attendance.  Families, sponsors and our Texas Hereford/Polled Hereford Associations come together to make sure are meals are funded and worrying about meals midday are not an issue.  Many years ago, dear friend Felicia Marks and I started this tradition as a way to bring our two associations together and proudly it has done just that.  Special thank you also to Sarah Hamman for taking care of the hospitality table each day as well with snacks and such for our kiddos and adults and to our parents for sending home baked sweets.  


Later in the week a tradition of our ranch Nolan Herefords is to sponsor a watermelon feed for our hungry group.  With the assistance, our daughter Bethany, Audrey and our sweet friend Randi, not only our barn group was fed but half the US as I got a little over zealous buying watermelons.  It was the cutest thing watching Randi and Audrey whiz by on her cart all over the barn handing out slices of watermelon to the hot and hungry families. 

Scott cutting up watermelon.

Sweet friends twins loved the watermelon! 

Audrey and Randi handing out watermelons. We told them to say Texas sent them!

As a fundraiser for our Randi Williams, our Texas Association and our own Shannon Worrell put together gorgeous Kentucky backdrops for juniors to take pictures in front of while at the Expo. Stunning and she is truly talented! 

                               

Gorgeous Kentucky derby themed backdrops.  Shannon even had her son dress up as jockey!                                            

During the week, we got a visit from one of our Ilissa’s good friends, Ryan Quarles, Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture.  After meeting for their upcoming Kentucky State Fair, he walked through the barns to find us.  His family roots are deep in tobacco farming and he was a wealth of information on both that and his great state.  You could easily see how deep his love for Kentucky was and it was so great to finally meet him.  Little did we know that Woodford County and the bourbon distillery we had visited was very near his family’s farm. 

Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles visiting with us at our stalls. 

The last four days of this show always culminate with showmanship contests, bred and owned heifer, steer, bull and cow/calf pair show and then the owned heifer show.  Happily, Audrey and our ranch had a good year at the expo garnering a 1^st, 2^nd, and 6^th during the bred and owned show.  

                             Love the concentration in this picture of our Audrey

Bred and owned means that the cattle was bred and raised on your ranch under your name and not bought from another ranch to show.  To our family this is the pinnacle of shows as it is a result of our breeding program.  Starting out our oldest daughter Ilissa was part of the building process, so her cattle were almost always purchased to show until her senior year.  Bethany and Audrey showed what we raised and thankfully have had some successes.  However, those successes took many years and when you finally get upwards in class ranking at a JNHE, you realize how lucky you are.  To say the classes were deep is an understatement as the quality over the years continues to grow in the Hereford breed.  I told someone that at this granddaddy of all shows, you bring your best and it shows in the ring.

Audrey and her 1st in class with NH North in the Bred and Owned Show being judged by Mark McClintock of Texas

Happy moments were frequent this week and a huge congratulation to dear family friend Rylie Barber on being selected as a National Junior Hereford Board Member.  We couldn’t be prouder of you and know you will be a tremendous asset to the breed.   Below are some sweet shots of her and another dear family friend Taylor Belle Matheny of Kentucky who also was selected for the board.  These two will both make stellar contributions to the breed we are certain. 

   Taylor Belle Matheny's NJHA jacket reveal.

 Rylie Barber's NJHA jacket reveal! Sweet moments for sure! 

Friend Jessica Middleswarth after her retiring NJHA speech with her family. Thank you for your four great years!

One fun event that last all week long each year is the JNHE State Silent Auction with 'baskets' taking up entire tables full of regional gifts anyone from throughout the US would want.  Texas went with a 'Southern State of Mind' theme and our basket was chalked full of things symbolizing our state and the great south. I love bidding on these baskets and sometimes winning to get regional jellies, syrups, liquors and décor for our ranch. 

Texas basket with some sweet additions by Go Texan (Texas Department of Agriculture)
 and our Ilissa! 

Texas basket took up a table and a half! Love my signs I donated by local friend Margie Brown of Texas!

Maryland's basket was the winner garnering over $2000.00 in bids! 

States do the best job getting their baskets together.

As I close this long post, I’d like to thank the AHA Staff, Amy Cowan, Bailey Clanton and the NJHA Board, and the family friends the Methany’s (Suzanne is my dear National Hereford Woman board friend) who organized the Kentucky Junior National Hereford Expo.  What a fun week everyone had.  Your southern hospitality, attention to detail and love our juniors is evident in each decision you made.  

Thank you as well to Kody Graves who helped us fit our cattle along with our ranch manager Steve Decker who would not have been anywhere else but at this show. His devotion and love of our Audrey and cattle are evident in everything her does for us. 

Below are a few more pictures from throughout the show of our Texas juniors.

Randi, Maggie and Audrey had a blast rolling through the barns all week! 15 going on 7...  :o)

Texas Great American Grill Off team practice session

Our sweet Texas kids in the barns this past week.  

They always have the best time.

Also got to see some our sweet Hereford girls Sara Radar and Whitney Andras who just
happen to work for Sullivan's The Pulse who I blog recipes for!  These girls have grown up with our Bethany and Ilissa. 

Texas Great American Grill Off Team!  Mason doesn't look too upset to be with all these pretty girls! 

Audrey showing NH Miss North in the ring 

                     
Now as Scott, Bethany, Steve, Audrey are back in East Texas we are excited to see our ranch again after the long, but fun week.  It’ll be great to be home in the great Lone Star State of Texas, but we will already be looking toward Grand Island, Nebraska next year for the 2018 Jr. National Hereford Expo, my very favorite of all barns in the US at their state fair grounds.  

As I finish this post, I think I’ll treat myself to a bourbon ball and be thankful for our week in the beautiful state of Kentucky doing what we love to do, show Hereford cattle with some of our favorite people.

Alise
The Ranch Kitchen