Oh the story this has become. My mind is a jumble with all the information, sights, and feelings. I've tried two times to get the pictures in the correct order but for whatever reason they will not. So This is in reverse order. I will say I was a wreck before we left. I was so worried about leaving my kids and knowing I would miss homework, bedtime, day times, hearing about their days, being at Addie qualifying race and John football game. I was worried Andrea would not travel well and I wouldn't be strong enough to take care of her and be on the go for days on end. I was worried about the financial ramifications of taking Greg from work for so long. I was worried for Aliza would she still be good enough? Oh panic was my burden. I asked my mom to pray for me, she did and I was able to breathe and rest. That nap helped me tremendously. Talking to Aunt Shawna further calmed me- she's always there when we need help. And usually if we are seeing her we need help.
On our return we were so tired. Both of us were glassy eyed and ready for sleep.
Andrea was just fine. She power napped whenever she needed. She crawled her way through the trip. So far no weird or new sickness. I washed her hands and worked hard to keep her happy. She is such a people magnet. People stopped me everywhere to talk with her then me.
After everything was done we went to the Indy speedway the tour around the track was impressive we didn't do that before.
Mark barely fit. Those race guys must be a more petite size.
Kissing the bricks. Mark carefully picked his hat. When we returned the shed manager said he loved seeing the company hat in all the photos especially kissing the bricks. The boy s were not so sure about that but obliged for a picture.
These pictures don't capture how big the stadium truly is. 2.5 miles of bleachers. People pass their tickets on to their kids in their wills. It's just a world we are totally unaware of.
Daniel accompanied the kids on the trip. He was so easy going and happy, I'm thankful for friends for my kids.
And the big moment. The announcing of her placing. Oregon FFA got the shot she radiated on stage. Just in awe still. They made us wait through two hours of the session that was hard.
We hit the trade show and braved the frozen custard line. The trade show was so big with tens of thousands of kids and guests. It was interesting to talk with the vendors and watch the kids interact. The frozen treat was delicious- Andrea loved it.
Aliza sharing the medal with us. The teams previous to her got huge ffa emblem shaped medals I was hoping she would get one of those. I haven't seen this one up close, maybe someday.
Waiting on the big stage it was a huge event center. The Lucas Oil stadium does not disappoint.
While we waited we headed downtown to the War Memorial Museum. The sculptures were impressive.
This is how we rolled. She was a trooper and my body held up just fine. Fresh off of all the festivities the war memorial hit too close to home. I have sons the ages of these names on the wall. I am not a fan of throwing humans at conflict. I'm thankful for my strong protective sons and husband but I want them alive not in memorial.
This room was also huge. Aliza has no problem being heard. The hands free microphone was similar to the ones she had used in plays at her elementary school. As I sat through each level of speaking I realized the many steps that had prepared her for this. From the battle of the books where she competed at state level for two years- being asked questions on what she had read and winning by answering the fastest. To plays where she had to memorize, use inflection, and perform in front of an audience. This journey has solidified for me the importance of preparation.
Getting a preview of the room and visiting with the judges. Meeting the people was the icing on the cake. Of course I realized on this trip we are very curious people we like to learn about things and people so of course we loved that. Oklahoma, New Mexico, and California? I'm not sure where the other girl was from.
There is a science fair with posters. They were fascinating. I hope to get some members from our chapter to display these in the future.
Aliza working the torque wrench. Greg encouraging her on.
The black knight case tractor. It was sweet or modern sick looking. The guys had a great time visiting with the vendors.
My girl after the announcement of placement. Prior she was a bit nervous.
A friend from Michigan who also spoke. Prior to the contest Aliza went around the room asking kids who they were, where they were from and what their speech topic was. Some were open to chatting some were suspicious and wouldn't talk to her. The format of the contest was very similar to the Oratorical just a much broader pool of participants. For context there are 850,000 FFA members.
The final 4.
They gave awards to the people who came, then the people who made the semi-finals there were 16 but only 12 were called. This picture is when we realize she was not one of those twelve but one of four who was going on. I was in shock.
The day before we were mostly in the hall for the second round. Andrea enjoyed crawling around and looking out the windows. I would visit with people in the hall and wait.
The last girl was the one who went on with Aliza.
Andrea was a happy camper just along for the ride. She is not loving having to share mom with household chores and other kids she liked being the center of my attention.
Visiting in the reception area between round 1 and 2.
Round 1. When we saw Aliza would be first we were not excited. But I told her you put everything out there and let the judges use the well defined rubric and you will be fine.
The room was tight but not too small. She easily covered this ground. Her voice is soothing and engaging unfortunately some of the kids yelled, have high tones, or just difficult presentations to listen to.
Waiting in Minneapolis for the second leg of our journey. We learned 2-3 hours is not too bad in the air. 5 was way too long.
On our flights out we met several people who were involved with the renewable energy sector. We could not believe the randomness of that. But there's a lot of money going to force that transition and why now go where the money is? We still don't believe all the hype. I'm thankful we could go be with Aliza and Mark. I was reminded that I do have a lot of important work in my home.
I had several prayers answered things that were major concerns for me.
1. Who to care for the cows and help with the kids. Answer- call Jay. He cleared that worry for me.
2. Andrea's teeth to come through so her snotty nose, fever, and disagreeable nature would go back to being cute and pleasant. Answer- Monday she was normal her tooth irrupted the skin sometime while we were there.
3. A farm truck to be finished so my dad had it to use- Greg got it all done on Monday
4. My anxiety to lessen so I had strength to get through the trip.- I was totally able to be present and didn't even get a headache until the last part of our flying on our way home.
5. Who would help with kids and places- I asked a friend in town and Addie went there to wait for John. Alena helped with kids here at home.
6. Andrea would travel well and be pleasant on the plane. She slept and didn't fuss at all on any of the flights.
We were blessed to be able to go and to be together. Greg is a rock for all of us, he's also kind and notices people. All people from the famous and important to the garbage man. And all have a story that is interesting. We went to Ruth Chris's steak house for cheesecake. The people wouldn't look at us they were pretty self-important. It was awkward but the cheesecake was good. Conversely the people at the convention were working hard and believe in the future of families, farming, and the agricultural way of life. I loved hearing how the Oklahoma young man prayed with the final four speakers before the contest started. I loved visiting with the moms and hearing similar stories of working with our kids.
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