A day in the life of FFA

Megan is off on another weekend up in Modesto with her FFA organization.  She participates in livestock judging.  

Windwolves

I was asked to be a chaperone a few weeks back for Briggor's 4th grade field trip.  The entire 4th grade went to the Windwolves Preserve in the the valley.  Most of my kids have been there but I never have.  Our son, Ryan, has recently done an internship out there.  I called him and asked him if he wanted to tag along with me and the 4th graders.  He said sure!   So off we went......

http://www.wildlandsconservancy.org/preserve_windwolves.html

 

It was a beautiful spring morning in the mountains of the San Joaquin Valley.  

The trail opened up to this gorgeous meadow!!!

This next picture just looked so beautiful in black and white.  

We stopes along the trail and the kids were taught about Eco-systems, plant and animal life by the docents.  

It was a great day!  I'm really glad I was able to go!  The day went by too fast!

Just me!

New Documentary Explores History of Cancer

New Documentary Explores History of Cancer

An original 6-hour documentary Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies will air in three 2-hour segments March 30, 31 and April 1 on all PBS channels nationwide. The documentary will take a provocative look at the history, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. It is based on the 2011 Pulitzer Prize winning book by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee. The film’s executive producer is Ken Burns and its director is award-winning filmmaker Barak Goodman.

Morning at the BV Garden

Last week, I was asked to participate in Briggor's class day at the Buena Vista Garden/Kitchen.  The class spends one morning a week either in the garden or kitchen.   This morning, we were in the kitchen.  

The kids learned to "Julienne" the vegetables!

Most of the items used were grown in the garden outside.  

They also made homemade tortillas.

The end result was delicious!!!

Jog A Thon

OLast Friday, Briggor participated in his schools Jog A Thon to raise money for new equipment.

He ran 14 laps in 20 minutes!  Way to go Briggs!!!

Under Construction

Casa de Mendenhall is under construction again.  In the far back corner of our property has sat a space of dirt.  It has been there for over 5 years.  It had collected piles of dirt, rocks, weeds, trash, broken toys, you name it.  It has been an eye sore!

We have contemplated building a garage for Mark, an apartment over a garage (we actually have plans for that!), basketball court, batting cage (Andrew's wish) and a garden for me!   Well, we finally made a decision and Mom got her way!  We have  starting building a garden.  So excited!

We began this project a few weekends ago. We even had help from our oldest boys Andrew and Ryan.

Oops!  Andrew emptied the bucket the wrong way!  Hahaha!

FFA pictures

Megan and her FFA friends recently traveled up north to the World Ag Convention in Tulare.  They spent the day talking with farmers, agriculturalists, congressmen and women, environmentalists and were able to ask questions and get insight in this area.  

Watching

Briggor just got home from school.  It's warm here today.  The weather app on my phone says 84 degrees.  Briggor asked if he could have the Fudgsicle that was in the freezer.  I said yes.    He joined me out on the front porch.  No words were exchanged.  I just sat and observed him eating his cold treat.  

He sat there deep in thought as he took bite after bite. Sometimes wincing because the coldness of the ice cream hurt his teeth.  

I sat and wondered, what could be possibly be going on in that head of his?

His expressions changed with each bite. Deep in thought.  He had no idea I was watching him.   I'm thinking he is nine what could be on his mind?

He glanced this way and that. Enjoying that chocolate dessert. 

I noticed the freckles on his nose.  The bright blue in his eyes.  The red in his lips. The brown color of his hair!   

I love this little boy with all my heart!  God gave me a special gift in this little boy!

Briggor finished his Fudgsicle down to the stick. He even took a couple extra licks to get the last little bits of chocolate from that stick.  He then placed the stick between his teeth and flicked it up and down.  Smiling as he did it!   At that moment, he saw me staring at him smiling!  He looked at me and said "what?! 

I just smiled and said, "you were so deep in thought?" "What were you thinking about?"   

He said, "track practice, mom".  "So many events, I'm wondering if I am good enough to make the top spot?"

Wow!  Deep thoughts for a nine year old. I said , " Son , doing your best and having fun is all that matter-if you get to the finals that's icing on the cake!"

He smiled and said-"I'm off to 

go play!"

And like that-that brief little moment was gone!

JV Baseball

My JV Baseball player!!!!

Almost Spring Concert

Last night, Jade had her Almost Spring Chorus Concert.  It was beautiful!!!  

In the picture below, Jade is the blonde in the front row!!!  Beautiful voice!

What is FFA?

This is a great blog post from the blog:  the pinkie post

http://thepinkepost.com/2015/02/cows-not-required/

Megan is a Junior in high school and she actively participates in FFA.  She loves it.  Here is some more things regarding the organization.

COWS NOT REQUIRED: 7 REASONS WHY YOUR KIDS SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN FFA

Posted By Katie On February 21, 2015 35 Comments

Do you know what FFA is all about? As a mom of a FFA member, I do—but as a student and young adult, I had no idea.  

I married a small-town boy. He wasn’t raised on a farm, but he was active in his local FFA chapter as a high school student. My husband raves about the confidence and lifelong skills he gained through FFA (unparalleled to the skills he obtained from other organizations and activities). Our son, Hunter, joined FFA as an eighth grader and has been an active member for the past four years.

Today, I know what FFA is and what the organization is not. After several conversations with my friends from both rural communities and cities, I know there are a lot of adults who wonder, “What is FFA?”

Here are seven reasons why your kids should participate in FFA (which, by the way, no longer stands for Future Farmers of America):

1. Cows are not required. Neither are plaid or camouflage shirts. You don’t even have to own a pair of cowboy boots. There is an official FFA dress code, complete with the signature blue corduroy jacket that dates back to 1933. The dress code signifies FFA unity and connects each FFA member to the largest youth organization in the world. The blue FFA jackets come together locally, at a state level and at National FFA. It’s exhilarating for kids to belong to and attend National FFA which is second only to the National Republican Convention, as the largest convention in the United States. You belong to FFA with a blue jacket, with or without cows.
2. FFA is not 4-H. They are two strong, yet different, organizations, and my kids are involved in both programs. 4-H is offered through the cooperative Extension service, outside of school. FFA is part of a school’s agricultural education program offered to junior high and high school students. In addition to serving as the FFA adviser, an agriculture education instructor teaches an array of classes based on the interests and needs of the students, such as animal science, veterinary medicine, environmental science, plant science, horticulture, floral design, agricultural mechanics, electricity, robotics, aquaculture, crop science, welding and/or biotechnology.
3. FFA is inclusive. All kids—city, town, rural, farm, shy, outgoing, athletic and musical—are encouraged to join FFA. The world needs more inclusively instead of exclusivity.
4. In FFA, there are not cuts and your kids do not make baskets or score touchdowns. They don’t have a winning record or a losing record. But they are still actively a part of a team. It’s competition with the highest level of integrity, compassion and encouragement of one another I have ever observed, both as a judge for a number of years and as a mom. Plus, your child will learn cooperation, time management, work ethic, how to set goals, research, writing, problem solving and business skills.
5. FFA contests are aptly called Career Development Events (CDEs). There are more than 30 CDEs, such as environmental and natural resources, floriculture, food science, ag communications and farm business management. CDEs afford kids hands-on opportunities to test the skills they learn in a classroom in industry-focused, real-world events. There are at least a couple of CDEs that will fuel your child’s passions. Hunter’s first CDE, dairy foods, was not his forte. Testing milk made him sick to his stomach. The next year, he found his passion and voice in the ag sales CDE—and today he continues to sharpen those skills.
6. FFA students learn by doing. Supervised Agricultural Experiences, SAEs, provide hands-on learning that teaches through entrepreneurship, internship or job placement; research or experimentation; and exploring new career opportunities. Hunter’s SAE is working at our family’s lumberyard. He’s learning hands-on skills about products, sales, delivery, accounting and much more. His FFA adviser checks in on him to help him track his SAE progress.
7. FFA members are tomorrow’s leaders. Even if you weren’t in FFA, live in a city, aren’t from a farm and doubt your child will choose a career in agriculture, FFA teaches essential leadership skills that last a lifetime. During my marketing career, the best professionals I hired and worked alongside were once FFA members. Without looking at their resume, without asking them if they owned a blue corduroy jacket, I could tell they were FFA alum by their poise, preparation and articulation during a job interview.