Robin's Reports

11/3/06 - We did GREAT at the Fair!!!

There will be no fishing for days, as the wind is blowing over 25 kts today. Seas are anywhere from 9-15 ft. Instead....... I'm going to update you on how we did with our Fair entries.

(In no particular order) Son #1 took 1st place and Best in Division for his Entomology (bug) box. This was SOOOO hard to put together. Catching the bugs is the easy part. Classifying bugs takes hours!

Son #1 took 1st and Best in Section for his Elephant Ear plant.

Son #2 took 2nd place for his Coleus plant (which was dying quickly when we arrived today).

I took 2nd place with my Inch Plant (purple).





Son #2 took 1st and Best in Section with his Gulf Toadfish - labeling fish parts.


Then, he took 1st and Best in Division with his color pencil drawing of a Mahi Mahi. I was very impressed with his improvement in his artistic skill in just a year. I guess it has really helped for him to see and hold a real Mahi Mahi in his hands.

Best in Division awards usually receive monetary awards as well. Both boys are thrilled to be recipients of checks.


Son #1 took 1st and Best in Division with his Oceanic -Queen Red Snapper - Labeling.

He also took 1st place with his Brackish Water - Poster of a Sea Horse.

Unfortunately, his Oceanic - Poster of a Remora did not place.



Here is his 1st place and Best in Section for a Red Drum in the Brackish Water - Labeling category.

Technically, his Snapper beat out his Red Drum for money but this one wins for the best of all the Labeling.

In this case, Adults (I believe) are unable to compete against the kids for "Sections" and for "Best in Show" ribbons. At least I've never seen an adult place in those categories the past 3 years.



Here is my Oceanic - Poster of Pompano in the surf that took 1st place and Best in Division (my age group).

That is also my puffer in the bottom right corner. Because of the lack of entries for adults, sections and divisions are combined. So, my Freshwater - Labeling of a Large Mouth FL bass took 2nd place.

The puffer and marlin - labeling did not place which is confusing that they didn't at least give them 2nd or 3rd place ribbons, but oh well...... no sense in complaining.



My Snook in Brackish - Poster, took 2nd place.

You can also see the puffer and bass a little bit better in this photo.

The judging results seem a little strange (we're missing a 1st place somewhere), but again, I don't complain.




Son #2 took top honors in our family for his photography - digital.

He placed 1st for Scenic (Cedar Key) and then took Best in Division (age) against all the blue ribbons in his age division.

Kudos to my baby!! Jack and I both had beautiful scenic photos entered and got nothing for them. I couldn't be happier to see his expression when he saw the ribbons.


The little guy also took 2nd place for Animals and for Human Interest photos of a Penguin statue at Sea World.

This dolphin was also taken at the Feeding tank at Sea World. My baby took about a dozen photos and we took the best of that grouping.

Don't you just love digital cameras??



Son #1 took 3rd place with his Goat eating his Brother - digital - Animals category. Animal categories are well represented because of our local 4H clubs, so we're blessed to have taken a 3rd place here.

This is our 4H friend's goat from last year's Fair. If you look closely, it looks like the goat is about to eat the child on the fence.

I also had a photo of Manatees from the viewing room of Sea World. It took 3rd place for the Adult Division - Animals.


Not shown - I took 2nd place for an Acrylic painting of a beach scene. It was a bit last minute but paid off in the end with a little ribbon next to it.

Here are the boys' rockets. Tomorrow, they will be judged and then shot up in the air. 1st, 2nd, 3rd places will receive ribbons and money for highest distances. There will also be Newton and Einstein awards to engineering & designing (I think certificates).
Son #1 did a shuttle (white, on the right)
Son #2 did a Blue Angel (blue on left)


Hope you enjoyed seeing our entries and share in our joy.

Until the seas lay down enough to fish.........
Robin