We Are The Champions.....My Friends

This weekend was the 4-H General Projects Show in our county. Ryker is a first year 4-H member and had to show both of his projects (Photography and Outdoor Adventures: Hiking Trails) at the show on Saturday morning.

We've worked hard for the last two weeks preparing for this show. We've taken hundreds of pictures and hiked trails. We've examined the shape of his foot (in order to determine the best type of hiking boot) and discovered that our camera will not take clear pictures in a dark room without a flash no matter which direction the light comes from. We've made Cainan pose all over the yard and practiced good "Leave No Trace" techniques.

And it all paid off.

When the show was over Ryker had four ribbons in his hands. Two blue ribbons and two champions ribbons. The judges even wrote a note to him explaining that they would have sent his Hiking Trails project to the State Fair if he were old enough (you have to be 10).

For that project he made a project board that showed what you should pack for a day hike and why each item is necessary.

For his photography project he had to create a pictorial story. This is what he did:

The Rescue by Ryker Grove

One sunny afternoon an innocent little girl was talking on her cell phone when suddenly....

An evil villain, Dr. Black, kidnapped the girl and ran off with her to his secret laboratory.

Hearing the girl's screams for help, who should appear? It's a bird. It's a plane. No. It's Superman!

Our hero quickly defeats Dr. Black with his fists of steel....

...and flies high above the tree tops, taking the young lady to safety.

Returning to the scene of the crime, Superman drags the defeated Dr. Black to jail, saving the city once again.

Not only did he have to make the projects he had to do a one-on-one interview with the judges explaining his project and what he has learned over the course of the year. Of course, since talking is one of his great talents, he did excellent with that part of it. He reported that the judges "...didn't want me to explain what the toilet paper was for."

We were so proud of him. It was great to have all of our hard work rewarded. Now he's already excited about next year.