We spent last weekend on our last llama camping trip of the year.  The show we were supposed to be at was canceled so we packed up and went camping!  We went with a great llama friend of our and my parents.  The weather was great in Eastern Washington.  We enjoyed the weekend taking a few short hikes with the llamas.  We brought six llamas and our friend brought her two.  We have panels we set up and the llamas camp in the site with us out of the trailer!  It is really a great set up.  We enjoyed a group site with my parents and our good friend and her llamas!  We took the llamas wading in the lake and the alpaca, Buster, sat in the lake!  One of the best parts was to have coffee while sitting in a chair watching the llamas eat their breakfast!  They are so peaceful to watch!  It was great to take them out on some hikes with the leaves changing colors.  We were even able to walk them down by the river! It was a much needed relaxing weekend for both the people and the llamas!

Our last scheduled show of 2021 was canceled so now we are done for the year!  It was great to be back at shows after not having any last year.  We did all new shows this year which were a lot of fun!! We got to show with new friends and meet some really great people!  It was such a positive show experience this year!  We started out year with Cascade and loved that how, then moved on to COLA and that one was great as well.  After that we had a break before Happy Camper which was so much fun!!  In addition to those we were back at our county fair.  Two of our kids qualified to show at State so we did that for the first time!  I am so glad we got out and did new shows this year we met some great and very positive people!  In all our years of showing I think we had the most fun this year by far, it was so wonderful! Not only did we have fun but the farm did really well too!  Our two classics did good in their halter classes.  Our classic male did his first performance classes and did good!  The kids had fun, made new friends and placed really well!  We are looking forward to being back in the ring next year!!

This past weekend my two younger kids showed their llamas at the state 4-H show. We have never done this before but I am so glad we did! The girls had so much fun at the fair and I loved watching them show their llamas. They both had a successful weekend which is great. They made new friends and had fun which is so important. I loved watching and listening to them talk to the public about their llamas. They really know their stuff and are good at answering questions. The judge this past weekend was wonderful and she took so much time to talk to and work with the kids after classes. It is so important to keep learning. I love when judges take the time to do this. My youngest got four grand champions and my middle daughter got three reserve champions. I would consider that successful along with gaining knowledge from a wonderful judge and making new friends. I am exhausted but that is okay I loved watching my kids do what they love! The girls are looking forward to working hard and being able to qualify next year so they can return!

As the parents of three kids that show llamas we do a lot. First and most importantly I am there biggest fan and support with their dad. We both watch all their shows and cheer them on. However, it starts even before the show. I help with getting llamas ready to go by helping with grooming and bathing, dad helps with that part too! Dad does all the driving to and from the shows and setting up the camp. We are grateful he can drive us where we need to be. Also a big part of behind the scenes as being a show parent is the teaching the kids how to show their llamas and how to train their llamas. We have put a lot of time into that! Then there is show day which is very busy. Getting kids dressed and finishing touches on llama grooming. One parent in the arena calling the other one to get llamas there for their class. It means the world to the kids to have us watch them in the ring. There is also being there to be a shoulder to cry on and an encouraging word when they know they went the wrong way or missed an obstacle. The paying for the shows and the animals is so worth it to see them enjoying themselves and making new friends and learning new ways to improve. It definitely takes a team effort!

It is now September and our show season is winding down.  We still have two more left to do!  Two of our kids will compete at State with 4-H and then we have a big show in Oregon, OFFF.  We have to put some work into getting our llamas ready to show.  We spent last weekend giving Cowboy a bath.  Cowboy is a white llama so before shows he gets a bath.  It seemed a little early for giving a bath but it was the time we had!  First he gets blown out and then he gets a bath and blown again to dry off and he spends some time in the yard in the sun to dry!!  Our other llamas are a bit easier to get ready as they are all darker colored.  The other llamas just get blown out really well to get all of the dirt out of them.  Then there is usually a lot of brushing involved to make them look just right for the show!  It is a bit of work getting several llamas ready to show but it is totally worth it!  We enjoy showing our llamas and taking them to other events!  After these two shows the next couple of weeks they get some time off until the end of April!

Last weekend we took our llamas camping at the beach and had a lot of fun driving them down the beach.  We have two trained cart llamas, one came to us trained the other my youngest daughter trained to drive.  She let me drive him this past weekend.  It is the first time that I have actually driven llamas!  There is a process in training them from picking the right one and starting with ground driving before you actually get in the cart.  Not all llamas are willing to do this.  The person also needs some training too as I found out when I took the reins!  Learning to have the right tension on the reins and a loud enough voice for the llama to hear from behind them.  Remembering to turn wide so the cart doesn't hit something.  It is also very important to have good equipment.  we just purchased another Eagle cart, it is our second one. You need a special halter for driving and of course a good harness for the llama.  Always take your time hitching the cart up so that it is securely on your llama.  The first step in training is to ground drive where you walk behind the llama so they get used to you behind them after that you can hitch the cart up but don't get in yet.  You should walk behind the cart while the llama gets used to it behind them.  Once they are used to the cart you can get in, we found it helpful to use a header, which is a person walking at the front of the llama incase there is a problem.  It is so much fun to be able to drive llamas!

We are still at the beach with our llamas and took them out for a drive on the beach this evening. My youngest daughter trained her boy to cart and this trip has started driving him without help from me. Well tonight she let me take a turn driving him!! I have ridden in the cart but never driven. I was so excited to be able to drive her llama Cowboy!! It was so much fun to be driving him on the beach and he is well trained and easy to handles!! I am so glad she let me do this. Driving a llama is such an amazing experience! Especially on the beach with a beautiful sunset!

Every year we head on a vacation with our llamas! Yes, a vacation. We take them camping at the beach in Ocean Shores! At this point most of our shows are done and it is a nice relaxing time for the people and the llamas. We go with a great llama friend of ours and camp and take the llamas to the beach. Walking on the beach is fun but we also take our two llamas that are trained to pull a cart driving down the beach in the evening. Driving the llamas on the beach is so much fun. Monte and Cowboy are our two trained cart llamas. My youngest daughter trained Cowboy to cart. This year she took him for the first time all by herself and they did great!! The sunsets are usually just absolutely wonderful too which is a great bonus to all the fun!!

I didn’t grow up on a farm but sure enjoy having one now! Our three kids absolutely love being on the farm! They have been walking llamas since they could walk and showing just as long. As they have grown they have started to do more on the farm. It is great that they come out in the morning and afternoon to help feed the llamas. They even help scoop the poop which is a great help. They have been here to see two baby llamas born and have also seen the other side of that saying goodbye to older llamas. At shearing time they help and have seen the fiber sent to the mill and then spun by me or they will even needle felt some of it too. It is such a wonderful experience for them to see all of this. It is truly a family farm. Another favorite thing for them to do is sit with their llamas or feed them treats.

Today I wanted to talk about what a great program 4-H is. All three of our kids are involved and both of us grew up doing 4-H, that is how we met. It is more than just animals, there are so many projects that you can become involved in. Our kids enjoy the club that they are a part of with the llamas. Some of their favorite things are going on hikes and showing at the fair. By keeping a record book each year it has taught them to keep track of what goes into keeping their animals. Our youngest did a public presentation her first year in the program and she did great speaking in front of others, this is also something that helped me so much when I was in 4-H. If you want to be in an animal project and don’t have an animal you could look into borrowing one. I borrowed a llama my first year in 4-H. Again there are so many projects to choose from it is really a wonderful program for kids.