Just Getting Started

The girls and I hauled the keyboard into the fairgrounds and hauled it back out afterwards.  Apparently the parking attendants didn't understand that we could drive INTO the fair grounds before the official starting time.  Oh well.

So, it turned out that the 4H stage wasn't as big on the grand concourse that I'd envisioned, but Meri took it in stride.  She left her glitzy dress in the bag and went casual.  

She also found out that she was the only act performing all day, so she started singing a little early and ran through her entire repertoire of songs.  Besides two of her friends, another mom of friend and myself, there wasn't much of a crowd, but a few people drifted in and out of the tent during her performance.  The other side of the tent were 4H officials with info on the 4H programs.

There was no mic stand so this young man stood in.  

We think his name is Mike anyway, so it's fitting.

One of the friends overheard a grandma asking the granddaughter if that was Taylor Swift!  

Um no...  But Taylor could VERY well have gotten HER start this way too...

That was Friday.  We got home early afternoon exhausted but I still had work to complete.  I threw in a batch of pizza dough into the bread machine by 4 and forgot about it until 6.  At that point, I realized, because of a completed loaf of bread, that I'd hit the wrong button on the machine and had inadvertently found the "quick bread" setting!  Woohoo!  Who knew??!  All the labels on the buttons have worn off...

Meri was not happy.  But I roll with things and said, Hey!  Pizza bread it is!!  Robb was not happy either... 

 I made the pizza bread and quoted my eldest sister,

 "Shut up and eat it."

  It was a pretty peaceful meal... ;)  I might have to use that line more often.

After supper, my brother-in-law and his family rolled in.  We stayed up talking a good long time but we all had plans the next day, so we all hit the hay.  They're moving Josh back into campus for his third year at college.  So early Saturday, we helped them move all his spare stuff out of our garage where it had been stored all summer, into their Uhaul. Then we parted ways for the day. 

Robb, myself, Meri and two of her friends headed to the fair. again.  My fourth time in as many days. We got there in time to find the place for her to get signed in for the Bill Riley show and for her to change into the glitzy dress.    I had figured the show would take MAYBE an hour or 1.5 hours.  

Wrong.  It took 3.  We were starving by the time we finally left the grounds at 4pm.

The Sprouts (under 13) 15 performers  did their show first, then got judged.  Only five moved on to the semi finals.  THEN the senior division (age 13 and above).  Meri was 3rd from the end.  

I'm sorry I don't have any pictures!  I misplaced my camera until we got home from the fair and then THERE it was under the seat in the car...

I took one with my cell phone just as she was making her way to the piano.

and sorry again, that is REALLY small!

Robb and Perla took videos but they're not online yet.  I could see in Robb's video that a couple other people were videotaping her too!  So she might be on Youtube sooner than we can get this performance there.

She sang beautifully and soulfully.  And yes.  I cried again.  Maybe because I know that she's baring her broken heart in front of 3000 total strangers.  It takes so much courage to do that!  And the boy that broke her heart was actually there for a while, but since the show was taking so long, he'd left.  Probably a good thing.  She gave a rather pointed intro before beginning it.

Unfortunately she does not get to move onto the semi-finals.  So that is where it ended for the summer.  

BUT she's gathering quite a fan base IRL and on Youtube.  I'm proud of her.

She may not be Taylor Swift, but she's Meredith McVal!!  And She's going places!