Cow Patty Bingo Day!

I cannot believe that I am going to do a post about Cow Patty Bingo. But I am. So deal.

For those of you who don't know what it is, this was a fundraiser this year for Arlington's school. I suggested it last fall, and honestly didn't think the school would go for it.

I was wrong.

We sold raffle tickets. Each ticket was numbered, and each number corresponded to a sqaure on a 1600 square grid.

Here is what our grid looked like when it was all finished and fenced in.

Here it is a little closer.

Then a cow (which came in this gigantic trailer)



is lead onto the field.

And it spends time eating grass.

Lots and lots of grass.

Where ever he "does his business" - the person who had bought that square wins. In this case - they won $5000.

It is a huge money maker for the PTO. And it is a TON of work. But now it is done. It was a pretty fun day.

It took longer than I hoped for our cow to "patty" the ground (chuckle). 2 1/2 hours to be exact. So not a lot of people were left when he finally decided he had eaten enough grass.

But it was exciting none the same.

Here are some facts about our cow. Well, for one- HE was an ox. He is an ox - not a bull - because he doesn't have his "family jewels" any longer. We couldn't have a cow because we were told they are a little more skiddish around people. Ox are used to doing shows, so he didn't care about us at all.

His name was Tom.

He weighed 2800 pounds

He was the biggest ox I have ever seen. He got off that cart, and we all about died about his size. He ended up being very gentle and sweet.

Finley and Arlington got to pet him when he was done, well, you know.

He is 5 years old. Cows that are under 5 years old are called Steeds. No idea why.

We were told he is still a "Baby" and will still grow a bit more. Kind of hard to believe because of the size of him. He was a Brown Swiss. Very gentle, and used to doing shows. So he didn't mind the people at all.

He used the fence to scratch his chin and his horns. It was pretty amusing.

I thought he was very cute.

But - I did have a hamburger for dinner. Sorry Tom the Cow.

A fun day. The kids had a good time watching him eat and eat and eat and eat. We thought he would get sick if he ate the grid. And that if he ate the grid we might be in trouble.

But he just nibbled. The school won't have to cut the grass in a long time.

And here is the proof of the "deed".

Just so you know that we didn't cheat!

We called the winner when it was over.
She was a local woman and very excited. That was the fun part. I didn't get to stay around to watch her claim her prize. She was going to come down and have her picture taken with Tom the Cow and pick up her money.

And to all my "hometown" friends/family who have done this before - no one stuffed cabbage in their bra. It was a good day.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

In other news - Arlington lost another tooth! Two front bottom ones are gone and the new teeth already coming in. The top middle are loose now. Won't be long now!

We had a conference with Finley's teacher last week. She is doing very well and is right on track for Kindergarten. However - she needs to work on her "picking up toys" ability and bossiness. Big surprises there. Not. She is making good friends, though, which is good. The teacher also wanted to make sure it was okay to share with the class about Finley's sight. Gail, Finley's vision teacher came in and read a story and talked to the class this past week as well.

Cainan wasn't feeling well this morning. He woke with a bad stomach ache and just wanted to lay around. But, by this evening (and honey nut cheerios, a doughnut, a push up, and pizza later) he was back to his old self. Food cures everything for that boy.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! I will see you tomorrow for "So How Did It Go Sunday"

Don't forget!!! Sign up for your T-shirts, the BBQ, or donating to Finley's Fighters Vision Walk! You can do all of that from the top of this blog - on the right and left side. We appreciate your support!