Weekend Hunting

 Wow! I am so behind in the world of blogging!  This has been quite a week.  All of these pictures are from last week.  I picked the big kids up last Thursday, and they were here until Sunday.  We had another low key weekend with lots of hunting and just hanging out!  There is nothing I love more than spending time with my sweet babies.  We are storing up memories that will hopefully last throughout their lifetimes!

This big boy killed his first deer on this trip!  We were all so proud, and he was thrilled.

This blood on the face is one tradition that I frankly don't understand........... Oh, well!

Pop spends countless hours (and dollars) throughout the year keeping his land and fields ready for the grandbabies.  He could care less about killing a deer himself anymore, but he wants the kids to enjoy it!  Even those of us that don't hunt, appreciate and enjoy all of his hardwork.  We all love spending time there in one capacity or another.  

Hanging out in the ground blind after we came to see Reed and his deer.

We also finally managed to get the outside Christmas tree down at the church. Luckily, we had some really good help.

Aunt Taylor took this picture on their walk down to feed the horses. I love how they all love each other.

Before the weekend was over, this sweet girl killed her 15th deer!  (She pointed out that she made a perfect shot, and the picture shows the exit wound.) Both deer and the pig have been processed for us to enjoy through the year.  

We were also super proud of Belle!  She tracked Maddie's deer after she shot it.  This was her first time to do this.

We also squeezed in lots of playtime. It was pretty wet and rainy, so most of our adventures were inside this trip.

With all the playing, naptime was a must!

More to come!

Little Piggy's Off to Market

Pop and Reed did lots and lots of hunting this past weekend.  While they saw several deer, they just didn't get close enough to get a shot. Reed was thrilled when a group of pigs walked into the edge of the field.  He made a great shot, and now we have one last wild pig.  They are a tremendous nuisance! Poor Maddie has wanted to shoot a pig for about 5 years now, so we are hoping she will soon be able to shoot one, too.  There is nothing Pop enjoys more than hunting with his grandchildren.  While they were hunting, Lillian and I were back home playing with John Sawyer and Jack.

All smiles! 

We came down to check it out.

John Sawyer was pretty excited for Reed.

Waiting for a deer.......

Love that smile!

They will be back this weekend for more adventures!

Weekend Visit

 The big kids were out of school Friday, so I met Lindsey late Thursday so they could spend the weekend.  We had only gone about 10 miles when Maddie suddenly became sick.  Long story short, Lindsey turned around and came back for her.  It was very sad and very different not having her here, but I am happy to report that she is feeling much better.  We really didn't have anything planned-just hanging out with a little hunting and playground time thrown in the mix! Sadly, there aren't as many pictures of Reed in this post.  He spent most of his time with Pop hunting.  More on that in the next post.

Lillian loves spending time at Uncle C and Aunt Taylor's house.  She was working in the ice cream truck here!

More fun in the playroom.

She was lots of help with the little ones.  Their mom and dad were gone for the weekend, and I don't think we could have made it without her.

Even though it was quite chilly, we bundled up and made quite a few trips to both playgrounds.  Lillian was curious as to why more people don't use these play areas.  I agree with her! We had a ball!

Reed was really lots happier than he looked!!

Naptime!  Lillian was just going to lay down for a minute, so JS would go to sleep.  She was the first one to fall asleep!

We met mom, dad and Maddie at Peach Park.  We were the only ones outside, so they had lots of fun!  

Pop and Reed spent lots and lots of time hunting this weekend.  I will share more on that next.

Let It Snow!

There is nothing I love more than a snow day.  In my days of teaching, I lost count of the number of times I went to bed assured by the weather report that I would wake up to snow.  Ninety-nine times out of 100, I woke up disappointed.  However, there was that occasional day like today when I wake up to a snow covered yard.  Now, I realize that by most standards our snow days are not like most, but I will take it.  It doesn't matter that it was completely gone by lunch!  I put on my little boots a little after 5:00 in the morning, and headed out to enjoy it while it lasted. My only regret is that the big kids weren't here to enjoy it-they just got rain.  I wish I could bottle it up and save it until they get here this weekend. Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

I had peeked out the window upstairs and saw big, glorious flakes falling.  This is what I saw out my back door when I got downstairs.

I couldn't get outside fast enough.  This is the view around 5:15.  

It stopped about an hour later, but started back later for another hour or so.

This picture taken from our den doesn't do the redbirds justice.  There were around 20 in the trees at one time.  Every time I got close, they would fly.  They are very spoiled with an endless supply of sunflower seeds.

More views from the yard.

I couldn't drive across the state and get Maddie, Lillian and Reed, but I could drive to "Miss Cathy's" and pick up this little nugget.  I used the excuse that he wasn't feeling well, but I really thought he needed just a little snow time. This smile shows that he agreed.

Pop is feeding him a little snow here.  He loved it!

Trying to catch a little on his tongue.  He really wasn't feeling his best, so we only stayed out a little bit.

This slough is one of my favorite places in the whole world.  It changes with every season and never disappoints.  I wasn't able to go this morning, but thankfully Pop did.  I honestly don't think this area got as much snow as we did in town.  It's still beautiful though!

Just a couple more pictures of the road and pasture to the slough.

All the excitement of the day wore these two out!  They had a nice long afternoon nap.

I hope this first snow of 2021 isn't our last.