Colton goes home.....

It's been pretty quiet around here since Colton went home on Saturday. It's weird but as I was driving home, in an empty vehicle on Saturday, I kept expecting to hear Colton in the background singing or saying "I'm Bored". Although we were able to do a lot with him, there was so much that we still wanted to do before our time ran out. It's amazing how fast kids grow up. I only hope that those who are lucky enough to have kids appreciate them and spend as much time as possible with them. They grow up fast and the "I wish we would've done that" thoughts are difficult to deal with later. Kids are a true miracle, a gift from God.

The following pictures are from the visit with Uncle Jerry at Linnea's house. We wanted Colton to see Uncle Jerry before he left. Linnea said that we should all get together at her house. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone again. The other pictures are from a fishing trip Colton took with Dan.

North Dakota Hunting Trip....

Dan and Karl took Colton, age ten, on his first hunting trip over the weekend. Colton was so excited. I think he was waiting in the car about an hour before departure. I was originally going to go and spend the weekend working on projects for school while Dan and Colton hunted for prairie dogs. On Wednesday, before the hunt, I was overjoyed to hear that Karl wanted to go. I happily gave up my space and later found out how lucky I was to do so. Apparently, the cheap hotel we booked to save a few dollars, was not a place that I would want to stay in by myself. According to Dan, the place was what you would expect for the price....scary and filthy. I think the general comment I heard was "that's the pet friendly part of the hotel we are experiencing". However, the hotel did not take away from the fun of a boy on his first hunting trip. I can't help to think that I would have ruined his experience with my complaints and comments had I gone.

Colton had so much fun. He said he didn't he shoot any praire dogs but that didn't matter. Colton realized that he won't shoot something on every trip and that he needs to practice target shooting a little more. He wants to go again sometime. In additon to hunting, Colton was able to spot a few more birds for his bird book. He also saw a white buffalo. Not only was there fun, but there was also some adventure.

While hunting, Colton had problems with his gun jamming so Dan set it down and Colton used another gun. Well, things happen with 10-year-old boys and the gun was temporarily "misplaced". When the guys went to retrieve the gun, they could not find it. Dan was amazed that they couldn't find the gun being it is bright red. Colton was waiting in the vehicle while Dan an Karl looked for the gun in the prairie grass...out of Colton's view. Apparently, Colton started to worry that the guys were lost. This is the part where the story about the hunting trip could have changed dramatically had Dan's cell phone had any signal. Colton decided to call me first to tell me the guys were lost. When that call didn't go through after several attempts, he tried to call his mother. Luckily, that call didn't go through either. At that point, Karl appeared and Colton told him about the attempted phone calls. As I think about this, I wonder what would have happened had the phone calls gone through. I would have certainly worried as would have Colton's mom. I think we would have had the largest search party out looking for two lost men and the best hunting story ever.

Attached are some of the pictures that Karl sent.

2008 Summer with the kids.....

Dan and I had the great fortune of spending some time with our nephews and niece this summer. Taylor was here for 2 weeks and then went to visit her dad's family for the rest of the summer. My twin sister's kids were able to spend a couple days on the farm with Colton. All in all, I think they are having fun. It's been a great summer filled with many wonderful memories.

2007...The Year of the Big Hunt

It has been awhile since I have posted anything. Dan and I have been pretty busy this year. Our jobs and business continued to keep us busy. This year we celebrated our third anniversary. To celebrate, we bought a paddle boat and used it for fishing on several occasions...when we could find time. We also enjoyed the company of family and friends at several weddings and family renuions.

This summer I did not work as much at the casino...kind of not by choice. It was actually a blessing in disguise as I was able to start painting again. I have two paintings almost finished. Since school started, I have not been able to find time to work on the many ideas I have for new paintings. My teaching job changed somewhat in that I am working with 5th graders for a chunk of the day and I love every minute of it. This year, there was some sadness as a very special aunt passed away. She will be fondly remembered and greatly missed.

Dan continues to work at the farm. When he is home, he has a few hobbies of his own. Farming is one of those hobbies. His additions to our "farm" included a cow with a calf, "watch" goat, and several kittens. The cow, just two nights ago, gave us one more additon (calf #2) to the "farm"...on what seemed like the coldest night of the year. He also made some home repairs and improvements. The biggest hobby, hunting, was somewhat neglected this year. (Not by his choice.) We did make it to South Dakota for antelope hunting...which I think was the hightlight of the year.

Dan has always encouraged me to go and this year I took him up on the offer. I have to admit, I did have fun. I'm not sure Dan wants me to go with him again because he had to remind me a couple of times about the task at hand. I was more in awe of the rock formations and scenery. Each time we climbed a butte, I found a rock I had to bring back. Dan spent more time carrying rocks than he anticipated. In addition, I brought my video camera. Each time we came across a group of animals, I took out my video camera. In fact, I think you can hear Dan telling me, on the video, to put the camera away. We did manage to get some footage of several buck deer grazing and of a jackrabbit hiding in a bush. During the first night we dropped off Dan's bother and sister-in-law in their spot and we went down the road a little more to find our spot. I decided to stay in the vehicle that night while he hunted. (My feet were blistered and I ached everywhere.) At dusk an incredible display of lightning started. I decided that I wanted to try and capture this in a picture but I would need to get out of the Trailblazer. So, as I opened the door, the car horn started blaring. Whoops....if anything was in Dan's view, it was gone by now. Being this was a new vehicle, it took me awhile to figure out how to turn the horn off. When I finally did, I was able to get a couple of pictures before Dan came racing back to the vehicle. I figured he was back because it was getting dark and it was lightning...which he hadn't even noticed. Then he informed me that he thought he had an antelope but we should get the others first. We picked them up and headed back to our spot to look for the antelope...which he could not find. I kept telling him that I thought he was searching the wrong area because he came running to the vehicle from the direction of the lightning. The next morning, as we were walking, he mentioned something about the horn honking. He told me that he came running back to the vehicle so fast because he thought I was getting attacked by someone. Then, I felt a little bad. During this second day of our hunt, Dan did not seem to upset when I suggested that I go one way and he go another. He was interested in the hunting and I was interested in the photography and Dan knew it. I was a little nervous when we parted and he told me to watch out for snakes. However, the beautiful scenery and my love for photography made the snakes seem a little less scary. I enjoyed the trip and would go back for the company and the scenery. In fact, I'm somewhat honored that Dan would want me to come with him. However, Dan told me the other day that one of his nephews might be interested in my gun. I said is that the one I took to South Dakota and he said, "Yes". I asked him what I would hunt with then. He seemed pretty convinced that I was through with hunting. I may have surprised him a little bit.

Overall, we had a great year and look forward to what 2008 brings.

Ted's birthday

Dan and I had an enjoyable weekend. We had my family over to celebrate Ted's birthday. The boys had fun "at the farm". They got to see a round up of goats as they were headed to their new home, newborn kittens, the loft of a barn, and snake wrestling at its finest. Aiden was able to "finally" enjoy peanut-free brownies as he was perched upon a tree. They were MMM...good.