I have really been enjoying spring. It is so much better this year than last. At this time last year Claire was not walking yet (was that really only a year ago???) so going outside meant carrying a baby on my hip the whole time.
This spring we spent much of our day outside!
Picnic lunches in the backyard or on a blanket on the driveway are the norm on pretty days--anything to minimize how many times a day I have to clean the kitchen table! Our last picnic was on the driveway; it was so cute to watch the kids munch on their PB&J's and watch the ants walk across the cement.
I love the afternoons after naptime when we just go in the backyard and the kids play mostly by themselves. I can even do small jobs in the kitchen with the window open so I can hear them playing. Yesterday they got sooooo dirty and filthy playing in the sand and mud and with the sidewalk chalk that I wiped them up and sent them straight to the bathroom for an early evening bath! That is what childhood is all about--playing with the bugs in the dirt and enjoying yourself!
This evening after dinner we went outside to play, again, and I convinced Aaron to practice riding his new bike. Claire scooted all around on her tricycle having the best time. They are the cutest little pair!
We just love being outdoors!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Aaron's church performances
Someone after church last night told Aaron that he "stole the show" during his children's choir performance. I wouldn't say that, but he did make everyone laugh by covering his ears with his hands when the kids around him got loud. He also said some silly things between songs that made people laugh. Here is a video--either watch the embedded video below or click here if that doesn't work.
Last time Aaron's choir performed in "big church," he made a scene by running across the stage away from the teacher when they were trying to get set up.
At Christmas he got to be toddler Jesus in the Three Kings song, and Chris and I were Joseph and Mary. The kings brought him treasure chests, and as they laid them in front of him, he would play with the mardi gras beads. Then when the kings laid their crowns in front of him, he picked one up and put it on, and picked another one on and put it on Chris. Everyone loved it! He was beyond adorable. I wish I had a video of that!
Last time Aaron's choir performed in "big church," he made a scene by running across the stage away from the teacher when they were trying to get set up.
At Christmas he got to be toddler Jesus in the Three Kings song, and Chris and I were Joseph and Mary. The kings brought him treasure chests, and as they laid them in front of him, he would play with the mardi gras beads. Then when the kings laid their crowns in front of him, he picked one up and put it on, and picked another one on and put it on Chris. Everyone loved it! He was beyond adorable. I wish I had a video of that!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Cutest video!
Claire woke up before the rest of the family this afternoon, so she and I played quietly in her room. I tried to capture her counting and saying her ABC's, but I think mostly I drove her crazy. She was really cute though--I edited the video a little but it's still over 7 minutes long! Grab a cup of coffee and watch some Claire cuteness!
If you can't get the embedded video to work, try this.
If you can't get the embedded video to work, try this.
Little show-off
It seems like I post about Claire alot more than Aaron lately, but let me tell you, that girl seems to change every day! She is charming and so very sweet.
Yesterday she did something that totally floored us--she counted to 10! Numerous times! She had spent the night with Mimi and Pa the night before, so after she had counted straight to 10 a few times in a row, I called them up to find out if they had worked with her on it. As far as I knew she could only count to three, and most of the time she didn't make it past 2! Pa told me, "Well, we counted my toes last night, and she counted to 10, but it seemed like she already knew how to do it." What??? She's KNOWN how to count to 10 and has been holding out on me? Maybe she's been counting to 10 for her mother's day out teachers for weeks now. Or maybe she just decided to wait until she wanted to show-off for Mimi and Pa.
Regardless, it's the cutest thing ever--I'm going to try to get a video of it this afternoon. The first time she did it for me I just started laughing hysterically, smiling at her, telling her how proud I am, and she just grinned ear-to-ear and did it again.
This afternoon when it was time for her nap, we decided to let Daddy put her down. He doesn't get that opportunity often because she prefers for me to do the bedtime routine, which is such a sweet time. Chris told me he read her Llama Llama book (a new favorite!), then she was just reclining on him sucking her thumb. He said she rolled over to crawl up on his shoulder, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and laid her head down and fell asleep. How sweet is that? Just makes me want to eat her up!
Yesterday she did something that totally floored us--she counted to 10! Numerous times! She had spent the night with Mimi and Pa the night before, so after she had counted straight to 10 a few times in a row, I called them up to find out if they had worked with her on it. As far as I knew she could only count to three, and most of the time she didn't make it past 2! Pa told me, "Well, we counted my toes last night, and she counted to 10, but it seemed like she already knew how to do it." What??? She's KNOWN how to count to 10 and has been holding out on me? Maybe she's been counting to 10 for her mother's day out teachers for weeks now. Or maybe she just decided to wait until she wanted to show-off for Mimi and Pa.
Regardless, it's the cutest thing ever--I'm going to try to get a video of it this afternoon. The first time she did it for me I just started laughing hysterically, smiling at her, telling her how proud I am, and she just grinned ear-to-ear and did it again.
This afternoon when it was time for her nap, we decided to let Daddy put her down. He doesn't get that opportunity often because she prefers for me to do the bedtime routine, which is such a sweet time. Chris told me he read her Llama Llama book (a new favorite!), then she was just reclining on him sucking her thumb. He said she rolled over to crawl up on his shoulder, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and laid her head down and fell asleep. How sweet is that? Just makes me want to eat her up!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Claire my frilly girl
Claire is definitely a girly-girl! She loves to get her toes painted and hates to have her hands or feet dirty.
Yesterday she was wearing a simple cotton swing shirt and shorts to school, but she insisted on wearing her black shiny Mary Jane shoes with it! I kept fighting with her about it--I put on her tennis shoes twice but she kept taking them off and putting the Mary Janes back on. She kept saying "I wear my new BACK (black) shoes."
Wednesday she got to wear her new shiny white sandals to the Botanic Gardens. We walked to the dinosaur playground, and instead of running to play with the other kids, she came up to me whining, "My feeeeeeeet!" So I pulled her into my lap, pulled off her shoes, got out a baby wipe, and cleaned her sweaty, dirty feet, and wiped the dirt off of the organza bow on one of the shoes. She got her shoes back on, and got down to play, and within minutes she had walked into the sand pit on accident, getting sand all over her feet. Again, the whining..."Myyyyyy feeeeeeeeet!" So again she got into my lap, got her feet and shoes washed. She let me sit there and caress her soft little baby feet for the longest time while the other kids played. I told my friends, "She's going to be my pedicure girl!"
I'm not sure I'm ready for a high-maintenance girly-girl!
Yesterday she was wearing a simple cotton swing shirt and shorts to school, but she insisted on wearing her black shiny Mary Jane shoes with it! I kept fighting with her about it--I put on her tennis shoes twice but she kept taking them off and putting the Mary Janes back on. She kept saying "I wear my new BACK (black) shoes."
Wednesday she got to wear her new shiny white sandals to the Botanic Gardens. We walked to the dinosaur playground, and instead of running to play with the other kids, she came up to me whining, "My feeeeeeeet!" So I pulled her into my lap, pulled off her shoes, got out a baby wipe, and cleaned her sweaty, dirty feet, and wiped the dirt off of the organza bow on one of the shoes. She got her shoes back on, and got down to play, and within minutes she had walked into the sand pit on accident, getting sand all over her feet. Again, the whining..."Myyyyyy feeeeeeeeet!" So again she got into my lap, got her feet and shoes washed. She let me sit there and caress her soft little baby feet for the longest time while the other kids played. I told my friends, "She's going to be my pedicure girl!"
I'm not sure I'm ready for a high-maintenance girly-girl!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
I found the missing K!
I know you've been so worried since my post about the missing K...so I thought I would let you know I found it! It was in the drawer in my bathroom. Of course it was, because that is where K magnets are supposed to be when they are not on the refrigerator or in the kitchen floor.
So glad that is settled. You can resume your normal life now.
So glad that is settled. You can resume your normal life now.
Our weekend camping trip
Last week we invited our neighbor and some of his friends to dinner Saturday night. He told us they couldn't come because they had a camping trip planned, but he invited us to come along. It sounded like fun and was do-able with our open weekend, so we decided on Friday to go! We had to buy a tent Friday night and we were ready to go!
We left Saturday morning and got the BEST site ever--adjacent to the lake and a huge field, perfect for the kids and neighbor's dogs to run!
Chris set up our new tent, while Aaron enjoyed his favorite part of the weekend: playing in the back of the truck with all the cords and ropes.
Claire was enthralled with all of it, as it was her first camping trip. The kids got DIRTY DIRTY, which drove me crazy at first and finally I realized I was going to have to stop worrying so much about the dirt. At one point Saturday afternoon Aaron was IN the lake (next to the "no swimming" sign), with his shirt off and his wet jeans sagging to the middle of his bottom! Claire wanted in so badly so I finally let her take off her shoes, rolled up her pants, and let her wade.
The campsite had some good playgrounds nearby, and the kids really enjoyed that.
Claire really enjoyed this tire swing:
Until she fell through onto her face!
The food was really good--Saturday night we had marinated venison tenderloin and wild turkey wrapped in bacon. Mmmm... We also had bacon for breakfast! And of course we did s'mores by the campfire at night. Camp food is the best!
The kids had fun just playing around the campsite. Aaron had his new bicycle, and of course Claire had her favorite toy--her tricycle.
Claire found a caterpillar one time and was playing with it, stretching it between her fingers and squishing it. She eventually squished it to death. Gross.
Aaron played with a rope from the back of Chris's truck almost the whole weekend. He pretended the rope was a leash or a telephone (after we got the tent set up he was playing in it, telling us he was hooking up the telephones!). Aaron even learned how to limbo!
There were some beautiful birds I tried to get pictures of. I really liked the woodpeckers:
And this oriole had the prettiest song!
The kids did remarkably well sleeping in the tent. It helped that they were exhausted! Aaron loved sleeping with his "baby" (Claire)--he's never done that before! Claire wouldn't stay under the covers--every time I checked on her she was squirmed up into the corner of the tent, so I'd have to pull her back down to the covers and tuck her in again, because it got pretty cold during the night. Chris and I had an air mattress that deflates through the night, but it's better than sleeping on the ground!
One of the funniest times was when we were packing up to go and the kids made friends with the people at the campsite next to ours. The little puppy was named Donut, and the boy, Noah, was sharing him with Aaron and Claire. Claire thought that little miniature dog was hilarious and she told me "I take Donut with me" when we were leaving. Poor girl needs a puppy!
Here are more good pictures, if you haven't seen enough already! We can hardly wait to go camping again!
And here is a link for even MORE pictures (overload, I know!)
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcuGLVy3aOX-w
We left Saturday morning and got the BEST site ever--adjacent to the lake and a huge field, perfect for the kids and neighbor's dogs to run!
Chris set up our new tent, while Aaron enjoyed his favorite part of the weekend: playing in the back of the truck with all the cords and ropes.
Claire was enthralled with all of it, as it was her first camping trip. The kids got DIRTY DIRTY, which drove me crazy at first and finally I realized I was going to have to stop worrying so much about the dirt. At one point Saturday afternoon Aaron was IN the lake (next to the "no swimming" sign), with his shirt off and his wet jeans sagging to the middle of his bottom! Claire wanted in so badly so I finally let her take off her shoes, rolled up her pants, and let her wade.
The campsite had some good playgrounds nearby, and the kids really enjoyed that.
Claire really enjoyed this tire swing:
Until she fell through onto her face!
The food was really good--Saturday night we had marinated venison tenderloin and wild turkey wrapped in bacon. Mmmm... We also had bacon for breakfast! And of course we did s'mores by the campfire at night. Camp food is the best!
The kids had fun just playing around the campsite. Aaron had his new bicycle, and of course Claire had her favorite toy--her tricycle.
Claire found a caterpillar one time and was playing with it, stretching it between her fingers and squishing it. She eventually squished it to death. Gross.
Aaron played with a rope from the back of Chris's truck almost the whole weekend. He pretended the rope was a leash or a telephone (after we got the tent set up he was playing in it, telling us he was hooking up the telephones!). Aaron even learned how to limbo!
There were some beautiful birds I tried to get pictures of. I really liked the woodpeckers:
And this oriole had the prettiest song!
The kids did remarkably well sleeping in the tent. It helped that they were exhausted! Aaron loved sleeping with his "baby" (Claire)--he's never done that before! Claire wouldn't stay under the covers--every time I checked on her she was squirmed up into the corner of the tent, so I'd have to pull her back down to the covers and tuck her in again, because it got pretty cold during the night. Chris and I had an air mattress that deflates through the night, but it's better than sleeping on the ground!
One of the funniest times was when we were packing up to go and the kids made friends with the people at the campsite next to ours. The little puppy was named Donut, and the boy, Noah, was sharing him with Aaron and Claire. Claire thought that little miniature dog was hilarious and she told me "I take Donut with me" when we were leaving. Poor girl needs a puppy!
Here are more good pictures, if you haven't seen enough already! We can hardly wait to go camping again!
And here is a link for even MORE pictures (overload, I know!)
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcuGLVy3aOX-w
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
My inseparable kiddos
My kiddos have really become best friends, and it is so cute to see them playing together. They do their fair share of fighting too, but for the most part I love the relationship they have. Claire thinks Aaron is the coolest brother on the planet, and as far as Aaron knows, he has always had this awesome baby sister. One of their favorite activities is playing in Claire's bed. Today while I was cleaning they decided to play in there, and I found them with the "No No Yes Yes" book. Aaron was "reading" Claire the book, telling her the rules about what things are no-no and what things are yes-yes. (Aaron has an obsession lately with the rules--he is always making up rules for something or asking me to tell him the rules about something. This weekend while we were camping he kept asking what the rules about anthills are!)Well, gotta get to my kids now, Claire is whining about something Aaron did to her....my lovable kiddos call!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Wild and Crazy!
We went camping this weekend, and I have lots of good pictures to share, but while I'm getting organized, please enjoy these wild and crazy pictures of Claire, sitting in the tent while Daddy was setting it up!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
A day at home...
Some days we just don't go anywhere. That's the great thing about staying at home--you can actually STAY AT HOME if you want to! Monday was such a day...we were having a cold snap and I just didn't have any pressing matters outside the home. So we stayed in pajamas for a while, I did some cleaning, and finally I broke out the paint. The kids love paint! They mostly just like the mess, and as long as it's washable paint, I really don't mind. It cleans up pretty quickly so I try not to stress about it.
They each wear one of Daddy's white shirts as a smock. Aren't they cute?
This is Claire's "cheese" face. I have no idea why she scrunches her eyebrows like that.
Aaron always paints his hand and does handprints on the paper. Have you noticed his hair color? I am in love with his hair. It's a perfect shade of reddish auburn. And those eyelashes! Sigh...
Claire decided to dig in with her fingers...
When I took this picture, I noticed how messy the fridge looked.
And I got stir crazy just watching the kids paint. So I did this:
We have way too many letters but I'm worried about that missing "K" in the second alphabet. Where could it be?
Once the kids made a gigantic mess with the watercolors, we cleaned that up and moved on to stickers and markers. Washable markers, of course.
I love this little guy.
And this sweet girl, too.
They each wear one of Daddy's white shirts as a smock. Aren't they cute?
This is Claire's "cheese" face. I have no idea why she scrunches her eyebrows like that.
Aaron always paints his hand and does handprints on the paper. Have you noticed his hair color? I am in love with his hair. It's a perfect shade of reddish auburn. And those eyelashes! Sigh...
Claire decided to dig in with her fingers...
When I took this picture, I noticed how messy the fridge looked.
And I got stir crazy just watching the kids paint. So I did this:
We have way too many letters but I'm worried about that missing "K" in the second alphabet. Where could it be?
Once the kids made a gigantic mess with the watercolors, we cleaned that up and moved on to stickers and markers. Washable markers, of course.
I love this little guy.
And this sweet girl, too.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Stop the yelling!
Today was a very challenging day at our house. We try to lay low on Sunday afternoons, with everyone having quiet time, and even naps. I guess Aaron was feeling especially cooped up because he was showing out all afternoon. I lost track of how many times he got a spoon spanking or got sent to his room. The main problem was the yelling...at Mommy and at Claire. (Funny...I don't recall him yelling at Daddy!) "NO, MOMMY! I DON'T LIKE THAT!" or "NO, CLAIRE, GIVE IT BACK!" or "I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT!" I could go on and on.
The disrespect really gets under my skin. It's better when Chris is here and can discipline Aaron. "You don't talk to your mother that way. Go to your room." But when I'm by myself, I tend to LOSE IT! I have found myself yelling at him more and more these days. Chris said to me tonight (after I yelled at Aaron for not doing something I told him to do), "He yells at us so much because we (you) yell at him so much." Ouch. But just what I needed to hear.
This was right before we walked out of the door to go to Sunday night service at church. On the way there I was contemplating why I yell so much, and thinking to myself, "I don't picture me being patient enough to NOT yell. I just don't know what else to do." Wouldn't you know that we got to church and the sermon was about the tongue?
James 3:2 says, "We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check." Isn't that the truth? I was right on when I was thinking "I" could never control my yelling. It will have to be God!!
Matthew 12:35 says, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him." It's going to involve a change of the heart. How can I gain control of my evil tongue if my tongue is just spewing out the contents of my heart? I need to change the contents of my heart. Instead of impatience, selfishness, and pride, I need God to plant within me the things I need to speak good words: patience, love, forgiveness, humility....
And this does not just apply to yelling. What about the "g" word...yep, gossip! "Did you hear what she said to her?" "Who does he think he is?" "I just have to vent..." I used to pride myself in NOT gossiping, but in reality, we're all guilty of it at some point or another. (And there's another big sin--pride--but that's a whole new post!) I have caught myself several times just in the last week saying things that I knew I shouldn't, but sometimes it just feels so good to get it out there. The Holy Spirit is almost always prompting me, "You really shouldn't be saying that." But sometimes I just say it anyway. That evil tongue, rearing it's ugly head.
Thankfully, there is an answer! A new heart!
Ezekiel 36:25-27 says, "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."
I just need to let God do the controlling and step out of the way! Being in fellowship with Him every day is going to be essential.
And I just had a bedtime conversation with Aaron. I explained to him that yelling is not the right thing to do, and Mommy is asking God to help her try not to yell. I told him that he needs God to help him not yell, too, so we can all be respectful and say nice words to each other.
Thank you Lord, for an awesome Word from you today! (And thank you Bro. Jimmy for sharing it tonight!)
The disrespect really gets under my skin. It's better when Chris is here and can discipline Aaron. "You don't talk to your mother that way. Go to your room." But when I'm by myself, I tend to LOSE IT! I have found myself yelling at him more and more these days. Chris said to me tonight (after I yelled at Aaron for not doing something I told him to do), "He yells at us so much because we (you) yell at him so much." Ouch. But just what I needed to hear.
This was right before we walked out of the door to go to Sunday night service at church. On the way there I was contemplating why I yell so much, and thinking to myself, "I don't picture me being patient enough to NOT yell. I just don't know what else to do." Wouldn't you know that we got to church and the sermon was about the tongue?
James 3:2 says, "We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check." Isn't that the truth? I was right on when I was thinking "I" could never control my yelling. It will have to be God!!
Matthew 12:35 says, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him." It's going to involve a change of the heart. How can I gain control of my evil tongue if my tongue is just spewing out the contents of my heart? I need to change the contents of my heart. Instead of impatience, selfishness, and pride, I need God to plant within me the things I need to speak good words: patience, love, forgiveness, humility....
And this does not just apply to yelling. What about the "g" word...yep, gossip! "Did you hear what she said to her?" "Who does he think he is?" "I just have to vent..." I used to pride myself in NOT gossiping, but in reality, we're all guilty of it at some point or another. (And there's another big sin--pride--but that's a whole new post!) I have caught myself several times just in the last week saying things that I knew I shouldn't, but sometimes it just feels so good to get it out there. The Holy Spirit is almost always prompting me, "You really shouldn't be saying that." But sometimes I just say it anyway. That evil tongue, rearing it's ugly head.
Thankfully, there is an answer! A new heart!
Ezekiel 36:25-27 says, "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."
I just need to let God do the controlling and step out of the way! Being in fellowship with Him every day is going to be essential.
And I just had a bedtime conversation with Aaron. I explained to him that yelling is not the right thing to do, and Mommy is asking God to help her try not to yell. I told him that he needs God to help him not yell, too, so we can all be respectful and say nice words to each other.
Thank you Lord, for an awesome Word from you today! (And thank you Bro. Jimmy for sharing it tonight!)
Saturday, April 12, 2008
My First Turkey Hunt
...or "A Beautiful Mississippi Morning"...
...or "Three of Three Down for the Turkey Slayer"...
I had the most amazing time this morning! Last night we made a last minute decision: since the kids were both at the grandparents for the night, I would go turkey hunting with Chris this morning. After he described his hunt earlier in the week, I told him I'd like to go out there with him sometime, just to see what it was like. I thought I was just dreaming though because getting the kids situated with childcare on the same night doesn't always happen. When it did and Chris's hunting buddy fell through, it was fate for me to go!
Friday night Chris rummaged through his camo to see what I could wear. There was a pair of faded camo Wranglers that fit okay when I wore them over a pair of my own jeans. He had a long-sleeved camo shirt that went well over my own layers of a shirt and sweatshirt. He had an extra mesh mask and of course an extra camo baseball cap. I had some Timberland hiking boots that I haven't worn since college that did the trick. I had to wear Chris's knee socks to have something long enough to pull up over my jeans, to keep out the bugs. I was quite a sight!
We woke up at 4:20 Saturday morning and got dressed and in the truck by 4:45. We tried to stop by the gas station on the corner for a doughnut, but would you believe they were CLOSED? I had no idea that gas station was not open 24 hours! I'm obviously not very well aquainted with life before 7:00 am.
It was a long drive to the national forest land where Chris hunts, and I kept thinking I wanted to doze off. I contemplated Chris's devotion to this hobby--either this is the biggest thrill ever or he and all the other turkey hunters are crazy!
We parked the truck in Chris's desired location and sprayed down with Off Deep Woods. I strapped on my turkey seat (a cushion you strap to yourself so you can sit down next to a tree without getting your bottom wet--ingenious!). Chris blew his owl call..."hooo...hooo...hooooooo!" and a turkey gobbled really loud! "That's a good sign," Chris said with a grin. "It's really too early for them to gobble yet!" We started into the woods towards the turkey. It was still very dark so Chris led out with the flashlight. We had a short distance to walk through a thick patch of woods to get to a trail, so Chris said. I was walking 2 inches behind him trying to walk in the exact spots his feet had been, and I kept getting smacked in the face with branches. I put my foot into a hole once and yelped and got a dirty look from Chris. At this point I decided I did need my own flashlight, which I had packed in my own backpack. We got it out and the walk went much better. I mostly watch the ground and I swear we were going in circles, but eventually we came to a trail.
As we walked, the turkey was gobbling over and over. It was amazing! I've heard it on the hunting shows Chris watches, and even on the turkey calling CD he listens to in his truck, but hearing it in person was pretty amazing. This turkey was fired up and gobbling at nothing!
Chris wanted to set up next to a large tree in a small open spot near a ditch. We could tell the turkey was in a tree near the ditch, maybe 120 yards away. We didn't know which way he'd fly down out of the tree so we just picked a spot Chris knew they had come to another morning. We sat below that tree for quite a while, and as the sun came up, the woods came to life. It was just beautiful to see the woods gradually illuminate with the early morning sun. We saw a woodpecker at the top of a nearby tree. I could have sat in the peaceful quiet of those woods, with the turkey gobbling in the background, for a while. I could see why Chris enjoys being out there so much.
As we sat there, Chris showed me some really neat turkey calling! He would explain, "We want him to know there's a hen over here, but not overdo it so he will come our direction." And he would do a few soft yelps on his slate call. We knew the turkey heard us so we would just be quiet for a while. Another time Chris took off his hat and got out his new box call. He said, "We want the turkey to think some hens are flying down out of the tree over here." And he did a couple of cackles on the box call, waved his hat really loud through the air, and then beat the hat in the leaves on the ground. I thought that was pretty ingenious!
Sometime after that we could tell the turkey had flown down, and unfortunately was on the other side of the ditch. Chris felt like he probably had hens with him, and was just gobbling in the tree because he liked to hear himself gobble. (Apparently they will also gobble if they are alone and looking for hens.) He also heard some hens yelp but my untrained ear missed that. We waited a while and it seemed like he was definitely headed the other direction, we got up and headed down the ditch line a ways to cross the ditch and come up a ridge to the other side of the turkeys. The whole time we were walking (as quietly as we could), the turkey was gobbling like crazy. He was full of himself! We crossed the ditch and when we came up the other side the turkey was noticeably closer. We walked a short distance and Chris saw what he thought were hens up on the ridge, so we quickly picked a large tree next to us, and knelt down. Chris was in front of me, and I was slightly behind the tree. The turkey was too close for us to set up sitting down under the tree. We watched for a minute and saw the gobbler on the ridge line, strutting along and gobbling. We could see his beard swinging down--it was so exciting! We didn't have a good shot from where we were, so we had to coax him to walk along the ridge line where Chris could get a clear shot. Chris did a couple of yelps with his mouth call, and we were under enough cover that he could scratch around with his hand in the leaves, to sound like a hen scratching around on the ground, looking for bugs. After that he got his gun set up and asked me to do the scratching in the leaves behind me. After 5 or 10 minutes of strutting and gobbling, he finally got to a good place and BAM! Chris shot him at about 45 yards away! Chris immediately ran through the woods to him. I picked up the turkey seat he left behind and ran over there, too. The turkey was still flopping a little bit (*a little sad and gruesome, I know...), so I learned that the trick is to step on the turkey's head so he doesn't try to get up and run off. That kinda freaked me out a little bit, but apparently turkey hunting is not for the weak at heart!
My new favorite picture of Chris:
The next several minutes involved Chris finding his shotgun shell in the woods. (Every time he kills a turkey he glues the turkey's beard in to the shell and strings it on a leather rope with the spurs on either side. He has many of these "trophies" hung on the antlers of his deer mount in our bedroom.) We set up my camera on a nearby mound to take some pictures using the timer.
On the walk back I took some beautiful pictures in the woods, and at one point we got about 150 yards from another gobbling turkey and tried to call it in so I could shoot a turkey of my own--with my camera! (Since I don't have a hunting license and don't know how to shoot the gun!) That turkey ended up going another direction and we didn't feel like following it, so we just headed back to to the truck.
The drive back was somewhat quiet. I shot some beautiful scenery from the truck on the way home, and just reveled in the amazing hunt we had together. It was very special to share such a great morning with my loving husband, doing what he loves best. And I think I love it too...I'd like to go again! Of course it may be disappointing to go time after time and NOT kill a turkey, which is what Chris does with such devotion.
Thanks, sweetie, for a wonderful morning! Congrats on three turkeys this season!
...or "Three of Three Down for the Turkey Slayer"...
I had the most amazing time this morning! Last night we made a last minute decision: since the kids were both at the grandparents for the night, I would go turkey hunting with Chris this morning. After he described his hunt earlier in the week, I told him I'd like to go out there with him sometime, just to see what it was like. I thought I was just dreaming though because getting the kids situated with childcare on the same night doesn't always happen. When it did and Chris's hunting buddy fell through, it was fate for me to go!
Friday night Chris rummaged through his camo to see what I could wear. There was a pair of faded camo Wranglers that fit okay when I wore them over a pair of my own jeans. He had a long-sleeved camo shirt that went well over my own layers of a shirt and sweatshirt. He had an extra mesh mask and of course an extra camo baseball cap. I had some Timberland hiking boots that I haven't worn since college that did the trick. I had to wear Chris's knee socks to have something long enough to pull up over my jeans, to keep out the bugs. I was quite a sight!
We woke up at 4:20 Saturday morning and got dressed and in the truck by 4:45. We tried to stop by the gas station on the corner for a doughnut, but would you believe they were CLOSED? I had no idea that gas station was not open 24 hours! I'm obviously not very well aquainted with life before 7:00 am.
It was a long drive to the national forest land where Chris hunts, and I kept thinking I wanted to doze off. I contemplated Chris's devotion to this hobby--either this is the biggest thrill ever or he and all the other turkey hunters are crazy!
We parked the truck in Chris's desired location and sprayed down with Off Deep Woods. I strapped on my turkey seat (a cushion you strap to yourself so you can sit down next to a tree without getting your bottom wet--ingenious!). Chris blew his owl call..."hooo...hooo...hooooooo!" and a turkey gobbled really loud! "That's a good sign," Chris said with a grin. "It's really too early for them to gobble yet!" We started into the woods towards the turkey. It was still very dark so Chris led out with the flashlight. We had a short distance to walk through a thick patch of woods to get to a trail, so Chris said. I was walking 2 inches behind him trying to walk in the exact spots his feet had been, and I kept getting smacked in the face with branches. I put my foot into a hole once and yelped and got a dirty look from Chris. At this point I decided I did need my own flashlight, which I had packed in my own backpack. We got it out and the walk went much better. I mostly watch the ground and I swear we were going in circles, but eventually we came to a trail.
As we walked, the turkey was gobbling over and over. It was amazing! I've heard it on the hunting shows Chris watches, and even on the turkey calling CD he listens to in his truck, but hearing it in person was pretty amazing. This turkey was fired up and gobbling at nothing!
Chris wanted to set up next to a large tree in a small open spot near a ditch. We could tell the turkey was in a tree near the ditch, maybe 120 yards away. We didn't know which way he'd fly down out of the tree so we just picked a spot Chris knew they had come to another morning. We sat below that tree for quite a while, and as the sun came up, the woods came to life. It was just beautiful to see the woods gradually illuminate with the early morning sun. We saw a woodpecker at the top of a nearby tree. I could have sat in the peaceful quiet of those woods, with the turkey gobbling in the background, for a while. I could see why Chris enjoys being out there so much.
As we sat there, Chris showed me some really neat turkey calling! He would explain, "We want him to know there's a hen over here, but not overdo it so he will come our direction." And he would do a few soft yelps on his slate call. We knew the turkey heard us so we would just be quiet for a while. Another time Chris took off his hat and got out his new box call. He said, "We want the turkey to think some hens are flying down out of the tree over here." And he did a couple of cackles on the box call, waved his hat really loud through the air, and then beat the hat in the leaves on the ground. I thought that was pretty ingenious!
Sometime after that we could tell the turkey had flown down, and unfortunately was on the other side of the ditch. Chris felt like he probably had hens with him, and was just gobbling in the tree because he liked to hear himself gobble. (Apparently they will also gobble if they are alone and looking for hens.) He also heard some hens yelp but my untrained ear missed that. We waited a while and it seemed like he was definitely headed the other direction, we got up and headed down the ditch line a ways to cross the ditch and come up a ridge to the other side of the turkeys. The whole time we were walking (as quietly as we could), the turkey was gobbling like crazy. He was full of himself! We crossed the ditch and when we came up the other side the turkey was noticeably closer. We walked a short distance and Chris saw what he thought were hens up on the ridge, so we quickly picked a large tree next to us, and knelt down. Chris was in front of me, and I was slightly behind the tree. The turkey was too close for us to set up sitting down under the tree. We watched for a minute and saw the gobbler on the ridge line, strutting along and gobbling. We could see his beard swinging down--it was so exciting! We didn't have a good shot from where we were, so we had to coax him to walk along the ridge line where Chris could get a clear shot. Chris did a couple of yelps with his mouth call, and we were under enough cover that he could scratch around with his hand in the leaves, to sound like a hen scratching around on the ground, looking for bugs. After that he got his gun set up and asked me to do the scratching in the leaves behind me. After 5 or 10 minutes of strutting and gobbling, he finally got to a good place and BAM! Chris shot him at about 45 yards away! Chris immediately ran through the woods to him. I picked up the turkey seat he left behind and ran over there, too. The turkey was still flopping a little bit (*a little sad and gruesome, I know...), so I learned that the trick is to step on the turkey's head so he doesn't try to get up and run off. That kinda freaked me out a little bit, but apparently turkey hunting is not for the weak at heart!
My new favorite picture of Chris:
The next several minutes involved Chris finding his shotgun shell in the woods. (Every time he kills a turkey he glues the turkey's beard in to the shell and strings it on a leather rope with the spurs on either side. He has many of these "trophies" hung on the antlers of his deer mount in our bedroom.) We set up my camera on a nearby mound to take some pictures using the timer.
On the walk back I took some beautiful pictures in the woods, and at one point we got about 150 yards from another gobbling turkey and tried to call it in so I could shoot a turkey of my own--with my camera! (Since I don't have a hunting license and don't know how to shoot the gun!) That turkey ended up going another direction and we didn't feel like following it, so we just headed back to to the truck.
The drive back was somewhat quiet. I shot some beautiful scenery from the truck on the way home, and just reveled in the amazing hunt we had together. It was very special to share such a great morning with my loving husband, doing what he loves best. And I think I love it too...I'd like to go again! Of course it may be disappointing to go time after time and NOT kill a turkey, which is what Chris does with such devotion.
Thanks, sweetie, for a wonderful morning! Congrats on three turkeys this season!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Beautiful day at the zoo
Monday was absolutely beautiful so we took an impromtu trip to the zoo. We had a great time and got lots of pictures (of course!). I was happy to see I wasn't the only shutterbug out that day. We saw at least 2 other people with some SERIOUS cameras with 3 foot long lenses taking pictures of the animals! I haven't gotten that obsessed yet--but I secretly want some lenses that will help me get closer from a distance!
I love this cheesy shot of Claire.
Claire loved these monkeys--she threw a fit when we had to walk away. The monkeys were jumping around like crazy and made Claire laugh and laugh. It was so fun to see her really enjoy a trip to the zoo! Last time we went she was strapped in the stroller!
The new gorilla at the zoo was seriously making me laugh--it looked like he was talking on his cell phone!
When we saw these apes, I had a quick talk with Aaron about how the monkeys were eating vegetables because they are yummy. Aaron said, "Why does that monkey have a shirt on his back?" I don't know, sweetie, I don't know....
Claire told me the elephants were "cary" and wouldn't get close to the fence. She stood at a distance eating her animal crackers. I think that eating the animals made her feel powerful and in control--those animals surely knew she was in charge.
Aaron was not afraid of the elephants. I like this picture because of his frat boy tuck.
We met a friend there and I taught her my new trick for getting both of the kids to look at the camera at the same time. "Hey kids, do I have a rabbit on my head?"
Look at the snake on her head!
We ran into Roxanne, one of my friends and Claire's teacher at mother's day out. Claire ADORES Roxanne and says her name just like the song--with an attitude. "RooooooxxxxxANNE!"
Claire didn't quite turn around on this one--but I liked it nonetheless!
Sometimes there are disadvantages to being tall! I wish you could have seen how hard this giraffe had to work to get into this position. I was rolling laughing!
Claire decided she was too good for the wagon and wanted to walk for a while. During her walk she saw her shadow and kept stopping to talk to it. She looked at me and said, "That's Taire!" and was waving at herself.
This meercat has a really tough life.
And finally, this picture is for Aaron. All day he was pointing out waterfalls--he was NOT there to see the animals. Waterfalls are a new obsession the last few weeks. I may frame this one in his room.
I love this cheesy shot of Claire.
Claire loved these monkeys--she threw a fit when we had to walk away. The monkeys were jumping around like crazy and made Claire laugh and laugh. It was so fun to see her really enjoy a trip to the zoo! Last time we went she was strapped in the stroller!
The new gorilla at the zoo was seriously making me laugh--it looked like he was talking on his cell phone!
When we saw these apes, I had a quick talk with Aaron about how the monkeys were eating vegetables because they are yummy. Aaron said, "Why does that monkey have a shirt on his back?" I don't know, sweetie, I don't know....
Claire told me the elephants were "cary" and wouldn't get close to the fence. She stood at a distance eating her animal crackers. I think that eating the animals made her feel powerful and in control--those animals surely knew she was in charge.
Aaron was not afraid of the elephants. I like this picture because of his frat boy tuck.
We met a friend there and I taught her my new trick for getting both of the kids to look at the camera at the same time. "Hey kids, do I have a rabbit on my head?"
Look at the snake on her head!
We ran into Roxanne, one of my friends and Claire's teacher at mother's day out. Claire ADORES Roxanne and says her name just like the song--with an attitude. "RooooooxxxxxANNE!"
Claire didn't quite turn around on this one--but I liked it nonetheless!
Sometimes there are disadvantages to being tall! I wish you could have seen how hard this giraffe had to work to get into this position. I was rolling laughing!
Claire decided she was too good for the wagon and wanted to walk for a while. During her walk she saw her shadow and kept stopping to talk to it. She looked at me and said, "That's Taire!" and was waving at herself.
This meercat has a really tough life.
And finally, this picture is for Aaron. All day he was pointing out waterfalls--he was NOT there to see the animals. Waterfalls are a new obsession the last few weeks. I may frame this one in his room.
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