A beautiful day to chase some birds!

Today we went out and attempted to find some birds to shoot. After watching numerous geese fly over "just out of range" we decided to head out to Shaw Butte and see if we could find any upland birds.

We were just about to head back to the truck when we bumped a covey of Huns. They broke up and I was able to see where the landed, so up the hill we went after them! Soon, Bones got really birdy and we bumped them again. This time they were in range and we each were able to take one! Being the gluttons for punishment that we are, we followed them up the butte further, but this time they all were flying too wild and we weren't able to get any more!

We chased the birds right up against the base of the butte. As you can see in the picture it was a beautiful day!

I think that the baby enjoyed his in-vitro bird hunting experience... Though I wont mind once I deliver and Clint can take his turn carrying him. I do have a complaint to make to the camo industry... I can't fit into my hunting pants anymore, (check out that belly) and the shelves at the local sporting goods stores aren't exactly bursting with maternity camo pants.... Hmmm maybe I just figured out how to make our millions.

Bones did really well and had a great time. We felt bad about not having Rebel, but since we were after geese initially, we just took Bones.

Here are some of our local geese. You can also see the big wind turbines in the background. They are huge, and I am so intrigued by them. I'm so glad that Montana is starting to use some of this wonderful renewable resource (wind).

Merry Christmas!

We wanted to wish all of our friends and family a wonderful Christmas.

We were fortunate enough to have Mom and Perry share the evening with us, but we miss all of the people who weren't there!

Wishing you and yours a great Holiday!

Kongs are the coolest!!!

Rebel and Bones got some "Kongs" as early X-mas presents from my mom!!! For those of you who don't know, Kongs are really tough rubber toys that have a hole in the middle. They make special treats that go inside, so your dog will spend hours trying to get the treat out. Your dog can smell the treat and lick the treat, but they can't quite get it... Until they figure out the deal. Bones has figured out the trick and can usually get the treat out after a little while, but Rebel just rolls the Kong around a lot. It gives us a lot of good entertainment and keeps them busy!!!

Ice fishing season!

Today we picked up Brock and headed out to Wadsworth park for a little ice fishing! The weather was good (a little windy, but not too bad) and we even caught a few fish. The perch were biting and most were good sized. We also caught one little trout that we released. As you can see we all had a great time! (though I was a little like a penguin, waddling around on the ice!!!)

By popular request, here are some pictures showing the fact that I'm pregnant. a.k.a belly pictures. I'm a little shy so this is kind of a hard sell for me... but I made a promise so I have to follow through. We are sitting at 25 weeks right now...

In maternity clothes...

This was after ice fishing, so I'm a little wind burnt...

A house in Butte!

We put an offer on a house in Butte, contingent upon the sale of our Great Falls home. It looks like everything is working out (knock on wood!!!) so I thought I'd share a picture of the house we are looking at. It is a cute 2 bedroom, 1 bath, with a 2 car garage.

While I was in Butte the last couple days, Clint took me on a tour of the area he has been spending a lot of his time patrolling. It was great to get out and see the area surrounding Butte. It's beautiful and mountainous. Though the outdoor opportunities are going to be different, I can see us truly enjoying getting to know the area.

Here is a couple pictures of a badger that we came across. You can click on the picture to make it bigger if you want to see him peeking out of his hole at us!

A little taste of Butte Architecture!

I finally went and spent a weekend in Butte with Clint. I actually kind of liked it!!! Our realtor was really generous with her time and gave us a great tour including a really in depth history of the town. I was amazed and it really made me look at Butte in a new light!

The pictures I have included are from the downtown area. As you can see all the buildings have great "character". The view from this area is amazing, you can see the entire valley below. I didn't take very many pictures, but enough to give everyone a taste!!!

I cut off all my hair!!!

Well, I didn't cut off ALL my hair, but enough to make a difference! I had enough to donate it to "locks of love" and now I'm sporting a way shorter 'do! I decided since the belly was getting bigger, something was going to have to get smaller, and that just happened to be my hair!!!

Here are the "before" pictures....

Here are the "after" pictures!!!

Thanksgiving with family!

We were so fortunate to have some of our family with us for Thanksgiving! Clint was working out of Great Falls for the week, so he was home as well! We finally got some snow, so it actually felt like winter and it was a wonderful holiday. I didn't take nearly enough pictures, but as you can see, we all had a chance to relax.

2 Deer and a Duck!!!

Clint made it home for about a day and a half and we had a great time!!! He came home Wednesday afternoon, picked up Brock and they went out and found a nice Mule Deer Doe. They had a great time and as you can see, Brock is becoming quite the outdoorsman!

Thursday I got off work early so we went out to jump shoot some ducks. Well, the creek was a little shy on ducks but Clint was able to get one. (I wasn't quick enough on the shot...) Bones had a wonderful time and the weather was great!



As we were driving home from jump shooting we decided to swing by the property and see if there were any does out. We each still had one whitetail doe tag left. As we crawled out and peeked over the edge (pregnancy belly crawling is a little more complicated then regular belly crawling!!!) I spotted a nice doe making her way across the bottom.

We were able to sneak a little closer and she presented Clint with a good shot, which he took. Once again he had another great doe on the ground.

Friday morning Clint headed out for Butte, but he should be home tomorrow night. He will be working the next week in Great Falls, so it will be awesome to have him home on the evenings and for Thanksgiving.

Moving Day!!!

Perry and Mom made it here safe and sound with the huge U-Haul. Luckily, I was able to enlist some great friends and they made unloading a snap.

Now, it's just a matter of getting settled in and as we all know, that is quite the project as well!


Good thing they have Meesha to help!!!

Forklift or Forklift-et????

Well, we had our ultrasound today and everything looks good. The baby is about 7 inches long from the tip of it's head to it's rump. (not including legs!) It weighs about 11 ounces. Clint and I got to watch it's heart beat and see it swallowing amniotic fluid and sucking it's thumb. Pretty exciting stuff. We got a whole DVD of the ultrasound but I haven't figured out how to cut it down, so you will have to make due with one picture for now!!!

So, have we built up the suspense yet??? Well, we are excited to share that it is going to be a healthy forklift!!!

Clint was home!!!

Yesterday Clint was home for the day!!! We all know that it was a good day!

We got to go out hunting and I shot a mule deer doe. Unfortunately, we weren't thinking and forgot our camera. So, no pictures this time. Just imagine a pregnant gal holding a deer with big ears!!!

It was so good to have Clint for the whole day and I lucked out and got the day off as well! He went back to Butte this morning, but should be home next Tuesday. That is when we get our 20 week ultrasound and find out what gender the forklift, (forklift-et) is... It doesn't really matter (of course we just want a healthy baby), but it will be fun to know. Then we can pick out some names, buy some stuff. Ya know, all the exciting things!!!

I think we may get a CD burned so if the pictures turn out good, I'll post some!!!

Brock's first deer hunt!

Well, I came home yesterday morning from Butte, and decided to take Brock for his first deer hunt, as Tanya was at work and could not make it for our outing. Brock and I have shot some ducks and snipe together, but big game has been hard for us to find on our outings. As I picked up Brock from school, I only hoped to find a nice doe and make Brock's first deer hunt a success. Needless to say, the deer gods were smiling on us, because we found a real nice buck. We parked on a piece of seemingly unproductive public land not far from Great Falls. I only expected to see a doe or two, which would have filled the bill just fine. But after fording a creek, and crossing into the first canyon, I saw some antlers peeking out of the grass. Long of the short is after a good belly crawl, and a big bang, Brock got his first close up look at a deer. No ground shrinkage on this one, as he got bigger as we got closer to him. We decided to take the buck out in one piece, and after a couple of hard hours of dragging, he was in the truck. Brock was a good helper, and has a new found respect for deer. Although I wish Tanya could have been with us to share the moment, It was a treat to see Brock experience his first deer hunt. P.S. I told Brock not to expect deer like this every time we go out,,,,, as I don't think I can keep up those standards for very long.

Deer off the River Property!!!

Yesterday morning was opening day for "general" rifle season in Montana. Clint was stuck in Butte doing Game Warden stuff, but I still wanted to get out. We knew a lot of deer were crossing our property and I thought it would be kind of neat to get one of them. (Clint shot a doe off our property last year, but I hadn't gotten the privilege yet.)

Perry and Mom happened to be here bringing over a load, so Perry was able to come along for his first taste of Montana hunting. (Though the poor guy wasn't necessarily expecting to be drug out in the cold Montana morning to sit in a blind so he didn't really have the right clothes. It's hard to have everything you might need, when you are trying to move!!!)

We got the blind set up and after not too long a doe passed through the bottom. It was about 15 minutes before shooting light, so I was hoping that there were more coming. (I could shoot a doe or a buck.) About 10 minutes later two does and a little buck showed up. They fed down straight towards us, but because of the tall grass and brush, the depression they were in, and the fact that they were coming straight at us, I didn't take a shot. At about 60 yards, they began feeding in earnest, not a care in the world. The does were feeling a little sassy and kept rearing up and striking at one another. A couple of the hits they landed were pretty good... I would want a doe mad at me!!!

About this time I hear Perry whisper to me, "which one are you going to shoot?" To which I replied "whichever one turns broadside first". (He later commented on my patience. ) Ultimately, the buck turned broadside and then was feeding that way for long enough, he talked me into shooting!!! He's kind of a little bugger but it was great to take him off our property and to share this with Perry since it's been years since we have hunted together. After the shot he went less than a hundred yards and we had a great critter on the ground!!!

It was great hunt, but I truly missed Clint. It is something that we are both passionate about and not having him there made it feel like I was missing something. But, I think he may be back a day next week, so stay tuned for possible pictures!!!

Mom and Perry also have the cutest little puppy.. Her name is Meesha (sp?) and she is a love! She also is incredibly tenacious and wore out Bones. They would have played for hours, and as you can see, she made up for her lack of size by grabbing legs or whatever else she could get!!!

The Year's first rifle hunt

It took me a few days to get these pictures up, but last Wednesday, Clint and I got to go out and chase some speed goats. The weather was superb and it was so good to have the whole day to spend with him.

The area that we hunted has (in the past) proven to have a huge population of antelope. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to be the case when we got out there. After scouting for a couple hours, we were able to find two critters bedded down on an open hillside (about a mile from where we were) As we were making our plan of attack, they got up and disappeared over the hill. So, we hightailed it up after them, and then spotted them shortly after we came over the rise. Their attention was focused on some other people that were heading up a different draw, so we were able to belly crawl into a closer position. We ended up having to belly crawl for quite some time because the grass was so high that we couldn't get a clear shot.

Realizing that we were as close as we were going to get, Clint got creative and took a great shot. After we had determined his shot was good, I was able to sneak up to a higher position and take a shot at the other one. Spirits were high as we realized we had two nice critters on the ground!!!

It was a great hunt and the scenery was phenomenal. It is an area that is nestled right up against the Little Belt Mountains, so you feel that you could look up on the ridge and see elk any time!!! (and by the way, the forklift had a great time!!!)

Of course Clint had to go back to Butte, so I got to process the two critters!!! Oh well, it is a labor of love!

The day after the hunt, Perry (my step dad) and my Grandma Loree arrived from Washington with a load of goodies! It was great to see them and we even made it out to the River Property to enjoy the afternoon!

Opening day of duck season!

Today was rainy, windy, and wet. Perfect for duck hunting!!! Clint made it home from Helena for the weekend, (he's off to Butte on Monday) and we were lucky enough to have Brock along!

We did pretty well for a morning and got about 11 birds all together, including one sharptail, some snipe, and some ducks! We had a great time, and Brock is quite the trooper!

Here are some photos from our day.

This first one is Clint, Brock and a sharptail that Clint shot.

Bones retrieving his very first duck!!!

Proudly bringing it back!!!

Brock, Clint, Bones, and Clint's mallard!

Me, Bones, and a wigeon I got!