Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone had a really great Thanksgiving... we sure did! The food was good, the company was great! It doesn't get much better than that!

The week just flew by! Clint and I hunted Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to fill a few more of our doe permits. Monday evening luck was on our side and we got two deer outside of Cascade. Unfortunately, we did drop Dane off that morning at daycare so he could play with his friends, and he ended up not feeling good in the afternoon. Luckily, it appears it was just a cold that had settled in his ear and his tubes worked like they are supposed to and drained all the crud out.

We slept in a little on Tuesday, but then headed out with Dane to some ground outside of town. The deer are smart though, and since we hunt a lot of Public land, they have learned where not to be. Sadly, we kind of ran into the same thing on Wednesday despite hiking into some pretty broken up country. Oh well, we really enjoyed the opportunity to get out and hike around.

Thursday morning Clint had to work, and I ran the "burn the bird" 5k. It was a great run and Dane had some fun with Grandma. After the run I headed over to Mom and Perry's as well to help cook and just hang out.

Clint joined us after work and we had a really nice evening with great food!

I didn't do very well taking pictures, so I guess Dane gets to be the highlight of this post! He is kind of a little ham though, so I guess it is fitting!

Here he is checking out the table before dinner...

Enjoying his food!

Yesterday morning Mom, Dane and I joined the Black Friday madness... Shocking, I know! I did find some fabulous deals and actually had some fun! Then when Clint got off work we headed back out to some state land and had a great hike. (yes, we were looking for deer... Dane was exceptionally chatty though, so the ones we spotted probably heard us coming cause they gave us the slip!)
Now Dane and I are hanging out... processing deer, cleaning the house, laundry, all the fun stuff!!!

Here are a couple pictures of him after he had found some chapstick! He was very proud!

Catching up.

Just a quick update with a few pictures...

Yesterday, I had to go to Helena to get a molar removed. It was the tooth that I had a root canal on about a year ago. That was really fun!!! :)

Today Clint's at work so Dane and I are just hanging out catching up on housework, laundry, all that exciting stuff that builds up through the week!

Clint has Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off, so I took it off as well. It's our last chance to fill a few more deer permits and we are hoping for a couple more. That way we will have plenty to make lots of sausage, burger, steaks, and all the other stuff we love.

Thursday I am planning on running the "burn the bird". It's a low key 5k race here in town. Just something to get out and keep me motivated! Then I will go over to Mom and Perry's to hang out and help cook. Clint will join us when he gets off and then we will enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner together!

Last weekend we got out and did a little hunting, but nothing too crazy. While we were out we decided to swing by Freezeout and see how the bird migration is doing. There wasn't that many migratory birds, except for Tundra Swans.

While we were out and about, I gave Dane some cheese filled crackers to snack on... The next time I turned around he was smearing the cheese all over his face...

Here are a couple pictures of the Swans. There is some ice forming on the edges of the lake.

Here's Dane messing around... Those are some awful big shoes to fill!!!

Last weekend...

We went up to the cabin on Saturday morning and spent the weekend. We had SO MUCH FUN! We got to hunt our little hearts out and just enjoy the outdoors and the cabin.

The only downfall was the wind was howling... I know shocking for Montana in the fall!

Saturday, we chased antelope for a while and then finally in the evening we were able to sneak out and Clint made a great shot on an antelope doe. The wind had died down so it was really an enjoyable hike for all of us.

That night in the cabin was a little restless. Dane isn't used to sleeping in the same room as us, and he was pretty excited about being able to see us. So... about 2 am there he is standing in the pack and play looking at us saying "hi!" "mama?" "dada?" This continued for several hours... So, that morning when we were supposed to get up at 445 I asked Clint if we could sleep in and we decided that would be a good idea.

Here are a couple pictures of the weather...

Clint and his doe. We love hunting in Augusta, the views are incredible.

On Sunday we got up and once again decided to chase some antelope. I had one more doe permit and that was the last day of the season. After a couple unsuccessful stalks, we came up with a good idea where we would sneak along a ditch. I had to leave Clint and Dane behind a little berm because it got pretty flat after that I had to bellycrawl a fair amount. Well, when I got back, this is what I found... one tired little boy sleeping away.

I had lucked out and was able to get a shot at an antelope, so we needed to get out to it and get it field dressed. I thought Dane would wake up when I picked him up, but he just opened his eyes a little, looked at me, and went back to sleep. So, I carried him out to the antelope like this... (he is a heavy little man!)

When we got out there we spread out a game bag and he continued to sleep as we field dressed the critter. Once we were done we woke him up and put him in the pack. It was a really neat hike out, there is a huge pond right over the ridge and all the ducks and geese were flying over. I'm not sure that we have ever seen that many ducks flying at one time!

Here I am with my antelope.

On Tuesday, Clint and Brock decided to go out for a quick evening hunt. Clint was bummed cause on the way out he realized he had forgotten our camera... Sometimes we think that is the trick because they got on a nice whitetail buck and Clint was able to harvest him. Clint said it was pretty cold and they were just going to check one more draw and then hike back. Sure enough, this guy was bedded down in that draw and the two of them were able to sneak up and shoot him. He is a nice 5x5 with great mass. Nice work guys!

Here are a couple pictures that Carrie took with her camera when they got to Brock's house.

Two very happy boys!

Well, that's about it... This weekend we are sticking a little closer to home... cleaning up, doing laundry, processing meat, etc. Last night we had some friends over and had an incredible time! It's always good to reconnect!

My beautiful tile shower!

While Dad and Marsha were here, my super talented Dad was generous enough to re-tile our shower. When we moved in, it was tile, but the grout was not good anymore so it was leaking all over. So, Clint smeared caulk all over it to keep it sealed until we could get it re-tiled. It wasn't the prettiest, but it got us through until Dad could come help us with this project.

First, Clint's parents did the demo while Clint and I were at work. (Thanks Bill and Sheri) That night Dad and Marsha got here and the next day my Dad dove right in with Clint as his hoddy. (Not sure if they are called hoddy's with tile work, but it sounds good.)

By the end, my Dad had showed Clint how it was done and Clint was laying tile as well! They did great and it is so beautiful! Thanks again Dad!!!!

So, here they are assessing the job.

I didn't do very good getting pictures throughout the process, but here is the finished product!

Family

We had such a great weekend. It was really busy and we had a lot of projects going on, but it was a very productive time. Dad and Clint did an incredible job on the tile in the bathroom. My next post will include pictures. I am so excited!

We also ground up meat from the critters we have harvested so far and made 50 lbs of sausage and then about 25 pounds of burger. Luckily, it was breakfast sausage, so we didn't stuff it or smoke it, which meant it didn't take quite as long. But, it was still a very long day.

Clint and his Dad hunted several mornings and couldn't quite get on a doe for Bill. Last night, Clint was able to get one, so the plan is to send it home with Bill and Sheri.

Halloween was very fun. We only went to a few houses with Dane, but he seemed to enjoy it when he figured out they were handing out candy!!! Once he got his first taste, he wanted lots of it! That is why we don't keep it in the house, none of us can stay out of it!!! lol

Dane was spiderman and did good wearing the outfit/hat but he couldn't see out of the mask, so that didn't work out so well. We did make sure we went to Grandma and Grandpa's and he got special treat bags from them! (as did Mom and Dad!!!)

Marsha and Sheri were really excited to hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters but we only had a couple. We saw more out on the side streets, but we live on a busy street and I think parents prefer the quieter ones.

Well, here are some pictures from our awesome time!

Marsha and Dane (he's eating whoppers...)

Dane and Nana

My little Spiderman!

Here is Dane enjoying some time with Gramps.

Since we had a lot of home projects we didn't do a ton of outdoor stuff. However, we did make sure we make it to the park a couple times for Dane to burn off some energy!

We all had such a great time! The only problem is that everyone leaves today, so now I am going to be sad and the house will be so quiet... But, I can't wait until the next visit!