Ice Fishing on Holter

Clint, Brock, Dane and I headed out to Holter Res. today for a little ice fishing!  The weather forecast was calling for it to be in the 20's with no wind!  Sounded like it was going to be a great day!  Well, it was a great day, but the wind was blowing about 10-15 mph on and off throughout the morning.  When I looked at the temperature it said 7 degrees (without the wind chill) so it was pretty darn cold.  We did take the blind and the new heater I got for Christmas so that made it do-able.  However, unless all of us were in the blind, Dane didn't want to be in there cause he was afraid he would be missing out!  He is such a little trooper!

Here is Dane all bundled up...  almost like that kid in the Christmas Story!  I don't think I could have gotten many more layers on that boy!  But, I'm happy to say that he stayed warm and dry (all except his face, when he would drool it would freeze...)

Here are all the boys getting the tip-ups going.  Brock was so good, helping Clint and taking Dane for walks!  He is a lot of fun to have along!

Brock and Dane hanging out in the blind

Brock and his trout!  They almost lost this one right at the ice, but Clint (and his cat-like reflexes) was able to grab it with his hand and pull it up.  Brrrrrrr.  My hubby is such a stud, my hands were frozen just watching him!!!! 

Clint and one of the other trout...  All together we made it away with 3 of these trout.  Their meat is a beautiful pink color so they are pretty good eating...  either smoked or just cooked.

Here is Dane in the sled when we were all done.  He wanted me to carry him and I had my hands full so I put him in the sled with the gear.  Sure enough he laid down and then got mad when we got to the truck and I wanted him to get out!!! 

As you can see we had a really good time!  Tomorrow Clint goes back to work and I go on call so we wont be able to go back out for a little while.  Since I'm on call throughout the week/weekend we are going to take advantage and make sausage next weekend.  One of those projects that we are always so glad when it is done!!!  We hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year's!!!

What a great Christmas!

We hope everyone had an incredible Christmas!  We had a really nice day and I thought I'd share a few pictures with everyone! 

Clint had to work, but came home for his lunch break at about 10:00am.  We took that opportunity to open presents and Dane had a great time. 

Here he is with a cool CAT dump truck that he got from Nana and Grandpa!  He really enjoyed putting things in it and pushing it around!

Dane was SO EXCITED when he opened this ice fishing pole...  He ran around with it until we finally took it away from him.  It will be interesting to see how he does with it when we actually are fishing!  I think the hardest part will be getting him to leave it alone long enough to catch a fish...  (and it may take some time for him to figure out reeling!)

Another hit was the guitar that his cousins, Wyatt and Porter sent him.  He was so cute dancing around the living room!!!

Once Clint got off work we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner and some more fun.  Here is Dane hanging out with Grandpa!

Getting ready for a Christmas toast!

Dane helping Grandma open her present!!!  (he actually helped open most of the presents!)

As you can see we all had a great day.  It's too bad some of our other family is so far away, but we thought about all of you during the day.  Clint has the day off tomorrow, so we are going to head out and do some ice-fishing.  It should be fun!

By the way, I hope the video below shows up for everyone...  It shows up on our computer, but when I tried it on a different one, it was too dark.  I'm not sure why...

Our little waterfowl hunter!

We cut Danes' hair again!!!

Well after holding him while he is screaming like a banshee and crying like we were skinning him alive... Danes' hair is finally cut! Yes, there are a few long hairs here and there, but overall I think it looks so much better! Now he looks like his papa!!!

goldeneyes galore

A great day with two great aspiring duck hunters! Brock and Wyatt

A good bunch of goldeneyes, a good wife, and a good dog. A man can't ask for anything better than that.

Tanya with her goldeneye drake, Bones wont look at the camera because he is looking for the next duck!

Bones and his hard earned duck

Bones on the way back in

Well, you have to give a nod to duck hunters in Montana. Its cold, the water is cold, the dog is cold the, the hunters are cold, and for what? all for a pile of goldeneyes, and the hope that one more will cup its wings and grace us with its presence. Bones swimming through the freezing water. Always waiting for the next bird. So what happens when the duck comes in....Bang....Bang...Bang...and nothing. You missed, Bones goes and gets one of the birds from the pile and reminds you of your JOB.....He says you shoot (and hit them).........and I go get them......git it together back there. I cant say I am a dog trainer, and I give Bones so much credit for picking up on the game. The dog gives one hundred percent and does not stop looking for ducks until all the decoys are picked up and you are headed home. Tanya and I are fortunate to have a dog with such natural talent. Over my last three days off, I had great company in the duck blind, Tanya joined me once, Wyatt, Brock, and Brad (Wyatt's father), and bones were with me as well. We all had a great time. My good friend Karl wrote a post about the future of hunting and the importance of the next generation of hunters. We all need to do our part and expose our youth to nature and the outdoors, as they are the future protectors of habitat, our sport, and the environment.

On another note we hope you all find yourself with friends and family, enjoying the holidays in the days to come. our best wishes to you all for the New Year.

Baking cookies!

Yesterday Dane and I baked/made numerous different goodies to put on our Christmas plates. We like to give them to our friends, neighbors, etc.

Since it's so cold and nasty, it's perfect weather to be stuck inside cooking! Dane really enjoyed himself also... He doesn't usually get cookies/cake/candy at home cause if we have it around the house we will all eat it! I thought he would go crazy (like he did at Halloween, lol), but surprisingly he had a good time and sampled but neither of us were suffering from a sugar coma at the end of the day!

Anyway, here are some pictures!

I frosted these cookies while Dane was sleeping so when he got up from his nap he was so excited to get one that was all colorful and fun!

Then I gave him one with plain frosting, and I gave him a little bowl of sprinkles and let him go to town!!! (First he tried to lick the frosting off as you can see by the ring around his mouth)

Number two...

Well, we've got another bun in the oven...

It's bakin' at about 98.6 and should be done around June 23rd!!!

We thought we would share the news with everyone now that we are past the 3 month mark. We had an ultrasound last week and everything looks good. I can't believe that we have decided to do this all again! But we hear that 2 is the magical number and Dane is so much fun we decided that it would be awesome to add one more to the family!

I hope to enjoy this pregnancy a little more (I hear that there are people who LOVE being pregnant...so far I don't fall in that crowd!) But at least this time I know how amazing it is to have a little one, and the fact that all the (wonderful?) changes to my body are temporary and things will return to normal eventually!

Does everyone remember "the Forklift"? Well, that's Dane... We don't have any more good stories to derive a nickname for this little one yet, so for now "the bean" will have to suffice!

Take care everyone and have a wonderful weekend!

I think we are going to enjoy the weather from inside, it's currently -25 with the wind chill. Baking Christmas cookies sounds like a good idea!!!

Ducks!

Today we went about 5 minutes from the house (no, I'm not exaggerating) and

had a great morning on the River. We shot 6 ducks and Bones did awesome! I had dropped Dane off at daycare before we went, and I was glad cause it was pretty cold. We didn't take too many pictures cause it was so cold I didn't want to take off my gloves to get out the camera. Then when we were done I was so cold I just wanted to pick up the decoys (okay Clint picked them up, I just put them in the bag) and get to the car and warm up... (yes, I'm kind of a wuss sometimes) I told Clint that he could fill my stocking with hand and toe warmers cause I don't have any right now, and those save me when we are out there!!!

Here are a couple pictures that I snapped while were out.

This is Bones working his magic! He really was a stud out there!

Clint and one of the goldeneyes. The final tally was 2 greenheads, 3 goldeneyes, and 1 bufflehead. Pretty good for such a short hunt.

The snow is here!!!

Well, I guess it's about time for the snow to hit! This morning we woke up to an inch or two and I think we are around 4 or 5 inches now... with no end in sight. It's pretty cold and windy too, makes me want to curl up and drink hot cocoa! Here is a picture I took of the River. The ice is all built up and floating down it... Looks pretty cold to me!

Clint's agency is really great and throws a Christmas party for the families every year. During the day one of the Officers dresses up like Santa and hands out gifts that they bought for all the kids. Then they get them burgers, little pies, and juice for lunch. Tonight is the adults party, so it's a good time for all! I just think it's neat that they do all that every year.

Dane decided at the last minute that sitting on Santa's lap may not be such a good idea, so here is Santa handing him his gift. (Clint was working and just stopped by, so I cropped them out with his uniform... sorry)

Here is Dane holding on to his goodies!Oh my gosh... His very own set of binoculars! Now he can quit putting finger prints and drool all over ours!!! :)

Besides that, things are great. Clint had his days off during the week while I was working so he went out and did some waterfowl hunting. One day he went with a friend and the other day he went solo. Bones did a great job and had a wonderful time, although he did get cold water tail...