No Ice...... but still can go fishing! :)

The weather has been unreal for the last couple of weeks. All of our snow has melted, all of the ice is gone and the weather was in the 50's yesterday so we went out and did a little fishing on the Missouri.

 

I think that Dane caught this right after Clint told him that there wouldn't be a fish there! :) First fish of the day!

 Then Clint hooked up with a nice brown!

 Kimber was more interested in the bait!

 Sweet moment!

 Kimber will always pose for a picture! :)

More meat! :)

We have literally been processing meat with Dane and Kimber since they were born... there were many days of wearing kiddos on our backs while grinding and stuffing meat. Days past, when Clint has told me that we were doing 75+ lbs of sausage, visions of long days kid wrangling and sausage making come to mind. Trying to keep kids happy, keep the process going, maintain a sanitary sausage making process, and keep the raw meat in the kitchen all made for a little bit of mama stress! :) But, I must admit that yesterday was actually awesome! Clint had it set up well and had everything on hand that we needed. The kids are finally old enough to contribute to the process, and it went remarkably smooth. Here are some pictures from the day.

Clint was cutting the meat into chunks and Dane is putting it through the grinder for the first grind.

 Then Kimber jumped in to take a turn! Daddy's girl for sure!

 First grind is done!

 Then we mix in the spices and put it through the grinder the second time. The kids are so great that they were able to help Clint stuff the casings while I kept grinding. Made the process so much faster!

 Kimber needs a little more leverage, so she actually gets to STAND on the kitchen table! Breaking all the rules! :)

 Then it's time to cut the sausages, bag them, and vacuum seal them. We actually finished at about 3:30 and were able to take the kids on a bike ride afterwards! :) What a great day; and now we have lots of delicious sausage to show for it!

 

 

Clint's traps... you never know what you may find!

Clint set some traps out on the property. He wanted to catch a raccoon, was hoping not to get a skunk, and settled for a fairly interesting critter! :)

 

This little magpie was remarkably friendly and nice considering the circumstances. It only pecked Kimber a couple times to let her know that it didn't appreciate her rough petting!

 The kids love it when Daddy shares his knowledge of tracks and other fun stuff!

A little meat grinding fun!

These are a couple weeks old, but show the fun that can be had when you decide to grind a little burger! Fortunately, the kids love to be in on it!

 

Kimber is putting it through the grinder!

 And apparently it is lip smackin' good! :)

(Yes, her hair is beautiful!)

 Dane likes to show his muscles while he is helping fill the bags!

 In the past week or two we have had a ton of snow! Lots of fun to play in! :)

A very Merry Christmas to all!

Today started early with lots of excitement! We started with stockings and one gift, and then Grandma joined us for the rest of the gift opening!

We did capture a few pictures before the madness began!

 Our little Elsa with her Elsa doll!

 Then we had to try out the new sleds!

What a wonderful day; we were all entirely too spoiled! :) The only thing we missed was the rest of our family who could not be here with us!

Christmas Party and Programs

We actually went and got a real tree this year! We didn't venture into the forest because we got a bunch of snow, but it was still a fun adventure! :)

 The St. Thomas Christmas program was a hit, as usual! Here is Kimber during the counting song!

 Kimber and Grandma!

 Dane's excellent Christmas Program

The kids visiting with Santa!

When I asked Dane if he wanted to make a handprint wreath, he got very excited and made a beautiful handprint reef! :)

Another great weekend

Two weeks ago I was able to get an extra day off and Clint and I headed up North for an outstanding day in the Mountains. I had a special permit for a buck up there, but you have to wait until late in the season when the deer come out of the wilderness. However, we got up there, hiked back into the Mountains and saw no deer...  it was crazy! We did get into some elk and almost connected, but they were a little too far and then as we crept closer some shifting wind ruined it for us! However, we had an amazing time and then I was able to use my permit to harvest a doe with the kids and Clint along. It was a perfect, low stress hunt with a successful harvest at the end... doesn't get much better than that!

 Then the next day, Mom and I took the kids to a dinosaur event. They had an incredible time! They got to dig for bones...

 and ride lots of dinosaurs!

It was a lot of fun!