Our first snow!

As I said on the last post...  things have gotten cold around here!  With our deer from last weekend, the freezer is finally looking good, so this was a good weekend to catch up around here. 

Yesterday, I was working around the house with Kimber on my back.  Dane found this sack (shown below) and put it on his back.  Then he came to me and said "I want to wear my baby" and hands me his puppy. It didn't last very long, but it was super cute! 

 Although it looks sunny and nice outside, I think the high yesterday was about 5 degrees. 

 Here is one picture I meant to put on the last post, but it was being temperamental!

A great weekend!!!

Last weekend we had such a wonderful time enjoying the Montana outdoors.  The weather was still pretty temperate so our goal was to get a couple more deer to top off the freezer before the really cold weather hits.  Boy are we glad that our weekend was so successful because now it's about 1 degree outside with the high being around -10 tomorrow.   Woo hoo!!!!  We will be ice fishing before we know it!

Here is Dane playing in the leaves

The next day we headed out to see if we couldn't find an antelope for my last permit.  Well, they have been very well educated and now hang out in the middle of the flattest, biggest field they can find.  So, after blowing 2 stalks I had chased them all off huntable land and decided to go look for some deer. 
After glassing some State land, Clint spotted a whitetail and made a great shot, harvesting a beautiful little buck.  The kids and I had stayed in the truck so he came back and got us.  Here we are headed out to help him pack his deer back to the truck!  One kiddo on my front...  one kiddo on my back!

Here is Dane and his Daddy with the beautiful whitetail that he harvested.

Then the next morning Grandma took Kimber for us, and we went out to Freezeout Lake because the snow geese were in town.  There was supposed to be 30,000 birds which is awesome because then it pushes them out of the protected area into the huntable area.  Well, we showed up and there definitely wasn't 30,000 birds, so they all hung out where we couldn't shoot them.  Dane had a good time helping with the decoys and then just playing!

When we got home, the boys laid down for a nap, and I decided to call one of the landowners that lets us hunt.  He said, "come on out" and so I woke up Clint and we got ready to go deer hunting.  Both kids got to come along, and once again we had a wonderful, successful evening.  I was able to harvest a doe and then the landowner allowed me to shoot a buck as well.  I don't have any pictures of the buck, but here is Dane with my doe!

Lastly, here are some pictures of the snow geese hanging out where they can't get hunted!  They are truly beautiful though!

Kids, the cabin, and deer!

So, you look at the title and what more could we ask for???  Okay, sleep would have been kind of nice, but that just didn't seem to be in the cards for us over the weekend.  But, we still had a wonderful time! 

Friday we got up super early and headed to the cabin.  We made it there just as it was getting light and unloaded our gear.  Then we headed out to see if we couldn't find some mule deer does.  We are the epitome of meat hunters this year...  We are trying to get the freezer filled up, cause sometimes hunting with two kids really can be challenging.  But, the luck on our side this weekend and we were able to harvest some beautiful, big mule deer does. 

This is one of the little ponds that connects to Willow Creek Reservoir.

 Miss Kimber hanging out while we were taking care of one of the deer. 

 Dane and his daddy with one of the does.

 The whole family with Clint's deer.

 Clint is holding up a snake skin that we found.  That is one big snake...  I guess I didnt' really think of rattlers being in that area, so I'm hoping it was a big bull snake!!!  :)

Once again, can you see how awesome my hubby is.  Yes, he has Kimber in the sling, and Dane in the Kelty.  It was my turn to shoot so he was on kid duty!  Yes, I am a lucky gal!

As everyone can see it was super fun.  Friday was a great day, but it was pretty long and by the end we were all beat.  Unfortunately, Kimber wasn't super happy about the sleeping arrangements and woke us up about every hour, and it wasn't just to eat.  It was the crying, unhappy baby.  But, we made it through and even got to sleep in a little on Saturday.  Dane did get to "camp out".  I took his little tent and set it up in the cabin.  Then I added a sleeping pad and a sleeping bag and he had quite the set-up.  He thought he was pretty cool!!!

Now we are back to the normal weekly schedule with work and such.  Poor little Dane has an ear infection so he was sick today, but hopefully he is on the mend.  Let's keep our fingers crossed that this doesn't become a recurring thing again. 



Thank you Grammy!

Grammy made this super cute dress for Kimber!  She is such a talented seamstress!!!

Catching up

I try to update the blog at least once a week.  Well, I'm sorry it's been too long since my last post.  I will do my best to catch everyone up on what we have been up to.

Two weeks ago, Clint and Brock headed up to the Rocky Mountain Front for the youth hunt.  In Montana, they open rifle season a couple days early for kids.  They had a wonderful time and saw a fair amount of deer.  Brock didn't shoot anything, but it sounds like they really had fun together.  Here are a couple pictures from their trip!

 The following week (last Tuesday) Bill and Sheri arrived from Oregon to spend a week with us.  You will see in the following pictures that we had a really great time doing all kinds of things.

Sheri (Nana) and Dane made "jiggly fingers" one day.  Here they are proudly displaying their work!

Last Thursday Bill, Clint, and I all headed out to Cascade to see if we could fill some doe permits.  Luck was with us and we were all able to harvest.  Below is a picture of Clint and his Dad with one of the beautiful does.  Cascade is one of my favorite places...  it is so beautiful and unique.  Friday, Clint and I took Dane out there again.  We were on deer (with Dane) at first light, but they were the wrong gender.  So, we ended up hiking around but not harvesting anything.  Dane had an incredible time though so we considered it a total success.

 Nana and Kimber

 One evening after cutting meat, we headed to the park to play and feed the birds.

 Story time...  Dane was trying out Grandpa's glasses!

 Carving Pumpkins

 Story time...  Yes, Cabelas fishing magazine is known as the "fish book" and is a bedtime favorite around here!

 My Stepmom always (wisely) told me...  "never say never"  She was right...  I said my son would never be a hunter for Halloween.  Well, he rejected Superman and the Elephant costumes.  So, at the last minute we put him in some camo and headed out for some trick or treating.

 I bought some face paint to compliment the camo...  Dane rejected that as well.  (yes, it was a classic toddler evening)  But, Kimber and Nana decided to put a little on before we headed out! 

As you can see it was so much fun!  The kids had a great time, as did the adults!

Dane reading to Kimber

Dane likes to read to Kimber...  I was able to get a little of it on video the other day!

A wonderful weekend!

Our good friend Karl arrived last Friday to join us on our annual opening day pheasant hunt.  He makes the trip each fall and we all really look forward to it!  This year was no different and it turned out to be a great weekend.  The weather was perfect...  The kids were happy to be along...  and we even found a few birds.  Karl is an outstanding shot and luck was with him as far as the birds flushing where he could shoot at them. 

Here are a few pictures of the fun!!!

Dane with "his" bird!

Sleeping cutie!

Karl, Grits, and their birds!

Dane and "Grandpa" Karl as he was affectionately named by Dane!

The "traveling circus" (sometimes I think this describes our family perfectly!!!)

Then Sunday we went out to chase antelope...  I had an either sex permit and a doe permit, and Clint had a doe permit.  It was a beautiful day and there were actually a fair amount of antelope.  Unfortunately, I was acting like a total rookie and between leaving my safety on, and the wind I wasn't able to seal the deal on any critters.  Poor Clint made a beautiful stalk on a herd and then some guy came and parked on a neighboring ridge.  Antelope are notoriously skittish and quickly took off when they saw the vehicle.  Clint was moments away from being able to make a shot, so he was understandably cranky about the deal.  Dane had a great time and caught numerous grasshoppers (which he took with him each time we got back in the truck).  I think Clint probably is still finding them! 
Monday we woke up to rain so we decided to get some things done around the house.  Karl was going to come hunting with us, but decided to head back to Washington since the weather was so bad.  Then mid-morning the rain cleared off and the sun peeked through.  So, we took advantage and headed out to see what we could find.  Well, I lucked out and we spotted a buck bedded down that we could put a stalk on.  With some encouragement from Clint (I was feeling a little less than confident after Sunday) I belly crawled out to the edge and was able to get a good shot on a beautiful, mature buck.  He was obviously an old warrior with scars all over his neck and face.  One of his cutters (a part of their horn) was completely broken off.  What an amazing buck with great character. 

Clint was wearing Kimber throughout the whole hunt!!!  Hunter orange, camo, a baby sling, and a pink blanket!  What an incredible hubby I have!

He had the neatest ivory tips on his horns.

Clint offered numerous times, but since he had Kimber I went ahead and packed out the buck.

Then we found a few does bedded down.  Clint was able to make a great stalk and harvested this beautiful doe. 



Montana Remodel

When you drive I-15 from Great Falls to Helena you pass the beautiful town of Ulm.  The hunting around this town is pretty good and the Missouri River runs right through the middle.  The people are all very nice and generous.  All in all, a nice town, except for one little thing...  Here is an example of classic Ulm architecture.

 

In case it's not clear, there are two trailers that they have hooked together lengthwise.  Now, they are putting up a stick frame around the whole thing.  Pure genius!!!!

Last weekend, we had another nice weekend.  On Saturday we had our friends Mike and Aimee over with their 3 kids.  We had a great time and the weather was perfect so we actually decided to bar-b-que. 

Then Sunday morning we got up and headed to Holter for some fishing.  Dane was stoked!  As always he had a wonderful time and was just busy the whole time.  Kimber was pretty good, but is getting a little independent.  She loves to stand (with us supporting her, of course).  She wants to see everything and if she can pick it up, she shoves it in her mouth.  Since getting done with the tummy issues, she is pretty happy and it seems like every time you make eye contact with her she smiles, giggles and coos. 

I do look forward to when I can wear her on my back though.  She is pretty good in the sling, but sometimes wants a little more freedom of movement for her arms and legs.  Here she is sleeping in the sling... I took this picture looking down at her.  What a princess!!!

 What a great day on the water!!! After trying a few different things, Clint figured out what was catching fish and we ended up landing about 11 trout.  Most of them were nice fish, including this one that Clint landed!

Kimber slept for a couple hours out there... I made her this little bed in the bow of the boat. It was pretty nice cause I got to fish a little more and just relax. If you are having trouble finding her little face, look behind the rope... She was really tucked in there! It kept her out of the sun and wind and she seemed content.

and then the princess awoke! It became a little tough then, cause it was about 2pm and it was hard to keep her out of the sun.  She wanted to see out of the sling, but we can't put sunscreen on her yet, so I had to be pretty careful not to let her get in the sun.  She ended up fussing and being cranky at me for a bit.  At that point we decided to head in and were back in the truck about 3.  Although it was a little chaotic at times, we had a really good time and were glad that we went.

Me and the princess...

 This weekend our good friend Karl is coming to chase birds with us.  Pheasant season opens up so we are going to head out and see what we can find.  Antelope also opens this weekend and I got a pretty good buck permit.  So, if the bird hunting isn't that great we may head out to chase antelope.  We also have a few doe antelope permits...  so that should keep us busy. 

No...  in case you are wondering we don't ever slow down.  We are both still working full time, although my work has been totally awesome and lets me do an alternate schedule.  I work 3 - 9 hour days in the office and then put in my other 13 hours at home.  This enables us the flexibility that our family needs when Clint is working different shifts.  In fact he just switched to afternoons, so we will really miss him in the evenings.  I also am able to keep Kimber home with me the other two days of the week, so she only does daycare 3 days a week.  It is really great.  Clint's work is busy as always, but he is doing well and keeps such a positive attitude...  I am very proud of him! 

Well, that's it for now, it's time to go to bed.  That is the one thing that I seem to have given up lately...  Sleep.  Yes, I do miss it sometimes, but thank goodness for strong coffee in the morning!