Lots Going On

 With the falling temps, Ginger graduates to "house dog" in the evenings. The boys love it, and I'm pretty sure she does too. :)

These past 2 weeks have been busy. Of course there was the big wedding in Colorado. That same week we grieved with some friends at her father's funeral. Making a meal for them was the least we could do. Deer season began for Derek, and that means extra people at our house. Not to mention all the activity. Thanksgiving preparations came next, and Kaleb's birthday celebration is this weekend. His actual birthday and party with his friends arrives on Tuesday. And of course...Christmas is coming. I'm already looking forward to January. :)

Braylen's wish came true, and he tagged along on one of Derek's deer hunts. During this particular hunt, Grandpa got his deer. Can you tell by the way Braylen's dressed that our mild fall weather is long gone?

 The guys save money by doing their own processing in our garage, but they sure do a lot of work. Kaleb joined in one evening as their "meat tenderizer." He learned what sinew is and had fun saying that word over and over. Silly Kaleb! This was Braylen's first year to do some cutting--under strict supervision of course! He did a good job and no band-aids were needed.

 Aaron's favorite thing was helping Derek put the jerky meat in the dehydrator. I love how Derek involves all three of our boys in his hobby. Today I gave Aaron the job of removing all the jerky from the dehydrator to place in plastic bags. It kept him busy for a long time and he did plenty of snacking along the way. :)

 While Aaron stayed busy with the jerky, Braylen and Kaleb pulled out Monopoly. It kept them busy for hours, and I'm amazed at how well they got along. Raking leaves and cleaning up after Ginger in the yard gave them some outside time, and that's always a good thing. Sometimes when there's a day off from school everyone fights and nobody really enjoys the day. Today, thankfully, was not one of those days. I want to remember that. They even practiced their piano without being told, and at one point Braylen's playing actually sounded soothing and peaceful. It feels like one of those commercials: digital piano, $1100/26 months of piano lessons, $1200/finally hearing your son play something soothing on the piano, PRICELESS!!!

 So now, on the eve of Thanksgiving, I realize I have much to be thankful for. Including how well my pies turned out! :)