A Successful Hunt

This weekend Derek took Braylen out to hunt turkeys. I like to tell him he has the strangest hobby. Getting up early and going out into the cold--for fun? I choose to sleep in and stay warm. :) That being said, I really am happy they enjoy doing this together. Next time it will be Kaleb's turn.

As so often happens during a hunt, there's no activity for hours. Suddenly a flurry of activity results in 6 turkeys! Braylen even got one this time--hooray! 2 for Derek, 2 for Grandpa, 1 for Braylen, and 1 for Uncle Brandon. Success. :)

Bundled-up Braylen

Derek's on the move...

Braylen propped his camera on the tailgate and set this picture up himself.

Braylen displays his turkey's fan

Derek's turkeys

Back at home, I made sure to get all the turkeys in the picture--especially the big ones in the back row. hee hee!

Now we have lots of turkey meat in the freezer, with plans to smoke it with some friends soon. They even agreed to smoke it for us--all we have to do is show up! :) We saved the biggest turkey to cook with some other friends--either in their fryer or prepared in a (new) metal trash can. The longer I live here, the more "country" I feel...

More highlights from last week...

Strep throat already? Yep, so Aaron stayed home from school on Friday and we made cookies.

Kaleb and Aaron watched football while the hunters were hunting.
I love how Aaron's jersey number is half of Kaleb's. :)

The famous mowing trailer. I like to say they're not mowing grass anymore. They're mowing leaves!

This morning on our way to school, Aaron spotted a front porch decorated for Halloween. He said, "Look at the snowman and the squirrel!" I looked and saw two huge inflated figures on a porch: a ghost and a bat. We laughed the whole way to school at Aaron's "snowman and squirrel."  :)

Happy Halloween!!!

Pretty Autumn

We are blessed with such a pretty autumn this year. Yesterday I tagged along with Derek and Braylen to help them mow yards, and I'm glad I brought my camera with me. Such pretty colors!

Just a few more weeks of mowing before we're done for the season. Derek made the job easier by adding side rails to a little trailer of ours, allowing him to easily transport lawn mowers and gas cans. It's much easier than lifting the mowers onto a hitch mounted luggage rack. When we came home, Kaleb and Braylen mowed our yard in no time at all. I'm so spoiled. I wonder if they will pull my garden out too?

On a much different note, we're faced with a health issue with one of our kids right now. It doesn't appear to be anything too serious, but this morning I made a doctor appointment for him. He'll be seen next week, and I feel better knowing we're getting this checked out. Still, I struggle with fear and worry.

Isaiah 41:10

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Aren't these fall colors splendid?! I think so! It's hard to believe this is the last week of October. Pretty soon we'll be trick-or-treating. Aaron knows what he wants to be, but Kaleb and Braylen are still deciding. Good thing I'm a crafty person and can throw a costume together at the last minute. Ha ha ha!!! I should have said, "Thank goodness for the last minute, or I'd never get anything done!" ~borrowed from a sign I saw at a craft fair this weekend. 

A Fall Campout

Last week we held a family meeting. The topic: do we want to commit to a year of Cub Scouts for Kaleb and Aaron, and Boy Scouts for Braylen? Or, are we done with Scouting? There was lots of discussion. In the end, all three boys voted for another year of Scouts. For Aaron, this is his first year as a Scout, but he's been an "honorary scout" ever since his brothers joined years ago. How could we bring him to 5 years of meetings and then say "no" when it's finally his turn? Plus, Tiger Cubs are the cutest group of Scouts. :)

With our decision made, we signed Kaleb and Braylen up for Webelos Woods. This is a camp out where the Boy Scouts do their best to draw the Webelos (4th and 5th grade Cub Scouts) into joining their troop when the time for advancement comes. Kaleb is still a year and a half away from advancing to Boy Scouts, but he said he'd like to attend this camp out. Braylen's troop planned to attend, so we thought this would be a fun way for Braylen and Kaleb to camp "together" as Cub Scout and Boy Scout.

While the boys were camping, Derek and I decided to join them...but not fully. We brought the camper and camped in a different area of the park. I'm not a Boy Scout or a Cub Scout, so why should I stay in a tent? :) Derek drove Braylen and Kaleb to their campsite while Aaron and I stayed at home to pack the camper. We took our time and the three of us made it to the park just before lunch. We didn't do anything with the scouts, but we did check in with them in the afternoon. Aaron especially wanted to see how Kaleb was doing. Of course he was doing fine and having lots of fun. We decided to have a little fun of our own.

Aaron and Daddy played lots of Trac Ball

Derek shows Aaron our hamburgers...yum!

a table set for 3

Aaron's favorite part of camping is the campfire.

Ginger Girl is 2 and 1/2 years old now. See the gray stubble beneath her chin? She and I can go gray together.

We rode our bikes, played frisbee, read books, worked a puzzle, and roasted marshmallows. It was a nice change to have just one child! At bedtime, we brought Kaleb to the camper to sleep. There wasn't anyone else from his den at the camp out, which meant he would have to sleep in a tent with some of the older boys. It worked out great for him to join us, as Aaron was very happy to have his big brother back. :) In the morning, we joined the group of Scouts for chapel. Our fall camp out turned out to be really fun! We'll have to do it again next fall.

Aaron attended his first den meeting in uniform this week. He's actually using Braylen's old uniform, and I decided not to remove the patches. Most of them are sewn on a pocket and they were real tricky to put on. Why take them off? (Right, Grandma?) Aaron has to be the most decked out Tiger Cub! :) He's still hard to take a picture of, since he loves to do silly poses. I figured, why try hard for a posed picture? This is a true representation of our goofy little Aaron!

Aaron also finished his half-marathon, but it was a cold morning when he did so! I held one end of his finish line and loved watching him run for all he was worth. :) I'm proud of his hard work, especially since he had to do most of his running in the early morning.

I really do love the fall and all the fun it brings!

Running Club

I sure have had a productive Monday, and I never left the house! There are dozens of things that get left undone every week, and today was the day to tackle them. In no time my morning turned into the afternoon, and I figured it was time to take a break. :)

Kaleb and Aaron surprised me this fall by signing up for our school's marathon club. This is something Braylen enjoyed in elementary school, while Kaleb enjoyed sleeping in. In fact, this morning Kaleb said at breakfast, "This is not good for me to get up this early." Amen!

But two mornings and one afternoon per week, Kaleb and Aaron run...and run...and run. They carry a small card with them when they run, keeping track of each lap. When their first cards were completed, they each earned a necklace. It looks like a dog tag chain with plastic feet tags. Each completed card earns them one more foot. Last Monday Kaleb completed his half-marathon: 13.1 miles! And he ran most of those miles in the morning, since the afternoon for running club clashes with our piano lessons. I'm so proud of him!

Kaleb tried to jump over the finish line!

Both boys wear pedometers every day, and they average 13,000 steps each day. On running days, they easily reach 15,000 steps. Thanks to a program through the university, they'll be keeping track of their steps all month. Kaleb and Aaron love their pedometers. Rather than stress over "one more thing" to keep track of, I have put this responsibility on their shoulders. Library books, planners, lunches, reading charts, homework, water bottles, snacks, book orders, and the recorder? I help with those things. :) So far both boys are doing a great job with their pedometers and charts.

On Friday we went to our last home football game of the season. At last week's game we needed an umbrella, and then the game was called off when the tornado sirens sounded. It made for an exciting time for the boys! :) This past Friday we had beautiful weather, and some friends joined us for the game. Yay! They even treated my boys to some popcorn. :) Derek sat with us for a few minutes, which was a treat for me! Most of the time we don't see him at all during the game. Braylen sits in the middle school section, but both Derek and I keep our eyes on him. It's been a lot of fun for our family. I will miss these Friday night games.

Waiting for the kick-off

This weekend we went camping, but that is for another post. School's almost out and my quiet time is quickly coming to an end.