Brianna's First Deer!!!

Brianna got her first deer tonight, just before dark. She has been hunting on and off for a few years, but has never really seen anything to shoot at until tonight. We are so excited for her!

Brian's Big Buck!

Well, last Saturday was the start of deer hunting and Brian and AJ were lucky enough to get a nice nine pointer. They went out early and were able to shoot it about an hour after daybreak. AJ could barely lift its head up for the pictured! He was soooo excited. It was the first deer that Brian shot with AJ in the stand and the biggest one he had ever gotten. He decided to have it mounted because AJ was with him and he is not sure if he will ever get another one that big. Brianna has been a real trooper. She went out the first day and it was cold and rainy. Her stand was wide open and didn't have the plush accomodations that AJ and Brian's did. She hasn't seen one that she can shoot yet. I really hope she will be able to get one this weekend.

Halloween - Pumpkin Seeds to Jack-O-Lantern

Well, those huge seeds turned into quite the Jack-O-Lantern. There would have been two, but when Brian was cutting the top on the second one the knife slipped and he ended up coming out of the ER with 8 stitches. We chalked it up to bad karma and let the pumpkin live. We did keep a lot of the seeds for next year and AJ gave them out to the kids in his class. There will be a lot of LARGE pumpkins in Cromwell next year!



AJ decided to be Darth Vader for Halloween. He had the light saber and some kind of device that made his breathing sound just like Darth Vader. We only went to a few houses because he wanted to get done quick and go to the shack with Uncle Larry. We hit Auntie Lorie's, Jacob and Tonya's, Uncle Brad's, Pelletier's, Gramma Diane's, Auntie Mary's and Gloria Clark's. He just as much candy as it he went to town. We also got some visiting in too!

Tanya's Graduation from Bootcamp!

Last weekend we went to Great Lakes, IL for Tanya's graduation from bootcamp. The ceremony they had was great and it was sooooooooo nice to see Tanya again. Especially in her Navy uniform. Our only contact with her through boot camp was a few letters and a couple phone calls. She was able to get the weekend off and spent time with us. We went to Chicago and met up with Dave Hongisto and went to the top of the Sear's Building.

Boot camp wasn't as hard as Tanya expected. She did a lot of work and studying. When we dropped her off at the base we were able to drive around and see the whole thing. It was really beautiful and set up just like a college campus. We dropped her off at her dorm so that she could get instructions on what was going to happen in the next few weeks. She has taken a few general classes but the big stuff isn't going to start until December or so. She called us today and she was on the train with a few friends to spend some time in the Windy City. It is nice to know she has someone to hang around with and isn't too bored. After school starts I doubt they will have any down time! It is really nice knowing that we can talk to her almost anytime and that we can go and visit with her on the weekends if we want. We are hoping to be able to have Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas with her.

Birthdays, Dogs and Skunks....

....do not mix! Last Saturday was AJ's Birthday and he says that it was his best one ever. In the morning he got a call from Tanya, in the early afternoon he had a birthday party with 12 of his friends and in the evening he had a family party.

The kid party went very well for the most part. We were a little bit late getting everyone to the party because I got stuck behind a "wide load" crew that were transporting a couple of wind turbines for about 20 miles down Hwy 210. Once we got everyone all picked up there was lunch, cake, ice cream and present opening. The kids then went out to play. The girls and I decided to go for a walk in the woods and the boys decided to join in too. Jack and Buddy (our Golden Retreiver and Sheltie) followed close behind. Jack went out exploring and started to bark up a storm. Normally this is what he does when he is playing with Buddy, so I really didn't think twice about it, I just called for him and we went on our way. Not two seconds we all started to smell "the smell"......the skunk smell. It would come and go as we walked (ran) through the woods. I finally figured out that Jack's barks were not directed at Buddy, but at a skunk and it was him that smelled. I quickly got the kids into the house and we finished the birthday party inside. I do think that this will be a birthday party few will forget! One poor boy, who was very fond of Jack, had pet him and Jack had rubbed up against him quite a bit. We had to have him change into to some of AJ's clothes so he wouldn't smell so bad.

After the kids left we had an adult party with family and friends. Brian and I had led AJ to believe he was getting a bow for his birthday. When he opened his Wii he was very pleasantly surprised. It is has birthday / Christmas present and more of a family gift, but he does enjoy it a lot (too much for me!). He used his birthday money to buy a Star Wars game for it.

Brian & AJ's trip to Arizona

AJ and Brian took a trip to Arizona in September to visit Auntie Gloria and Uncle Ronnie. They had a blast and really enjoyed their time with Auntie and Uncle. It was a surprise for both of them. Uncle Ronnie thought that Brian was coming the middle of October and had no clue AJ was even coming. Auntie Gloria knew Brian was coming, but had no clue about AJ. Uncle thought he was crazy hearing AJ's voice outside, until AJ walked in the door. Uncle taught AJ how to drive the golf cart and Auntie let him borrow her bicycle. They headed to Tortilla Flats for some chilli and huge hamburgers. They ate good all week long. The got Auntie's good food and bake goods - fresh homemade bread, apple dumpling and cinnamon rolls. They were in 7th Heaven!

Uncle had picked up some bicycle wheels to build a trailer for AJ's four wheeler and the two of them got it all done. They ended up flying it back home on the airplane. AJ has it painted black and silver and has already hooked it up to the big four wheeler and used it to haul some stuff for me.

I guess there were some sad good byes. AJ cried when he had to leave because he knows it will probably be quite awhile before we will be able to go back and see them. We do miss them!

Garden Giants

OK, OK, I know it has been awhile. Brian and AJ went to Arizona last week with my camera so I couldn't get to my pictures! Here are the pictures of our Giant Pumpkins and Mammoth Sunflowers. I think we are seriously going to have to cut the Sunflowers down with an ax!

We have had a lot of things going on that I will blog about later. AJ's first day of 2nd grade, Kris' wedding (yes, hell has frozen over! Poor Mary) and Brian and AJ's trip to Arizona to visit Aunty Gloria and Uncle Ronnie.

The garden is coming to the end of the season. Still waiting for the tomatoes to finish ripening and the carrots, beets, potatoes and cabbage still need to be picked. Of course, the sunflowers and Pumpkins need to finish up too. AJ has promised his friend Travis one of the big pumpkins. I think we might has a pumpkin carving party at Halloween time. Friday I made salsa and jalapeno-raspberry jelly. I am going to try canning apple pie filling this week and do some more salsa. The kids love it with their eggs. Sure wish Tanya was around, it is her favorite.

Tiff turned 21 on the 16th. She bought beer at the liquor store Saturday and we really bummed they didn't card her. I would have expected her to get carded until she was 40. I still can't believe she is 21.