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.

"Fly by the Seat of Our Pants" Day

Yesterday I had some work to do up in the Silver Bay area so AJ and I headed up the North Shore. On the way back we decided to hit a few of the tourist areas. We went to the Silver Bay Marina to check out all the cool boats. It was just amazing how clear the water was, especially since the Iron Ore dock was right next door. We then went to the Split Rock Lighthouse. They had a 20 minute documentary / movie on it and then a 45 minute tour of the grounds. After the tour we explored on our own. I think we spent about 3 hours there. When the lighthouse was built it was the most state of the art lighthouses around. The lense was imported from France and cost $10,000 back in 1910. There are 32 steps from the entrance at the bottom of the lighthouse to the top, where the lense is and 171 steps from the housing area to the lake. Of course, we had to take them all!

After the lighthouse we went to Gooseberry Falls. They weren't running very fast this time of the year, which was fine with me. AJ rolled up his pants and walked through the water. While doing this he learned that river rocks can be a little slippery when wet. He ended up falling in and wet from head to toe! Luckily I had packed an extra set of clothes, just in case.

A trip up the North Shore is not complete without a trip to Betty's Pies. When I was a kid we use to go to my Aunt and Uncle's house in Silver Bay and we would always stop at Betty's Pies. It is a lot different now then it was back then, but the food is always good. AJ got a shake with a piece of bumbleberry pie mixed in it. I opted for the more conservative piece of pie with the ice cream on the side.

Our "Fly by the seat of our pants" Day was great short trip to take right before school starts again. I think we both enjoyed it.

Bribery and School Clothes Shopping

School starts the day after Labor Day so AJ and I went school clothes shopping tonight. He does not like to go clothes shopping so I had to employ a little bit of bribery. I told him if we could get his shopping

done without much whining we could go dinner,a movie and some kind of reward. We were able to get almost all the shopping done except the winter jacket, boots and snowpants. It was too hard to think about snow this time of year! We went to Old Country Buffet, the new Star Wars movie and got a Clone War helmet. The helmet even talks, lucky me! I got to hear it all the way home from the mall.

The kids are looking forward to starting school and now they have pretty much everything the need. We are all ready for them to head back. Wish Tanya could be here, we are missing her an awful lot.

Tanya starts her Navy life

Tanya just called about an hour ago from Chicago. She had very limited time, but said that she had made it to the Great Lake Navy base for boot camp and would not be able to contact us for two to three weeks. It is going to be hard for all of us not to be able to see or hear from her for that long. AJ was already saying that she missed her last night and had only been gone for 6 hours. I don't know how he going to be able to stand it.

We had a going away party for her on Sunday night and had a huge turnout. It was so wonderful knowing that she has so many people who care about her and will miss her. Brian had to leave on Monday morning at 4:30 am for some schooling for work so Tanya dropped him off to pick up the work car so they could say goodbyes. I know he is going to be lost without her, especially during hunting season. On Monday the girls, Sue, Olivia, Vanessa, AJ and I all went out for lunch before she left. Then they came and picked her up at around 3:30pm. I don't think there was a dry eye in the whole house. I sure hope these next 8 weeks go really fast, just wish she was coming home to stay after boot camp.

The Navy has a really good website that tells you what will be going on each week of boot camp. It is http://navy.com/about/during/bootcamp/ This week sounds like she will be processing paperwork and learning the basics like how to make a bed, take care of there Navy clothes and get haircuts, a physical and dental exam. Looks like week 2 is when it starts getting tough! I just can't wait until the graduation ceremony, I have heard that they are wonderful. I am hoping that we will all be able to go, since there will be limited seating. All I know it that it will not come soon enough!

Huge WA Pumpkin in MN

As I mentioned in one of my first posts, we got some pumpkin seeds from our friends Shane and Nettie who live in Washington. I started them indoors and distributed them to a few friends and family. I figured that if ours didn't make it, then someone else's might and I wouldn't feel like I "wasted" the seeds. Well, ours are definately making it! There are two that are about the size of basketballs already. We planted them in the garden at the bottom of the hill and they love it there. We will have some HUGE halloween pumpkins this year.

Brian was able to get some straw this weekend, so we got all the new raspberries weeded and straw laid down on top of them. Al also got over to till up the garden again. It looks really nice, no weeds at all, sure hope we can keep it that way!

The garden next to the house is doing well. Kris came over and helped us pick green beans for canning. I was able to can 7 pints and 5 quarts. Not a whole lot, but it is just the beginning. We have had lots of broccolli and will be having cauliflower with cheese sauce for supper. AJ's corn was the first to start forming ears and boy did he rub it in! We are still getting quite a bit of raspberries from the raspberry patch. Denise and Mike are here from Texas and came and picked a gallon and a half last night. They are going to make some raspberry jam and try to fly it or ship it back to Texas.

Tanya is heading for the Navy soon

Today was a beautiful day. This morning Brian and Warren (our next door neighbor) went golfing. AJ, Tanya and I went to Menards with Uncle Larry. Tanya needed a large shed that she can lock for all her stuff. She will be leaving for the Navy on the 18th and wants to get everything packed up. It seems like just yesterday she was leaving for summer camp, now its basic training. She has 8 weeks of Basic at Great Lakes and will have her Advanced Electronic schooling there. We are glad that she will be so close, we might actually get to see her once in awhile! We are also excited for here "graduation" from Basic training. She was the first recruit to sign up for the Dale Earnhart Jr Division of the Navy. She was even brought to the NASCAR race on Memorial Day to meet him and watch the race from the pits. She missed her High School Graduation, but she said it was well worth it. She can home with a signed hat, picture and lug nuts right off the car!
The pictures above are Tanya with Dale Jr and Brad Keselowski his teammate. She got to have a picture taken by his car, but she was not allowed to touch it!

It has been really quiet tonight, the girls are all at their mom's house and AJ went to Uncle Brad's to hang out with them while they are getting the race cars ready for the fair. Sounds like they were going to try to make a Duluth Huskey's game too.

Brian just got done picking another 10 pints of raspberries tonight, that makes a running total of 55 pints so far. We have made raspberry jam, jalapeno-raspberry jelly, raspberry ice cream sauce and have froze some. Brad and Kathy juiced a couple huge batches and have started raspberry wine. It is going to take a year to make....I don't know if I can wait that long! I think I might make some muffins or pancakes tomorrow. I am still trying to think of other ways to preserve them too. I am hoping that some of the jalapenos that I planted make it, I would like to make another small batch of jelly. Because of the salmonella outbreak, there are no jalapenos to be bought. I had to raid my friend Kelly's garden to find enough for my first batch!

I am finally a Blogger!

I finally have my own blog! I will do my best to keep this as updated as possible. I will try to post pictures of my current gardens (which are pretty bad this year since I have gotten Lyme's Disease and my foot will NOT stop hurting!) and the garden at the bottom of the hill. The garden at the bottom of the hill is just that, a garden that we are getting ready for next year that is in a huge field at the bottom of a hill. Besides our front yard it is the closest place that is flat and gets a lot of sun on our property. We are hoping to build a small house down there in the next few years, so we figured we would start preparing now. We just had electric put down there and a point well and pump added. We have 2 plum trees planted (my Mother's Day presents), a apple tree and 92 raspberry plants. There is a 50' by 100' fence surrounding most of it to keep the deer and other critters out of it. We also have a few pumpkin plants planted that are from a friend in WA state, they get over 200 lbs there, but I doubt we will have the growing season for that here!

Here are a couple of pictures of our new garden spot below the hill. There is AJ and Brian getting ready to plant one of the plum trees