Hunting....

So this year I won't be doing much hunting. I am sad about that. We put in for antelope tags and didn't draw this year. I guess that this will have to be my "shot":

If I would have had a tag, this would have been an awesome one to take. Gabe and I had driven out to the dump and this guy was just standing there on the other side of the fence right by the road! He really didn't seem concerned that we were there, just took his own sweet time working his way down the fence line. I took my "shot" and he just walked away.

I may not be hunting but that doesn't mean that we won't hunt at all. I am hoping that Wyatt will pick up his first animal of the season (deer) and that Gabe will pick up his elk this weekend. We will have to wait and see what happens.

Boys and their dog

I know these posts are all over the page, but I have been downloading things from my devices and finding cute ones that I want to share. The title to this says it all. I looked out my kitchen window and saw this:

That boy really loves this dog. But this one could take him or leave him. Most days he just wants to leave him!

But that is mainly because all the dog wants to do is lick him and he pushes Henry down....not on purpose. But all the kids love this dog.

Being little

Sometimes I wish that Henry were still little. I mean it would make some of my jobs around the house a lot easier. Like....loading the dishwasher. Henry likes to "help" me with the dishwasher. This is how he helps:

So the other night I needed to get it loaded. I put him in his walker. He doesn't really like being in the walker....never has. But if it is on the carpet, he is stationary as it doesn't move very well. So I put him there and did the dishes. When I came back this is what I found:

He must have been really tired. He didn't cry, he actually had been playing with a toy.....but he crashed. It is really tough being little sometimes.

Snow

The first snow of the season has already come to our area. We have actually had 2 weekends of snow storms already. I am not ready for them. But I know that my kids are! We got out all the snow gear and got everyone ready for the season, but in the process of doing that I realized something. I have saved things for the next kid, but this hasn't always worked out to my advantage. For example this year. I have snow pants for every child, but I realized that James has outgrown the ones he wore last year. That is not a problem, because Henry will need them and use them. But when I went looking for some for James I could only find them in 3 colors.....pink, purple and a magenta. I realized as I was putting these pink snow pants on James that I should have done better. No, I could have done better. I think if I could give anyone advice here, especially if you are planning on a big family, plan ahead. Plan to save yourself $$ by reusing coats and things like that. Now I don't mean to plan what size your kids will be in the next year, as that is not always easy to do. I mean plan for colors. I wish that I would have gotten clothes (especially like coats and snow pants) that were more unisex colors than gender specific. But some of that I couldn't have planned on either as a lot of these have been hand-me-downs from other people. So when you see James outside playing.....don't laugh. For one, he doesn't care that his pants are pink. For another, at least he is warm and dry!

Birthday

This was a big day for Amanda. We couldn't really celebrate because of the football game. So we did what we could. Tradition at our house is that the birthday person gets to choose the meal that night. Amanda chose tacos, which really lent itself to eating fast. She didn't have much time before she had to be to the game and ready to play with the band. So we had tacos and I had made some cupcakes for her cake. We stuck a match into the cupcake and sang to her. Then we ate and she ran for the game. Not a big fan fare for such a birthday....but I know that she was okay with that as she was doing what she loved: playing with the band.

This is her present from us:

Homecoming 2013

This year's Homecoming was bittersweet for me. I mean first thing, it fell right on Amanda's 18th birthday. I mean how many times does this happen. So because of the football game that night, we had to alter our plans for celebrating her big day. But, it was also her very last Homecoming as a high schooler! I mean, this is her senior year, and homecoming only comes once a year.....so she is done. She has been marching in the parade since she was a 7th grader......6 years of homecoming parades!
But, because of our choices when starting our family.....we also had Wyatt marching for the first time as a 7th grader. So we had our very last and very first parade for the kids. It was fun.
So usually for the parade I try and find a spot where I can sit with some of the other kids, so I can see most of my children. But this time, it was different and I am glad. I called Gabe and he happened to be working at a store right on Main Street where the parade route is. So I found a spot for us and we watched together. As the MS band came up I realized that we were on the wrong side to get pictures of Wyatt. So Gabe took the camera and ran up the route and got some good ones for me!

Then we watched the rest of the parade and the HS band was the very last. They look so smart in their uniforms!

Looking at this last picture, Amanda is the last clarinet right before that sax right on the outside! I got this picture and tried to get one of just her as she got closer....and got the back of her head. Since they were the last ones, I decided to follow them up the route and see if I could get a better picture of her on her very last parade. So, I followed them up the route, but they were moving fast. I was pushing double stroller with James and Henry and I was also fighting the crowd as they were packing up and leaving. But I finally got to the end of the route and got to see the whole parade all over again! But I was also able to get some solo pictures of Wyatt and Amanda.

11 Months!

It is hard to believe that he is now 11 months old! He is getting so big and independent. He loves to just walk now....oh yes, he has been walking since he was 10 months! He is getting better each day and I marvel at how a little guy like him can do all those things. He is a happy baby and is getting more teeth. I thought that he would only have 4 for Halloween and was going to make him a vampire as he had his 2 bottom teeth and then his "fangs" on top. But as I look in his mouth now, I can see other teeth filling in and so he won't have just his "fangs".
He is a curious child. He is constantly getting things out of the cabinets and would rather play with those than the toys. I have to shut the doors to all the rooms otherwise he would "lock" himself in them. I especially have to shut the bathroom doors as he LOVES to play in the toilet water. And he loves to play in the garbages....why, I have no idea, but he does. He sure does keep me on my toes!

Tea party

No, this is nothing political. This is just one of those normal things that parents are asked to do. But the only thing normal is that it was this child that asked me:

I mean, seriously, how can one resist the look in his eyes? How could you tell this child "No" I can't play with you. He is such a joyful child. He can find the joy in just about anything. I really need to take a page from his book.
I am not sure what I was doing, but when I came into the family room he had laid out all the dishes and with that look (that you see above) asked me if I would play with him. So I sat down to this:

And we had a wonderful little tea party. Now some may ask where was Henry in all of this? Well, he is a baby and so James and I get a lot of time during the morning while Henry takes a nap. It was fun to play with James with toys that normally you would expect the girls to play with....but James doesn't care.