Kaleb is 10 today

Can't believe my little man is 10 today. Les and Rob moved to Indiana 10 years ago yesterday. Les was upset when I called her at 7:30 then next morning to tell her Kaleb was born. They didn't get to see him until X-mas. Now they are back and I am soooooooooo happy about that. We all went to Kaleb's mommy's house tonight for his b-day party. He is really growing up fast.

Les on the run!!!

Leslie actually gave permission for me to post this. She ran in a 5K benefit run Saturday across the river in PT. Pleasant, WV in 18* temps. Not me!!!!! A Marshall University student from Pt. Pleasant named Leah Hickman was murdered a year ago while at college and this was a benefit race for a scholarship in her name. It was actually run on Leah's b-day Saturday and they raised around $7000.00. Les finished in the middle of the pack of 156 runners so she did good.

Kaleb is the man too!!!

Bob brought Kaleb down this afternoon and he made an awesome 50 yrd shot and dropped this button buck. He and daddy were both still grinning ear to ear when they left to check it in. It's been a great "Yea God" weekend and so special to experience our grandkids getting their first deer with a gun. Both boys shot their deer from my hunting blind which is only about 100 yards from from house. Guess Mama has a lot of canning facing her in the next few days.

All for now.

Ethan is the man!!!!

Had a great day!!! After having only about 4 hours sleep due to a 2:20AM phone call we braved the 18* temps and headed to the woods with our little hunters. The phone call was from the Sheriffs Dept. Jay is a township trustee and for some reason when someone calls in about any animals out in our township the 911 dispatcher calls the trustees (Jay is 1st on the list) to get them back where they belong. This time it was horses out. Jay didn't hesitate to tell them it was their job first and if that didn't work then they could call for help. The alarm went off at 4:30 and needless to say we were sleep deprived. I took Kelsey to my deer stand , Bob took Kaleb and Jay took Ethan as Rob didn't get home from work until 3 AM. Only saw a few deer and we all came back in at 9:30. Bob took his kids home and Rob came down at noon. Also Pastor Greg brought his son Josh down to hunt the afternoon with Jay. Let me tell you about Josh. He just took his hunter safety on Thursday night where he shot a gun for the first time. Greg brought him down Friday afternoon to sight in his new gun and practice. They were out in the woods less then an hour when Josh shot a doe. Jay was so proud of him. After getting his deer field dressed and hung up Rob took him home. Jay then took Ethan to my blind and 30 minutes later Ethan shot a HUGE doe. Dropped her in her tracks. So Jay says he had 2 successful guided hunts in a couple hours time. We now have 3 deer hanging from 1 walnut tree. Jay got a doe a couple days ago. We now call it the deer tree. Jay says all we need is a rebel flag hanging from it too and we will be official "Hill Jacks". His cousin says that a Hill Jack is one step up from a Hillbilly.

In the meantime after several phone calls with the Marv Knepp family Me, Leslie and Brooke headed south to meet up with them at a Cracker Barrel. They were traveling back to Indiana from vacation in Virginia. We had a great visit and then me, Les and Brooke headed across the road to the mall. We weren't in there very long when Jay called to tell me about Ethans deer so we headed home. Ethan will probably be hyped for several days. Bob took Kaleb hunting at his place this afternoon. He missed a doe but Bob said it was 85 yards down hill with brush which would be tough for the pros to hit. I had our camera with me so the only pics of Josh's deer is on jays cell so I can't post them tonight but enjoy Ethan's. Later.

BEEN A WHILE

Yes I am still kickin in Southern Ohio. Can't believe it's been weeks since I have posted. Once the guys got back from their Elk trip we have been very busy trying to catch up altho we never really do. I have also tried to sneak in some bow hunting. Me and the big buck just haven't been able to meet up tho. Kelsey, Kaleb and Ethan are anxiously waiting for youth gun season which is this weekend. We have their hunting blinds all set up and ready. Plan to put little heaters in each one as the temp is to be around 18* Saturday morning. Don't know how long they will be able to stand the cold. Guess it will depend on if they see a deer and get their adrenaline pumping. We had to make a round trip to NW Ohio on Sunday as one of Jay's favorite uncles died. We picked up Leslie at 8:15, stopped by Jay's dads to see him and then on to the funeral home about 25 minutes west of there. We got back home at 7:30PM. Lou and her crew went thru our are Saturday afternoon on their way to Virginia. We may try to meet up with them on their way back thru this Saturday. I-64 is about 20 minutes south of here. Sounds like they are having a cold trip. The weatherman is predicting snow for us next week and again for Thanksgiving. I don't have any pics to post right now but will this weekend after the "Big Hunt". All for now.

Time off almost over!!!!

I can hardly believe the guys have been gone 10 days already. I have managed to get a lot done on my list but not quite everything yet. I did get my office moved to a bigger room and am getting close to having all my papers sorted out. I have done some major fall cleaning. Igave my truck a thorough cleaning. The biggest accomplishment was completely emptying Jay's truck, sorting and organizing it. I don't know how he ever finds anything in it. Of course now it will take him a while to find things as nothing is in the same bin it was before. He is usually pretty tired at the end of a long day and material doesn't get put back in an organized manner. He called today and I sounded kinda winded and he asked if I was out hunting. I told him I was desperately hunting for the bed of his truck. All I need to do to it tomorrow is finish vacuuming the inside and cleaning the dashboard and I'll be done. I do this every year while he is gone. It's kinda therapeutic in a way. They will be packing up camp in the morning and heading home. The first few days were abnormally hot(70*) which is not good for Elk hunting. Then it cooled off and they got a little snow. They all saw several elk but just couldn't get a shot. I had hoped to get my big buck while they were gone but no luck so far. I did have a few new big ones on my camera but they are still pretty nocturnal. I figure here in about a week the does should be coming in heat and bucks like men act kinda crazy around a hot female. They aren't as careful as they have one thing on their mind. I just hope I get the big one before Jay does. Well I must get off here or I won't get done what I need to. Love to all.

Finally allowed to post some pics

Les finally allowed me to post some pics of their house. It is still not completely done but they are getting there. Rob has been putting up the trim and crown molding and doing an awesome job. As soon as the garage is done(hopefully this next week) they can move a lot of boxes out there for storage. Once the garage, new roof and new siding go on I will be sending more pics your way.

The exploding squirrel

I was shocked when I checked my trail camera a couple days ago. The 1st picture was this squirrel on all 4's eating, then standing up, then this. He evidently was jumping on the tree the camera is on and it captured him mid air.I thought it was quite funny. Looks like he is ready to explode but he actually is a normal size squirrel.

The 12 Pointer

My goal while the guys are gone is to take this big boy to the taxidermist. He was on my camera last Sunday morning and boy was I pumped. I plan to hunt Saturday morning as a cold front is coming thru and hopefully they will be moving. Sue -make sure you show this to your men and Melissa make sure Jordan sees it.

Off to Colorado

The guys left out for Colorado at 6PM Monday evening.They were in 2 king cab trucks with 3 guys to a truck. They make a bed in the back seat of each truck and as they rotate drivers the one who just drove sleeps. Jay, Bobby and Kevin were pulling our Cargo trailer with a load in it. They were exactly 1 hour on the road when the water pump went out on Kevin's truck which in turn caused other mechanical problems. I found a Chevy dealer for them and called a towing service. They transferred everything in Kevin's truck to the trailer except for overnight bags and hooked the trailer to the other truck. Bobby got in with them and they went ahead. The tow truck took Jay and Kevin to a motel. A friend offered the use of his truck so Amy and I prepared to deliver it pending on what the diagnosis was on Kevin's truck. We ended up leaving the next morning with the loaner truck. Kevin's truck couldn't be fixed for days. This threw Jay and Kevin about 16 hours behind without the 3rd driver. They drove to Kansas City, got a motel room and slept about 5 hours and then drove the rest of the way in. The first crew decided that since they had 4 drivers they would drive straight thru (25 hours). Jay said it was kinda nice having everything set up at camp when they arrived. He called last night. They have to take a 4-wheeler up above camp to get a signal to call. He called again this morning. He said it was a little chilly but sunny. They are expecting a storm and snow so hunting should be good. Please say a prayer that they have a safe hunt and a safe trip back. They won't be back until the 25th.

Tagged

I have been tagged by Sue to write 6 random facts about myself so here goes:
(1)As many of you know I had a B-day this past week. I guess while mom was in the house giving birth to me the sows got out and dad had to leave her and put them in. For as long as I can remember Dad would call me early on my B-day and say"Did you know that__years ago today the sows got out. I really miss that phone call but I can still hear him say it.
(2)When I was "young" in school our class went on a field trip to the Whirlpool Plant at Evansville. President Nixon flew in to the airport and we got to go see him. My picture was on the front page of the Evansville paper with him.
(3) I have an addiction to Starbucks iced Vanilla coffee. It is on my grocery list every week. Amy says if I was ever stranded on a deserted island I would die if I didn't have them.
(4) I have always wanted to write a book about all my life's twists and turns and my goal is to someday do just that.
(5) I, like my sis love reality TV. My favorite shows are Survivor, Amazing Race, Bachelorette and Bachelor, Biggest Loser and Nashville Star.While the guys are gone for 12 days I can watch all I want of it without "comments" from a certain sweety of mine.
(6) If God had given me the talent my dream would be to be a professional Contemporary Christian Singer. But since I can't carry a tune in a 5 gallon bucket I just pop a CD in my truck, crank it up and go down the road singing along with Steven Curtis Chapman, Casting Crowns and 33 Mile pretending that I can sing.Hey, whatever it takes.
So there are my 6 random facts. Since you all have tagged about every blogger I know I won't be tagging anyone.

Tristin's Diego cake

We had Tristin's party Monday night and he had requested that I get him a Diego ice cream cake. He got another "blue slip" at school this week which isn't a good thing. This time his reason was and I quote "I told the teacher that I had to pee and she wouldn't listen so I pee'd behind the tree and you aren't supposed to". I told Bob he is starting to reap what he sowed as a youngster. He was quite the ornary little fellor and I remember when he pee'd in his cousin's (from Ohio)face ON PURPOSE! He had a group of ornary cousins all about the same age. I won't mention any names. I remember a day at mom and dad's when mom asked them to gather the eggs for her and they came back with just a couple. She thought that was strange as she normally had quite a few. Their excuse was that all the rest of the eggs had fallen out of the nest and broke. Upon investigation the eggs were broke but they were up high on the chicken house walls. Wonder how that happened?

5 days

I agree with Tera that we all just seem too busy. Well hopefully in 5 days I can relax a little. That's when all the guys leave for their annual trip to the Colorado Mountains elk hunting. Amy and I just about have everything ready for them to load up. They plan to load our trailer Sunday evening and leave sometime before daylight on Tuesday. It is a 25 hour drive but they plan to break it up this year and stop and get a few hours sleep on the way. We have been working like a group of crazy people trying to get a bunch of small jobs done before they leave. Yesterday I was running from job to job and my truck was like a mobile office. I had my front seat full of file folders and was constantly on the phone(while driving) scheduling services changes with the power company or running after supplies. On one run I stopped at WalMArt (at my hubby's request) to get him a box of shells for his gun. He called as I was leaving and said to please get out of WalMart and bring some more material to the job site .WELL I would have already left but his stupid shells kept setting off the alarm(that makes you feel like a thief). The clerk kept trying to scan them to stop the security buzzer but wasn't getting anywhere. Now you tell me-she knew what the problem was so why not just let me go? I think she had a problem passing 2nd grade or maybe I was just stressed. We had to all step back and chill out by the end of the day. Today wasn't much better as we all ran again. The guys were on like 4 different jobs and I had to go to the engineers office and then had a meeting with the city manager. I was home long enough to feed my deer and then was off to a Conservation Club meeting. I am the secretary. I hope tomorrow to finish packing Jay's hunting clothes and equipment and can some beef and noodles for them to take. I need to plant my mums which have sitting under the tree staring at me for a week as I run by them and jump in the truck. Thank goodness the good Lord watered them for me today with a nice shower. He knew I didn't have time or I should say -I didn't take time.Love to all.

Happy Birthday my "Little Dinasour Man"

Today is Tristin's 6th B-day. We are so thankful for him cause when he was 2 he had multiple seizures and we about lost him a few times. He is a very dramatic child and makes you laugh a lot when he is telling a story. He loves dinosaurs and knows everything there is to know about them. He loves to fish and play with toads , turtles and worms. This pic is of him ice fishing last year on our pond and it is one of favorite pics.. He is in kindergarten this year and the first week he got a blue ribbon which isn't a good thing. When asked what he did to get it his response was "well I guess you are not supposed to go down the slide on your belly". He has had a few more blue ribbons since then. I love him so much.

The rest of my week

I needed to get a doe with my bow so I could can it for the guys to take on their Elk trip to Colorado in a little over a week. I got up Tuesday determined that this was the day to do it and I did. It was a big doe and I was able to can 14 quart plus I had 12 packages of t-loin for the freezer. Jay was so proud of my shot. It was pretty much perfect. Wednesday I worked with the guys a job we are doing for the city park. It rained and I got wet and cold. Wednesday night I ended up going with Amy to the ER with Paige. She suddenly broke out in hives and was swelled pretty good and Amy was concerned about the possibility of her throat swelling. Over the next few hours it would come and go. She has an appointment with an allergist next week. Amy is so allergic to insect bites she has to carry an"eppy pin". Thursday I officially had the day off as it was my b-day (yea right). Rob and Les took me to Bob Evans for brunch and then we went across the road to church to load up all the mums I used to decorate so I could plant them at home. After I dropped them off i stopped by the city park (BIG MISTAKE). The guys pleadingly asked me to help pull some wire in conduit. It wasn't normal sized wire. First of all each piece of wire was about 1 inch in diameter, 225 feet long and there were 6 of them that all needed pulled thru the conduit at one time. I about ran out of "Umph" til we got it all in. Jay and I were both feeling our age that night. Friday morning I cut my deer meat up and got it ready for canning in between answering business calls and scheduling jobs with the power company for next week. Amy and Heidi came at noon and we took my truck and went to Sam's Club to get everything the guys need for their trip. Have you noticed how Amy and I are getting all this stuff ready for the guys to enjoy? Something doesn't seem right about this. Any how I called Jay after we left Sam's Club and asked him how much of a load I needed on the truck before I put it in tow mode.ha! We had a load. Just before we left Sam's, Heidi managed to poke her finger in Amy's eye. It was instantly bloody looking and she couldn't see. She went to the bathroom and put a wet cold cloth on it. She called this morning first thing and asked me to call our eye Dr. as she had been up all night and was in a lot of pain. I took her and dropped her off while I went to pick up material for a job Monday.She had quite a cut in it. He put a contact patch on it (which gave instant relief) ,antibiotic drops and told her to go home an sleep fora while. Les picked her up and took her to her house while she waited on me. I went by there,ate some of Les's good chili and then took her home. I then picked up bread and juice for communion services tomorrow and headed home. Jay did 2 different service calls today and then stopped by Rob and Leslie's as the guys were putting up trusses on the garage and trying to fix a septic problem. Today is Tristin's 6th b-day. His mommy took them to the Columbus Zoo. He called me this morning and asked if I had gotten his Diego Ice Cream cake. I told him I ordered it. He then said he wanted a Diego Dinosaur toy. I sure hope WalMart has one as I don't have a clue. The kids are having cake for me Sunday night and then we are having a party for Tristin Monday night. Well I must get back to my cleaning. Love to all.