Friday, January 8, 2010

Ever feel this way?



Do you ever feel like no matter what you do you are constantly hitting those brick walls that pop up in life?



There is always going to be that "crying fit" when the answer is "no." Always going to be that heart race when you anticipate heartache or pain. There is always going to be that decision of what to do next. Always going to be that question of how do I teach my children. And there is always going to be that feeling that you are failing your children, and no matter what you do you can't protect them from everything.
My mother-in-law informed me about a new drug that has recently been targeted to elementary age children. This drug, Meth, is offered in the form of pop rocks candy. I didn't want to have to introduce these things to my 1st grader yet; but felt the necessity. So she and I sat down and had a very open and informative discussion about this and other drugs. After telling her the effects that these drugs have on our minds and bodies, she asked me "why do people do drugs if they know what happens to them when they take them?"
My answer was ready thanks to a great conversation with my sister-in-law Tara.
I told her that we all have to make up our own minds and make our own choices. We have the choice to make a good decision or a bad one; and that is really what our life here is for. With all our personal struggles and those temptations biting at us, it comes down to what we will choose to do.
That is the beauty of agency.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

After only 10 years of trying. . . finally!


After only 10 years of diligently drawing out for the deer hunt, he got one. Middle of October Dave and a his family (boys only) get together and set up their posh little camping village, complete with; kitchen sick, carpeted tents, heated showers and big screen movie theatre. They spend who knows how long doing what up there, but I can attest to what takes place before they go. For Dave it is: Curing and drying 8 pounds of meat, which takes close to 10 hours (for the hunt), filling propane tanks, buying enough food to feed at least 4 people. Making sure he has enough snacks for at least 10 people (6 pounds of gummy bears-of which only 1 pound came back), and packing. So on the first day of the actual allowed hunting days Dave ventures out into the hills above squaw creek near Strawberry. . . wait, wait wait, Dave wants to tell the real story, so here goes. It all began at 6:30 am on a chilly Saturday morning, October 17th to be exact. We head out from camp and drove to our predetermined destination at which point the party separates, while my two brothers drive up the backside of the hill. Pops and I walked up the hill. It was decided that I would sit on a hillside overlooking a valley, but as I sat I realized I was not in a very strategic location, I noticed that if I moved a little farther back down the path that we had come up I would have a better view of not only just one valley but several different locations that deer might be pushed through. I found a good spot and sat there for about 45 minutes or so, quietly observing, by this time it was getting close to 9 o-clock. I figured it was a good time to move around and look for a better location. So I put on my gear, and started up the hill towards the ridge. As I was walking up I noticed ahead of me that my dad was moving east along the ridge. I also made my way to the ridge and began walking North, down the backside. One thing I remember was that the wind was blowing and the sun had risen giving off early morning light. It was a lovely Aspen grove. As the wind was blowing and the leaves were falling off the trees it was a very beautiful and serene experience, to be there. As I continued walking I noticed a skull on the ground, I went and picked it up and noticed that it belonged to a young buck, not too big. It was then that I heard the tell tell sound of deer walking briskly through the forest. I looked toward the sound and noticed, about 100 yards out, three deer walking my way, they were weaving thorough the trees, it was then that I noticed that there was a buck in the midst of a doe and a young deer. So I bent to one knee, made sure my gun was off safety, shouldered my rifle and followed the deer in my scope. I remember saying to myself. "wait for the right shot, don't rush it." All this while they didn't notice me, they didn't get any closer than 50 yards, they were walking in a west to east direction towards me. I had that buck in my scope, adjusted my magnification to ensure the best shot. I continued to follow him keeping my cross hairs square on his chest, waiting for the best shot. When I felt the time was right I squeezed the trigger. I quickly chambered another round. I noticed he hadn't fallen but seemed more confused, he wasn't running but he hadn't stopped either, he was more looking around. In his confusion I took aim and fired a second round. By this time I could tell he was definitely wounded by the way he was acting. I chambered one more round and just to be sure I took aim and fired a third time. I watched him as he fell. I chambered one more round just in case he jumped up as I cautiously started walking over to him. My thoughts were "I can't believe this just happened, I can't believe I just killed my first deer." When I came up to him, I noticed he wasn't dead yet, he was struggling for breath, making a gasping noise, but he quickly expired. Then all was quiet. With my ears ringing from the shots, I stood there and thought to myself, "this is what i came out here for, now what do I do." First order of business was to cut his throat, and allow the blood to drain. I then took out my deer tag and attached it to it's antlers. At this point, my dad having heard my gun fire, came over with a big smile on his face, gave me a high five and said "alright! Dave, you did it." I also saw, coming from the other direction, my brother Jon who was making his way towards us. Having never killed a deer let alone cleaned one. My dad immediately took out his knife, put on his gloves and instructed me to do the same. He then showed me, step by step, how to field dress a deer. (details will be spared during this part of the story, for obvious reasons, blaaaah). I than posed for the "Happy hunter got his kill" picture. Jon and I each grabbed an antler and drug him down the hill where my uncle was waiting. Boy was he heavy. He was a good 4 point-probably 150-200 pounds of solid dead wait. We then took turns dragging it back down to the truck. We hung it up back at camp, skinned it and then I proceeded to call my wife and tell her the good news. He says the end, but that is not where it ends. He came home hung the dead carcass in the drive way, unpacked his stuff, and that night began cutting the meat off the bones. It was really windy that night, but he and Jon toughed it out and finished the job. Since then Dave has had this fabulous idea (not) of cleaning, boiling, and bleaching the skull to a brilliant white complete with antlers still attached, just perfect for hanging in an unpopulated location, to revel in his victory. We figure that, the meat was at least 50 dollars a pound. After 10 years of paying to draw out and camping expenditures that was the most expensive deer ever. But hey, he did it and no doubt he will do it again. Until next year. . .

Friday, August 14, 2009

My little blue eyes family!


Here is the latest pics of my little family.
We have been super busy this summer. Mckenna is excited to go to 1st grade where she will stay all day and eat lunch in the cafeteria. Oh the bliss of childhood excitement. Josh will be attending a joy school this fall and attending music and movement at the library. Ian is growing super fast. he is already crawling on hands and knees and is pulling himself up on things (knees not feet). I have been selling aprons, and flowers at the local farmers market and it has been fun to see what I can create. Dave has been taking good care of our growing garden and we are now enjoying the fruits of his labor. He has also been going on high adventure hikes/campouts with the scouts, where he has develoved a new love for repelling.
Tell me this how can I have three children and all have their daddy's blue eyes? I figure we will just have to wait to see if the forth one has blue eyes, cause if he/she does then I will really be concerned with the punnet square philosophy. NO I AM NOT PREGNANT. In case you were wondering! Happy day!