Wedding & Thanksgiving

Yes I am behind and I'm trying to catch up. The week of Thanksgiving we loaded up and drove to Nauvoo Illinois. My brother, Cody, got married on the Tues before Thanksgiving. It was so much fun. All of my siblings were there and most of the cousins. It was great for Tyree because she got to meet some of her cousins she has never met before. Because Cody is the last to get married, and the rest of us have established families, that meant there were a bunch of us. We rented a couple of cabins close together so we got a ton of quality family time. Most of us showed up Sunday night. On Mon we did the sites around the town of Nauvoo. Good thing it's not a busy time of year, because there was a big group of us. Cody's  beautiful wife Alisa has younger brothers who are in their teenage years, so they fit right in with our group. Even though it was quit brisk outside they all still went on a quick wagon ride. I volunteered to stay in the warm, running car with the sleeping baby. That night we had a little bridal shower for Alisa. It was fun to have some girls time with no kids. Tues was wedding day. The sealing wasn't until afternoon so we did pictures before hand. Look at my beautiful family. It wasn't as cold as the day before, but definitely not warm. We waited in the visitors center until it was our time. While everyone was in the temple Kelly and I got to keep an eye on all the kids. The cabins were only a mile away so we put some food in their mouths and turned on a movie for the little ones while the teenagers went upstairs. Look how good they are, we are such great sitters. Then back to the temple to watch the couple come out. Mr. & Mrs. Cunningham. That evening we had a dinner at a lodge in town. Because my family is the way we are, after all the wedding day festivities we decided to have a lip sync. I put make up on for my lip sync so of course Tyree wanted some like mommy. It was great family time and we shared lots of laughs, and made some lasting memories. (Even if we wish they weren't lasting.) The next day (Wed.) we got up and drove to Indiana to have Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family. We all congregated at my Aunt Michelle's beautiful home. I only see that side of my family about every 5 years. It's so fun to see them and we always have a lot of catching up to do. Dinner on Thanksgiving day was excellent and of course we all over ate. During our short visit Kelly and I managed to sneak out and go over to "the farm". It is were my Grandpa "Doc" John Eppert, (my mom's dad) was raised. The farm is still in the family, Uncle Ron still lives there and runs it. Since my grandpa is no longer living I thought Uncle Ron could stand in for a picture with Clancy. The day after Thanksgiving we said goodbye and headed back west. It seemed like a whirlwind of a trip but it was fun. It makes me feel so blessed to have such a big family.

Hunting

Hunting season was so fun this year. We had a really good year. Our general rifle season is only 2 weeks long, but we still made the best of it. Since I'm not working anymore the kids and I went up and stayed for the whole time. I only came home one day to do wash and grab more groceries. The weather was beautiful the whole time. In between hunting the kids and I had fun playing outside, working cows, and just hanging out. Kelly had to work during the week so he was only there on the weekends. My in-laws were there some of the time, and Kelly's grandparents too so there was usually someone to help with the kids. At least Clancy. There were some times that I had to take them both. Those times I did more driving around and spotting. Tyree went with me quite a bit. She loved it so it was hard to sneak out without her. There were a few times we had to get out and walk ( not real far) and she was a trooper. We even got within shooting range of some deer and she did really good, but then she started getting inpatient and I wasn't able to shoot anything. There weren't any big bucks anyway. On the weekends when Kelly was there him and I were able to really go out hunting. I love hunting with my husband. The early morning horseback rides to the top if the mountain are amazing. They definitely bring us closer together and make us remember to enjoy the simple things in life. The first tag filled of the season was Kelly's niece Jessi. Last year was her first year hunting but she was unsuccessful, so this was her very first deer and she was so excited. After they tagged him they radioed to us so Tyree and I went to help. The next tag to get filled was Kelly's and boy oh boy it was awesome! Earlier in the week I had seen a really big buck through the spotting scope but I wasn't able to get close enough. I thought that I had blown it but that weekend Kelly and I were fortunate enough to see him again. Kelly had to make a long shot, and it was good. It was so exciting walking up to see him. (he rolled into the fence) Kelly couldn't stop smiling. It was great, we're having him mounted. A hot guy with an amazing buck. Congrats honey! Now it was my turn. I had hunted, and hunted , and had a few missed opportunities but hadn't filled my tag. Time was running out. I was on my own again and there were only 3 days left. That morning I spotted a nice buck through the spotting scope, but he was a long way away and I had Tyree with me. I knew there was no way I could do it with her. It was going to take some serious hiking. The next morning I went without Tyree, by the time I spotted him I was still to far away and he went back in the trees before I could even get in shooting range. The next morning was the last morning. Fortunately he came out in the same area and I was able to hustle into position. It was still kind of a long shot for me but I've shot that far before so I knew I could do it, and I did. I had to hike uphill to get him, but when I got there I was so excited. This was the first time I've gotten anything when I was out by myself. Once I got to him the real work began. Yes I gutted him and drug him off the mountain by myself. It has been a goal of mine to prove to myself that I could do it. I'm glad I was able to accomplish it this year, but I don't want to do it again. It was a lot of work trying to drag him down the hill. This is we're I left him so I could go get the pick up and grandpa to help me load him. Anyway it was a great year full of firsts. Jessi's first deer, Kelly's first trophy buck, my first solo hunt, and Clancy's first hunting season. Make sure you check back for more posts.

Everyday stuff & Halloween

This fall we spent a lot of time in Grays Lake. It was so much fun.Tyree got to play with cousins, and go hunting with mom.She is a great little hunter. Aunt Sam came up for a visit and they got to ride horses and work cows. She loves cooking with grandma, and is pretty good at making biscuits. Clancy is growing like a weed.He has so much personality already. He roles all over the place, and is starting to figure out how to roll to what he wants. He loves to talk, spit, and stick out his tongue. It's so cute. When Tyree talks to him he just lights up.He loves his big sister. We took some family pictures while we were up there.Hopefully I get Christmas cards made and sent out. Halloween was fun. We went up to Grant and met up with our good friends to go trick or treating. That's Blakely one of her best friends. Tyree wanted to be Minnie Mouse. I didn't go all out on her costume, but she was happy with it. That morning we decided to go to the trunk or treat, so this was my last minute trunk ideaIt actually turned out pretty cute and didn't take much to do it. The great thing about Tyree being so little is one time around and she was done and ready to go home. It was successful, we still got a ton of candy. 

Tyree's birthday

 As promised here is a quick look at Tyree's birthday. I can't believe she has turned 3 already. We had a great day. The kids and I headed up to Kelly's grandparents where we all met for the little get together. On the way we stopped and Tyree was able to pick out her own cake and balloon. After Kelly got there and the rest of the family we had pizza, cake and ice cream. When we showed up there was a present on the table. She was so excited to think she was getting one present. When people kept showing up with a gift she would say "for me". She had a great time and hopefully grows up to be a Dr. thanks to aunt Cali. By the end of the day we all had check-ups and shots. This is only one of many posts I'm going to try and get up so please keep checking back for everyday stuff, hunting season, the wedding, and the holidays.