Post-Thanksgiving Hunt

Sleepy kids on the car ride to Waverly Woods. 

Ruger and Ruedi went along.
Ruger just pushed his way to have a seat too.

My Handsome Hunters :)

Go Get'Em Boys,  Good Luck

Ruger and Ruedi had to rough it a bit, no dogs in the cabin.
They did great sleeping in a big kennel on a bed of hay. 

Garrett with his 'solo' buck.  
Pictures before Dad even knew he got one.
I am so proud of him.

We had a great time with our friends and especially little Scarlet,
she really warmed up to Garrett.

Daddy took Laine out hunting one evening.  
She did great though they did not see any animals.  

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with Grandma and Papa.  We were all stuffed, of course.  We have so much to be thankful for.  It is nice to spend a day with family and friends remembering and focusing on all that we are blessed with.

Pre-Thanksgiving Hunt

Coy shot a 5 foot timber rattle snake, if you know Coy, 
the snake didn't have a chance.
After a few pics, they kept the rattle and had a great story to tell.

Garrett got a 100 lbs Hog on his first solo hunt.  After completing his Hunter Safety class and many  hunts with Dad, he felt confident and ready to give it a go on his own.  He did a great job!

The boys came home Tuesday night so we could spend Thanksgiving with Grandma and Papa.  We will heading back to the woods on Friday as a family to try once again to fill the freezer.
SAUSAGE !!

Final Games of the Fall Season

The soccer seasons wrapped up this past weekend with a home game and an away game.  It was not a very successful season for either of them but winning isn't everything Right !?!?  Once in a while would sure be nice though.  They both had fun and continued to develop their skills, I just wish the Lake County mothers could figure out what the other mothers are feeding those kids, man some of them are huge ;)  Both teams played up so I guess the size difference is to be expected.  We will enjoy our break from the schedule of practices and games but knowing my kids I'm sure it will not be a break from soccer, that just does not happen in our house.

A/B Awards

Here she is with her A/B Honor Roll certificate.  Great Job Laine !!  

She wanted a picture with her teacher, Mrs. Carroll.  

I think Mrs. Carroll should have gotten a certificate too and Mom and Dad.  Team Work :)

Laine

To say that 3rd grade, thus far, has been a challenge would be an understatement.  This is the first year the kids are expected to take the FCAT which adds it own pressures but the rigors placed on these kids is consistently getting harder.  They are expected to go from having their hands held and told what to do in 2nd grade to almost complete independence in 3rd.  There is not much of a transition, they are expected to hit the ground running.  There are no more fun holiday crafts and class parties it is all business with a little bit of fun.  It is not the same 3rd grade my boys went through.  It has been a rocky start but I am so proud to say that Laine (with the help of Mommy and Daddy) has worked her tail off and got all A's and B's on the first 9 week report card.  

We still struggle with reading and continue to pursue avenues that may make reading easier and more enjoyable for Laine.  She is working through some vision therapy and wearing reading glasses to hopefully help her with tracking, focusing and eye strain to ultimately help her to be a better reader. 

To compound the added demands of school, Laine loves to do it all and can't choose which activities she likes best.  She is currently playing soccer on a competitive team that travels for games, rehearsing for a new show, playing the piano and taking gymnastics.  That is an activity every afternoon.  She is very dedicated and organized, she knows school comes first. She realizes that TV time is not going to come other than on weekends and her fun is her activities.  She is doing great and handling it all well so why not let her go and be all that she can be.  Hope we can keep up :)

Imprint 2012

Walker went on a youth retreat to the Warren W Willis camp with the FUMC Youth Group this past weekend.  Garrett had a soccer game and could not attend.  Walker had fun and enjoyed his time with the youth group.  The most memorable adventure was the great water challenge.  The kids all had to hike to a water hole (aka lake), fill jugs and carry the jugs back to the village.  It was challenging and heavy.  FUMC was the red team and they competed in events against other youth groups all weekend.  For dinner one night the kids were fed based the letter printed on their name tag.  Kids with an A received a full dinner, a B meant rice and beans and C was just rice.  Walker was a B and said dinner was very bland.  It was a good experience.  Hopefully it opened their eyes and gave them a greater appreciation for how good we all have it.

Great Hunters

Coy and Garrett each got a boar from the same stand on the same morning.

Walker got a 170 pound boar the next morning.
His boar weighed more than both G and Dad's put together
and is the biggest they have seen.
It is Walker's first kill with his Papa Terry's .270.

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween trick-or-treating with the theater crowd. Laine was an Olympic gymnast and the boys were the Duck Dynasty brothers.  If you are not familiar with Duck Dynasty it is a show on A&E about a family and especially two brothers Willie and Jase, that became millionaires from designing and manufacturing hand made duck calls.  Funny thing is, all we had to buy for the costume was the beards :)

Laine's First Piano Recital

 Laine performed in her first piano recital after only 7 lessons.  She was very nervous but did a great job.  It was a Halloween recital so all the kids got to come dressed in costume.   This teacher likes to put on recitals, so Laine will get to perform often which is right up her alley.