Happy Hunter!

The hunter at our house returned victorious today!

Around 8:30 this morning, Matt shot his first (ever) deer:
a 4-point buck.

Congratulations on your deer, Dear!


Side note: I am welcoming any ground venison recipes that mask the taste of venison!!

What have we been up to?

The past couple of weeks have been fairly busy at our house, and I haven't had a chance to update our blog. While Levi is down for a nap, I thought I'd recap what we've been up to lately:

Levi got his first haircut! Well, it was actually more of a trim – I couldn’t bring myself to cut his curls yet. He got his bangs trimmed, along with some of the hair in the back – no more mullet!

Before & After Pictures:

Levi is going to get two new cousins in 2008! Matt’s brother and his wife (Marc & Lori) are due in April and we found out last week that they are having a GIRL. I had guessed boy, but was wrong – now Levi will remain the only grandson on Matt’s side. Also last week, Angie and Scott started sharing their news about BABY #2 – due in June! They told us before last week, but now we don’t have to keep the secret anymore. We’re so excited for both couples and we can’t wait for new babies to hold – we love them already!!

Matt went duck hunting for the last time of the season – and returned successful! He and his friend Jack got three ducks between them, but one got away. They were hunting on a river and couldn’t find one of the ducks they shot – too bad!



Levi had a slumber party last Saturday night – Scott and Angie had a Christmas party, so Henry came to our house and spent the night. The boys did great together (slept in separate rooms, but slept through the night just fine) and even took their baths together:

Rub-a-dub-dub - cousins in the tub!

"Juice, Juice!"

We had my family over for Sunday lunch and afterward we tried to get a picture for our l-m-n-o Christmas card. I always have a vision in my head of what I want the picture to look like and it never goes like I plan – you would think I would learn. This year we did manage to get a couple of good pictures and I just got the finished cards delivered yesterday – now I’m working on addressing them. I updated the sidebar with the runner-up picture.

Yesterday was our MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers) Christmas brunch. Angie & I were in charge of food and we did a sit-down pancake breakfast. It was a lot of work to arrange and pull off, but it went great. By yesterday afternoon, I was exhausted and took a nap when Levi did!

Now, I’m working on the final preparations for a bachelorette party taking place at our house tomorrow night. I can’t share the details, since the bride sometimes checks this blog, but we’re planning a rootin’ tootin’ good time!

Now I think we're up to date again!

The Hunters Return Victorious!

Opening day of duck season was a success
for both of the guys:

Matt's duck is on the left (the female).
Scott's duck is on the right (the male).

1/2 More Sleeps...

The guys are packed and ready to go:

Matt is already in bed - 3:40 am is going to come quickly!

The Hunting Saga Continues...

Up to this point, Matt has done the majority of his duck hunting out of a white rowboat. Not exactly a vessel that blends into its surroundings while hunting! For this reason, Matt has constantly been on the lookout for a deal on a duck blind for the rowboat and/or a flat bottom boat (preferably green or camo) to use for duck hunting. "Helping" Matt in the pursuit lately has been my brother-in-law, Scott, and after Monday's events I'm not sure whether to thank him or never speak to him again :)

Matt came home from work on Monday and casually mentioned that Scott had called him during the day about a boat he saw for sale online. Matt told me that it was a 14 foot, green, flat bottom boat - "perfect for duck hunting" according to Matt. Then he told me the price, which I'll admit sounded like quite a deal. I was quiet for a few minutes and then I think I surprised Matt quite a bit when I said it was okay with me if he looked into buying the boat. It wasn't but a minute later that Matt was on the phone to Scott and they were making plans to drive the 45 minutes or so to look at the boat. Of course, they had to leave immediately, since they found out that someone else was also interested in the boat, was coming to look at it that night as well, and lived in the same town where the boat was located! So that left Angie and I eating our respective dinners alone with our little boys before meeting up for an improptu play date.

While at Angie's house, I got the call from Matt, saying that he had bought the boat - not for the asking price, but for less - due to the fact that there are a couple of holes that will need welding! At that point I had no idea what to expect...

Here's what I found in my garage when the guys returned home:

I found out that the other party who wanted to look at the boat had already been there by the time Matt and Scott arrived, but they needed to go and "check on a few things". Hmmm...

Only 3 more sleeps and the nights are going to be busy ones as Matt works on getting his "new" vessel sea-worthy! Scott thinks that in its current condition it will float for about 10 minutes - good thing Matt just got those new waders!

Now comes the question of what to name the boat...

p.s. In case you are wondering - the waders in my previous post cost more that the boat!

If you guessed duck hunting...

you would be correct! And this is what Matt will be wearing on Saturday morning...

Well, the waders at least - I'm not sure the coat will be necessary with the predicted 80 degree weather!

Now only 4 more sleeps...

Only 6 more sleeps...

...until the duck season opener. Matt thought you might like to know. Any guesses what he'll be doing Saturday morning?