Ulmer Visit!

We were delighted to have Dad's brother and his family spend a few days with us in early January. They spent many hours hunting and although they saw deer, and took a few shots, they didn't end up bagging a deer.

Armed and ready to go out!!

On Saturday morning they spent around 6 hours sitting and walking in dense fog and patches of rain. They were all glad to come back to the house for some hot chocolate to warm them up for the next trek out!!

What exciting games we played.........

Mad-Gab!!
(And Noah's awesome blueberry pie.......mmmmmmm!!)

The teams were boys against girls!!

Frantically guessing.........

--Smiles--

Aunt Judy and Addison.

One evening we headed to the local gym to play basketball and volleyball.

Uncle Bernard gets a block!

Noah and Tabitha were the champions of the 2 on 2 teams.

The whole group!!

Thanks for coming; we love ya'll!!

Third Special Announcement!!

With the boys filling their tags, this left us with just three more hunters who needed deer- Seth, Scott and Lydia, who are up for their second 4-day hunting stint this season. (They brought the boys and came up Tuesday thru Saturday last week, but neither bagged a deer.)

Despite the frigid temperatures and stiff biting wind this evening, all three went out, each hunting in a different spot. Scott was the first to return, bringing with him a huge doe. As we strung her up; Seth and Lydia returned. Lydia hadn't seen a thing, but Seth had taken a shot at a buck and needed lights to track it with. Jumping into Seth's truck, we returned to the spot where he'd shot at the buck. The moon was out and tremendously bright, beaming pale rays of light over everything. After a few minutes of scanning the ground, we were onto the blood trail. Slowly we treked through the field, following the drops of blood. The cold and wind forgotten, we continued weaving through patches of thick cedars, then through open spaces, back into thorny, shoulder-high thickets of brush. Through timber-filled ravines, and in the thick clumps of trees overhanging a deep, yet dry creek-bed. After several minutes of stealthy pursuit Seth caught a glimpse of the buck stepping silently away from us. The boys and I held back as Scott and Seth advanced with their pistols and flashlights. Moving quickly they disappeared into the trees. For several minutes we hung back, hoping to hear the sharp bark of Seth's glock. Waiting with ears and eyes alert, listening for sounds of the buck in case it managed to elude them by doubling back. Occasionally the probing light from their flashlights would shine dimly through the thick curtain of trees, but all was quiet. Minutes passed, and the only sound we heard was a sharp, clear whistle beckoning us to rejoin them. A few short paces later as the five of us wound single file through the trees, Seth caught sight of our target. The buck was still bleeding heavily, and though still on his feet, was too weak to move anymore. Seth's shot brought the buck down, and moments later we were whooping and hollering around his trophy!!

Seth and his third 8-point!!

What a beauty!!

They could practically be twins!! :)

As we pulled the buck into the shed to hang, it jumped up and attacked Scott!!
(Okay, so maybe not......) :)

Happy little sister!!

Daddy and Paul with Daddy's deer!!

Three bucks and a doe in just 3 1/2 days-- that's definitely a first for us!! It's been a very exciting hunting season!! Now we're all scheming for the best way to get a deer for Lydia!!

Second Special Announcement!!

It was starting out as a typical Monday morning-- breakfast, household chores; getting things ready to start school. Moses was out hunting with Esther, so everybody was keeping their ears perked for the phone. But they never called. Instead, right about 8:30 they came rolling in the driveway to surprise us with their catch!!

Moses and his trophy!!

Moses and Esther.

The rack!

Happy Hunters!!

Special Announcement!

Wednesday the firearm deer hunting season began in KS. This year Scott & Lydia came to spend a few days to hunt here, and Moses and Micah were going to spend their second year in the field-- both of them hoping for their first deer ever. So far, no one in our family had harvested a deer although they'd all taken shots and seen plenty of deer. Seth, having harvested two 8-point bucks in previous years decided to hold out for something very, very big.

As I was assembling another post for our blog this afternoon, the phone rang. A quick check of the caller ID revealed the number for Esther's cell; surprising since she was out hunting with Micah. It was early yet, and still legal shooting time for around a 1/2 hour, so I wondered that she would be calling so early to be brought home. As I answered the phone it suddenly occured to me that they just might have had an successfull hunt, and need the truck to haul home a dead deer.........the excitement in her voice left me without a doubt.

Micah and his trophy!!

(Naturally, Seth's just a little bit envious!!) :)

How's that for an amazing buck?!?!

Micah and his hunting partner!

What a great rack!! This is Micah's very first deer, which makes it twice as exciting!


Happy and excited!!

Little brother is very impressed!!

Ulmer Times.

Silas trying on Tommy's slippers!!

Playing Spoons- the beginning of the game-

Everyone fighting to get a spoon!!

Eating breakfast and visiting!!

Tommy is a master at card tricks!! Here Charity is practicing one he taught her!

Last week-end we were delighted to have Dad's brother and most of his family (we missed you, Shawn and Ashley!!) come for a visit!! They arrived Friday afternoon just in time to get out in the field and do some deer hunting, as Uncle Bernard and Tommy both had tags to fill. Tommy got his first shot off that night, but they never found the deer.

Saturday we spent a good part of the day hunting and as the light faded away that evening, we were successful! Uncle Bernard and Lydia were both able to bag a deer! Tommy got another shot, but although they searched for quite awhile, they never did find his deer. The hunters brought their trophies back home before we headed to a local gym to spend several hours playing volleyball.

After a rather late night we were sad to see them go when they headed back to the airport Sunday morning.

What better way to start a new Year then to spend time with people you love!!!

The hunters from L-R Lisa, Tommy, Seth, Micah, Uncle Bernard, Joshua, Lydia and Moses!

Thanks for coming, We Love you Guys!!!

Hunting Adventures!

November 28th brought with it deer-hunting season, which means that several members of our family suddenly had a strange fascination with rising very early in the morning and going out to sit in the freezing cold in search of Mr. Monster Buck.

During the season we saw many deer and there were several shots fired- Lydia shot at a large buck (and presumably missed since we never found anything), Moses shot at a doe, but missed, I never actually saw any deer while I was carrying a gun (we had 4 guns for the five of us), so I never got to shoot.

Esther and Moses on opening day, empty-handed but excited!!

With five hunters between us and the Ansons, we had a serious case of buck fever floating through the house. We didn't think it was contagious but apparently it was; before the first day of the season was over, Esther had contracted the fever too. She decided not to buy a tag, but she went out faithfully everyday with Moses. This was Moses' first year getting to carry a gun and he was SO excited!! He saw plenty of deer but didn't get a shot until the end of the season.

The guys heading out to the field.

Most of the season was unreasonable warm and sunny, usually hunting season brings with it below freezing temperatures, snow and wind. This season it stayed warm until the last 4 days. Scott bagged his deer on the last warm day and tried not to laugh as the rest of us battled the freezing cold, ice and wind the next three days.

Seth is the most selective hunter of us all. Having bagged two 8-point bucks during his career as a hunter, he now reserves his bullets for only the largest bucks, which unfortunately, he has yet to locate. During the beginning of the season he passed up on several nice bucks and a swarm of large does. Finally as the days ticked off until that last day, he began to shoot; we won't talk about the three that got away, or the eight empty shells in his pocket, which all strayed from their target.
On the last day of the season Seth, Esther and Moses once more walked through the fields hoping to bag a deer. They were heading home when suddenly; they saw it. Actually Esther saw it, and as she dropped to the ground she whispered "It's a buck, a HUGE buck!!!" Seth, visions of those antlers floating through his head, raised his gun. Scroll down for a picture of the monster........

Okay, so Esther was partly right-- it was a deer, so she gets brownie points for actually seeing it, but as you can see from the picture, it was not by any means a big deer, and there were certainly no antlers on her. Seth deliberated for only a second before pulling the trigger. Since it was the last day and he will be able to hunt only the last day 1/2 of the next season, he wanted to fill at least one of his tags.

Hopefully this coming season will be a little more profitable then this last one-- we've still got 4 tags to fill!!

Deer Hunting II

The successfull ladies!! :)
Lydia and I sat togther Satuday night, in the spot where Scott had gotten his big doe, hoping for a chance to fill our tags. We didn't have to wait long!!! As Lydia took her nice little nap, some deer came out giving us the perfect opportunity......I shot, but I will spare you the details, and just stop with assuring you, she (which turned out to be a he) wasn't goin' far!! Within 10 minutes, some more deer joined us, and Lydia made a great shot and her deer dropped almost instantly. We were very excited, despite the fact that they were much smaller then Scott and Seth's deer, after all, size isn't everything!

Deer Hunting!!!

This past week-end we were thrilled to have Dad's brother and part of his family visit us from New Mexico! They flew in Friday night and joined us for supper of Esther's yummy pizza!!! :) After supper, we enjoyed a wild game of "Catch Phrase", which had us all rolling with laughter!!
Saturday morning the boys were up early for their first excursion. They came back mid-morning, empty-handed but excited at the thought of the huge breakfast awaiting them!!! We enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship over breakfast, but soon everyone was ready for some more hunting!!
Aunt Judy decided not to join us in the hunting, but instead enjoyed a massage from Esther!!
We chased a whole bunch of deer out of a pasture, hoping to get Uncle Bernard a shot, but the deer managed to avoid getting in his sight. I nearly got run over by several deer, and because I didn't fire a shot, a rumor started that my trigger finger was paralyzed. :) Seth had a classic hunters moment, and missed a couple shots, but ended up bringing home a deer!!!

We're Back!!

Hello Friends!!!

After several weeks of silence, we are back in business. We have experienced all manner of troubles these past weeks, but things are pretty much sorted out now!!! We are only able to post one pictures per post, so there will be lots of posts and lots of pictures!! :)

The picture above was taken at the end of November. In preparation for our hunting season, we set aside a afternoon to make sure the rifles were ready.