Beach Trip

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend the past week with my Dad. He lives in Utah and so we don't get to see each other more than a couple times a year. For most of our visit we stayed at the beach near Lincoln City. Spencer was able to spend Saturday through Monday with us and then he and Austin headed home while I stayed with our other two boys. Our weather was amazing!! Very little rain and no wind. Having no wind was actually a little bitter-sweet; we really looked forward to flying our kites, but truly there was not enough wind to do so. I found that unusual for the beach. We did get to play on the beach though and the waves were huge this time of year. Austin thought it would be fun to run from them, but he couldn't. Spencer brought his Dad's boat and so we went crabbing and caught a total of 14 keepers. We also hit the outlets in Lincoln City and found some amazing deals. Every evening I really enjoyed watching the sunsets. Because it was so clear out, the sky lit up so nice and bright. Once we came home from the beach my Dad had the opportunity to go sturgeon fishing with my Father in law. I was really wishing that he would be fortunate enough to catch one, but it just wasn't the case. I'm starting to wonder if he believes me that there really are sturgeon in the river. Regardless, I know he had fun and we had a great time with him. Unfortunately, my Step Mom wasn't able to come this trip, but we missed her greatly!

More Hunting Pictures

Austin's New Rifle. He shot twice right in the heart of the target. He's a natural!

Eric & Robin playing some outdoor games
Austin & Korissa playing Darts
Spencer's Omelets, specially made to order
The Hanging Post, all the kids watching in awe

Chuck's Deer, a nice 4 point

Wyatt's Snowman, as tall as the trailer

Andrew playing in the snow and having a blast!

Welcome to Deer Camp!

Deer Hunting ... sound enticing??? Maybe not for a lot of people, but man-oh-man we sure had fun!! Deer hunting in our family is a family event. The women and children stay in camp while the men go out and hunt. In the evening however, is the time when the kids get to go along. When the guys have tags, hunting season is a time we all look forward to, here's a few reasons why:

Out in the Middle of Nowhere

Each year the guys pull tags for the same spot, 6.5 hours away from home in the middle of nowhere! Believe it or not, there is actually an upside to this. It means a week of no work, no church callings, and no dirty house to clean. It also means lots and lots of family time! I do feel fortunate though to have a trailer because you wouldn't catch me out there in a tent, it gets way too cold at night for that. I absolutely love the bonfires that burn day and night, it makes for an easy way to do the dishes.

The Company

You can't hand pick a better group of people to hang out with. The party consists of Harold & Donna, Kim & Chuck, Eric & Robin, Mom & Dad and Spencer and I, with a total of 9 kids between us. This group has been hunting together for years now and will hopefully continue on.

The Food

Oh my goodness the food!! We ate all too well and way too much. Forget the traditional hot dogs and smores that you might normally associate with camping and think fancy. We had homemade noodles & chicken, wilted salad, and homemade Carmel cinnamon rolls; dutch oven ribs, scalloped potatoes, wheat bread and peach cobbler; taco soup, dutch oven brownies & mint chocolate chip ice cream; sloppy joes; omelets, specially made to order; three berry slump cobbler; breakfast casseroles and dutch oven apple crisp pie. The Activities & Games

The kids in no way lacked entertainment. It snowed pretty good for the first couple of days we were there and they had a blast playing in the snow. A couple of days later after the snow melted the kids caught bugs, played baseball and rode the 4-wheeler around camp. Donna brought the makings for cupcakes and let the kids bake and decorate them.

The Reward

It's always nice to have a great time at camp, but it's even better when "The Hanging Post" has something hanging on it. After all, the whole purpose of the trip is for meat! Even though there is purpose to hanging an animal after the kill, I'm pretty convinced there is also a bragging right about it. Practically every hunter that passes another man's camp strains to look for it. Our camp was successful. When we left (2 days earlier than everyone else) we were 3 for 6, Spencer lucky enough to be one of them.