Maymont Park, Revisited

Mr. Owl

Aunt Jessica and Magnus

Watching the River Otters play.

Clayton, Courtney and Magnus (cousins) beside the fish/turtle tank.

While part of Joe's family was here during New Year's week, the ladies and kids had a fun little outing to my favorite Richmond park, "Maymont". The men-folk were too busy seeking action during the last week of hunting season, and missed all the fun. It was a very cold day with some freezing rain, but it let up in time for us to see the bears and other outdoor critters at the petting zoo. Magnus thought it was a wonderful experience and didn't complain at all about the frigid temperatures. I simply must be a good mommy and take him back again soon on a sunny day. =) But for now, all he really wants is to just go to bed, so I am off to oblige him!

Christmas Fun 2008

Erika loves helping in the kitchen! Here she is rolling out the dinner rolls.

The successful hunters! Joe got an 8 point, Dad a 6 point and Eric 2 does.

Joe's 8 point. Lovely deer with broken antlers. He must've been a rowdy one!

Unwrapping presents! Ahh, what joy!

Eric & Joe went riding. Check out how Eric & E-Z both have their mouths turned the same way!
Silly clowns! I know they did that on purpose.
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We had a wonderful Christmas with my family! My parents, my brother Eric and my 5 y.o. niece Erika came up for a few days of Christmas-ing, feasting, hunting and visiting. Erika and Magnus played together nearly non-stop. They spent hours drawing together with their markers at the bar while Mom and I cooked, and they enjoyed playing with their new toys. Magnus has missed them since they've gone, and asks about them every day by name. He'll go, "Nana? Pa Pa? Eweeka? Eweek?" He won't be lonely for long though, as Joe's family is coming in tonight to spend the rest of the week with us. I see more feasting ahead, and probably more deer slaying. Guess I better get my knife sharpened up again. Joe and I just finished packaging/canning/marinating the last of the deer meat from his 8 point today, but I have a feeling that with Joe's brother-in-law Paul (a professional in hunting) and his Dad in town, we'll be pulling out the meat grinder and pressure canner again very soon... =) Run, Bambi, Run!

Cruising with Tyler

My cousin Lori from Nebraska was in NC for a few days, so we went down yesterday morning to spend a little bit of time with them before they headed back to no-man's land. We got to stay with my parents (of course) and Magnus really enjoyed having some PaPa and Nanna time. He loved seeing Lori's kids also, and thought having another little boy just his size (and only 3 1/2 months older) to play with was just pretty cool.

My Birthday Table

I told you I would post pictures of my birthday gift from Joe (that he made for me!!) as soon as it was finished, so here it is! It's not COMPLETELY finished until I get a wicked-cool western drawer pull for it, but I just couldn't wait any longer to share it with you. I am so in love with this table... we made it out of wood from our very own old barn. The legs are complete with nifty little worm-holes & "tunnels". Am I spoiled or what? Just wait until you see the dining room table he's going to make for me! (Right, sweetheart??)

20th Month Pictures... now that Magnus is 21 months!

Getting Close to Nature

Looking all stealthy in Joe's fluffy camo.

Looking all warm in Joe's fuzzy mask.

The essentials. Shotgun, Bible and bag of snacks (chocolate).

You need to click on this photo & make it bigger - it's some kind of cute!

The beaver.

I have spent two afternoons in the woods since shotgun season opened Saturday. Joe kindly volunteered his wonderful babysitting skills so I could go enjoy some one-on-one with nature. My, what fun this hunting business is! If I actually do kill a deer I'm sure I'll be a hopeless addict. =) Although, my "cravings" for the woods stop short when the wind chill gets a bit, um, chilly. My first day out was a true delight. Along with the 70 degree weather, I enjoyed much wildlife that included 7 deer, 4 raccoons (mom and 3 young ones - awww, so cute!!) and many neat things in the sky - such as a partial rainbow, a Bald Eagle, a Red-tailed Hawk, a Crane that sounded like a duck with a bad cold, and some very amusing woodpeckers of several different varieties. The second day I went out, I took my camera in hopes of seeing my little raccoon buddies again. As you can see from the photo, they still live in that nifty tree-house! Such cute little rascals, and it was fun to watch their "mom" tell them to stay in the tree (which they obediently did, only poking a head or some little feet out occasionally) while she went around digging in the mud and washing her face - right under my tree stand. I also saw 2 deer on that second day (no bucks.. which was fortunate for them!) some squirrels, and tons of little birds that made a terrible racket behind me all day long, including a little Tufted Titmouse that perched on a limb about 4 feet above me and eyed my bag of goodies, chirping loudly as if he thought he could scare me away from the food stash long enough for him to grab a bite. (I had dark chocolate in there, so it wasn't going to happen!!) Two beavers also came out at dusk and crunched away at limbs as they swam through the water. All I saw (besides a cute little animal) was a lush fur cape draped around my neck... Those little critters are tops on my most wanted list, and if you ever see me curled up in luxurious beaver fur, you'll know where I got it. Hopefully I can figure out a way to clean all the swamp cooties off of it first. =)

Pig Roast Friday

Melvin posing with Wilber before he turned to BBQ!

The chefs - they started the pig at 6am and cooked him for about 12 hours!

Wilber looks much tastier now! mmmm!!! Swimming in BBQ sauce.

Part of the church people (and other friends) that gathered - here we played "rythym".

We had a great pig roast of Friday (sponsored by our very own Grace Bible Church) in spite of the occasional rain. Some people got here early so we could let them have horsie rides on E-Z and I gave some super-fun cart rides, courtesy of Jake. There was more food than could fit in our little barn's apartment kitchen, along with a 160lb. (dressed weight) pig to eat too! (We even had enough pork leftover to have BBQ sandwiches on Sunday for the church's meal.) We had a small bonfire that we roasted marshmallows & Smores on, sang songs along with the guitar that Kris brought & then we played a couple group games. It was such a good time! Can't wait to do it again. I'm sure all the pigs out there are trembling at the thought! Run, Wilber, RUUUN!

Family Time

Awww... we're all growed up!

Watch closely as the mighty male lion prepares to devour it's young in a single gulp!

Happy times with Nanna and PaPa

Our threesome.

Happy Fall, Ya'll

Somebody stole my horse!! Oh, what am I gonna do??

I know! I'll just rope me another 'un!

The Buckaroo Baby

Yeehaw! This is the most well behaved horse I've ever ridden!

Nifty Nifty... mom is __!!!

Can you guess how old she is?? You certainly can't go by looks - many times people have thought she was my sister. You have to decode my easy-peasy riddle from the name of this post. =) Since I've given away her age, I guess I better give mine away too. I turned 27 on my mom's birthday - October 29th. Now, wasn't I just the mostest specialest birthday present anyone could possible think of? She's the only person I know that can give kids out as a birthday gifts. =) She gave Dad one first, then 15 months later she got one too! (And for the last 28 years, Dad and Mom have been giving gifts to Eric and I on THEIR birthdays. I know that doesn't really seem fair, but Eric and I never really complained about it much, and neither did they.) I was thrilled to get to spend our birthday in NC with them this year, and we ate lots of good food, had a day of some great shopping, and just enjoyed being together. I was spoiled rotten, as usual, and got some cool birthday gifts, including one that Joe designed/made himself - pics of that to come later. (It's not quite finished!)