Summer 2011



Well, I know I'm a little late getting this posted, but for those of you who don't already know.... BABY #2 is on the way!! I'm just finishing up my first trimester, due Jan 12. I have to say, being pregnant is REALLY hard with a toddler around. Little man just doesn't understand why mom is suddenly such a bum all the time. He also thinks I've invented a new fun game where we run to the bathroom, stick our faces in the toilet, and make spitting and gagging noises. I have to admit, it is pretty funny to see his spin on all this. Taegan is 18 months old now and is loving summer. We are busy with taxidermy and have several projects going: rebuilding the inside of the gin, building the house, and getting ready for baby. (sigh).......pray for rain!!!!



Everyone, meet Josh. Josh is Al's cousin and is currently the newest resident of Punkin Center. (Can you believe in the last two years we've doubled our population here? At this rate we may need to go ahead and elect a mayor...maybe even set up some city ordinances.... #1: No shooting birds out of the trees during napping hours ...)
 Josh moved here almost 3 months ago and is doing taxidermy, helping with the house and gin, and is occasionally forced to hunt. I really don't know what we'd do without him.

Easter seems like forever ago, but I never did post pics so I wanted to share these. We had so much fun, and as you can see, the Easter bunny was good to Tac. This is a good stage because he cares more about opening and closing the eggs than he cares about what's inside them. Also, it doesn't even have to be candy or a toy inside the egg; a rock or piece of trash will do just as long as it makes noise when you shake it. ;)



He can be a little dramatic.



The confetti eggs were a lot of fun, but after a war a few years back, Mom now has a rule that all confetti eggs have to stay outside. What a bummer.

Krue Ryker Gray. My new nephew born just in time for Easter.

Cousins. Addisyn-4, Taegan- 16 mo, Krue- 4 days. As rough as Tac is, it's pretty nerveracking to sit him next to a 4 day old baby. Makes me wonder how our baby #2 is gonna survive.

Tac's favorite thing is for the guys to shoot their bows in the evening, and thankfully, it's really not too hard to talk them into it. Tac gets so excited and then can't wait to go get the arrows. Is it a bad thing when two of your baby's first words are "shoot" and "deer"? Not joking.

I blink and things like this happen.

We just got back from the state taxidermy convention. We had such a good time and learned so much. These are our competion pieces with our ribbons. I took a bobcat, Al took a whitetail, nilgai, and pronghorn, and Josh took a whitetail.  

Aren't my guys so sweet? This was for my birthday. Al brought me roses and Tac brought me carnations. It was precious seeing them walk in with their flowers. I'm a lucky girl.

Summer days. So much fun.



All my guys with their trophy pig. A 3-legged one to be exact.

 Wish the video wasn't so blurry so you could see Tac's face. He's having a blast.
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 After the taxidermy convention we went to Uncle Bill and Aunt Kristi's. I think Tac would move in with them in a heartbeat. He is definatly a little fish and isn't the least bit afraid of the water. Makes me a little afraid....



 I know it was probably wrong to post this picture, but it was pretty funny after the fact.

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Tac just doesn't understand why he can't get up there with daddy.



This past weekend everyone came in to help Al get the electrical in on the house. It was soooo hot and the guys worked so hard, but I thought it was kind of fun. Kind of like the old days of barn raising when all your family and neighbors came in to help you build. I never got a picture of all them together, but our electrical crew consisted of Al, Josh, Curtis, Dad, Trever, and Wayne....and Tac whenever he could get a hold of one of their tools.



The guys putting in Al's safe door, which according to Al is the most important part of the house. He swears that angels start singing everytime he opens it up.



Trever, Dad, & Curtis

 





Just wanted to show ya'll how the house is coming along. I'm so excited- every day I have to make myself not start packing.

I can't believe spring is already here! I have to admit, this is definately my favorite time of year but it just seems to go so fast. We seem to stay busy and are constantly running and have a dozen projects going at all time. Taegan is doing great and is really a lot of fun right now at 15 months old. He has reached two stages that I've been dreading though: (1) he can reach the top of the counter, and (2) he's figured out how to unscrew lids and open up things. I currently have the number to Poison Control Center posted on my fridge and I have had to call it. Keeping up with him is exhausting but I'm loving every minute!Nana and Papa got to come up for a visit and we really had a good time. We went up to Duck Creek to show them all the changes we've made.

This cracks me up. He realy thinks he's working and it's almost believable!

Redneck baby if I ever saw one.

Tac's first haircut!

How many people can you fit in a ranger?

The family that drives together stays together. :)

This is Al's Nilgai he got at the end of January. We went on this hunt in south Texas with Brent and a couple other guys. The nilgai wieghed close to 550 lbs and had 9" horns. And he tasted pretty good too. At 550 lbs I think we'll be tasting him for a while!!

While in south Texas, we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. I can't even believe it's been that long. Makes me feel a little old to know we're not newlyweds anymore. We got a house on the beach, left a baby with the grandparents, and had a great couple of days! Finally, our big day!! For the last 7 years we've taken pictures of houses, cut out things in magazines, and drawn on napkins, and now we have the amazing blessing of getting to build our dream house. The house will be directly behind our current house, next to the gin. I'm sure the contractors are gonna love having me right there handy to watch every thing they do and offer my much needed help and suggestions.... and change my mind 30 times. I am more excited than anyone could imagine- hence the shovel I painted gold for our "groundbreaking ceremony"- and I know the next few months are going to go really slow, but this is such a sweet time in our lives and we are so thankful!

This was our February snow! It got down to -2 degrees at our house. Tac thought it was the coolest thing ever and then afterward he got to eat snow ice cream, which wasn't too bad either.

We cooked for Indian Canyon ranch again this year for their roundup. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. Below, you'll see what happens when you let a toddler entertain himself while you try to cook and get things ready to take to the ranch. This is my closet. Or what's left of it. It's like having my very own tazmanian devil.

The boys in Al's reloading room working hard. I know what you're wondering, and the answer is yes.... we do have a room solely dedicated to reloading bullets. Tac is gonna know how to load a cartridge by the time he's 2.

Tac and Cotton getting dirty. Always. It's getting harder to bathe them together, though.

Brittany got to come down for her spring break. She wanted to see the place at Duck Creek, so we made the sacrifice and spent a few days down there.

Diggin ditches. We have a system. Al digs the dirt out and Tac rakes it all back down.

The guys have worked really hard at Duck creek over the past couple of months. The fruits of their labor..... a new fence, 2 new gates, and an entryway.

The snow at Duck Creek was breathtaking. It sure was hard to leave it and go back home.