{groundhog down}

Oh yes.  That's my first kill.  Ever.

I know, you're impressed.

Our friend, Mr. Groundhog, had been residing under our barn for quite a while, digging holes and such.  Josh kept encouraging me to shoot him when I would see him strolling through our front yard, but seriously, I had zero confidence in my ability to make that weapon work correctly.  

We shoot handguns on our shooting range fairly often.  The one in my hand?  Not so much...or ever for that matter.  

We set up a live trap for our groundhog friend.  We put out lettuce, spinach, fruit, covered it all in vanilla, and even purchased {yes, purchased!} a cantaloupe for him. He didn't take the bait.  He ate all of the food leading right up to the live trap, but he would not enter.  Instead, we caught a couple of possums.  Let's all take a minute and take note that groundhogs are obviously smarter than possums.  

Thankfully, Josh conducted a little groundhog shooting 101 class with me a couple of weeks ago.  He even removed one of the window screens so we could shoot it from the family room.  We're classy in this house, I tell you.  

This is how it all went down {exact times may not be accurate}:

2:17 p.m.  I'm reading about the vikings for our history lesson.

2:22 p.m.  One of the girls spots our chubby little groundhog friend out in the driveway.

2:23 p.m.  I send the girls to our bedroom to watch from the window, and I grab the gun out of the safe.

2:25 p.m.  I open the unscreened family room window and locate chubbs in the scope.  

2:26 p.m.  I click the safety off and attempt to pull the trigger.  Problem: the gun is not ready.  Safety back on.  I must recall groundhog shooting 101 information.  

2:27 p.m.  Gun is ready.  Back on track.  Groundhog has moved closer to the woods.  

2:28 p.m.  I think the groundhog has ran back into the woods, so I close the window.  

2:29 p.m.  Ooooo!  There he is again...he didn't go into the woods!

2:30 p.m.  Watch him through my scope and click the safety back off.  

2:31 p.m.  Fire!!!  Success.  Groundhog down.

2:32 p.m.  Totally feel like a big deal.

2:33 p.m.  Gun away, children out of bedroom, resume with the vikings.

And that's pretty much it, my friends.

{learning a new language}

Claire and Meredith are currently in the process of creating their own language.  I find it pretty amusing when I hear them making statements to each other.  Most of the time they have to discuss their choice of words because one of them can't remember what half of the words mean.

I haven't paid too much attention to their created words, but they did inform me tonight that "Mom" is now "Model".  Flattering.  Thank you. :)  ...especially compared to "Dad" which is now "Oodoh".

They obviously know who cooks the meals around here.

{amelia's first hunt}

Amelia finally got to go on her very first hunt.  Daddy woke her up bright and early and dressed her in some camo.

To say that she was excited would be an understatement...a huge understatement.

Of course, I had to take plenty of photos.

I'm in love with this one {ignore Josh's "grandpa" truck in the background}.  {I know, honey, that cap serves lots of great purposes...not one of them has anything to do with style...purely practical.}

About 15 minutes after they left, I heard a few shots.  I was hoping that meant success.  And 30 minutes later, they came back with their bounty.  

Again, she could not have been more excited.

 

Josh told the funniest story after their hunt.  He said that after he shot the first squirrel, Amelia covered her mouth as they walked to pick it up.  Being that this was the first animal that she had seen shot and killed, he wasn't sure if she was upset about the squirrel dying.  When he looked to see if she was crying, she was actually giggling and doing her best to contain her excitement! :)

{these two}

These two.  

-very headstrong

-want their own way

-want to sit next to each other at meals

-aren't allowed to sit next to each other at meals

-can't stop touching

-can't stop bossing the other

-want to always play with the toy that the other has

Next summer?  Only time will tell.

They obviously love each other a bunch.  Really, they do. :)

{b.i.f. fifteen}

Olivia can now climb up onto our bar chairs and then up onto the kitchen counter. Overall, I find this a bit scary. Thankfully, I have 3 little pairs of eyes that help me watch for the climbing. Today, after Amelia informed me that Olivia was on the counter, I heard her say, "Livi! You can't be up there...you might fall off and break yourself!"

{cousins}

Just hangin' at the lake with Eden. :)

We had a lot of great weekends at the lake this summer.  We are so incredibly blessed!

{14 minutes vs. 13 hours}

The following conversation is completely typical of Amelia right now.  

Background info:  Almost every morning that I get up before my girls {which, at this point, is most mornings}, Amelia hears me.  It doesn't matter if I'm unloading the dishwasher, typing on the computer, or reading a book.  She hears me.  It's like she has a sixth sense that I'm awake.  

She, of course, thinks that she should be awake if I am awake.  This girl turns extremely grumpy without enough sleep.  However, if she takes a nap in the afternoon, you can bet she'll be up until 11:00 wide awake.  We avoid naps if at all possible.  

In the mornings, though, 9 times out of 10, I can convince her to go back to sleep.  I put her back in her bed, in my bed, or cozy her up on the couch for an extra hour of snooze time.

If it is before 8:00, I typically don't let her stay out of bed.  This morning, she woke up at 7:00.  I put her in my bed...no use.  I grabbed the softest blanket and snuggled her up on the couch...no use.  At this point, it was 7:46, and she was asking for breakfast.  

Me:  Just lay there for 14 more minutes, and then you may have breakfast.  

A:  But Mom...that's like 13 hours!!

Me: Not quite.