Homework: Talking Turkey

One of Paytons "homework" assignments last month was to tell a story and have mom or dad write it down. Here's Payton's story...

Ok, so we got out of the truck and we heard a turkey gobble. And then we started to hike and hike and hike until we got to this spot and put this blind over us. Then we put the decoys out and Tyler {our neighbor} started to call and call and call. Then these two jakes {young male turkeys} came in and then he called again. but then this other huge one came and Tyler thought is was an 8 inch beard so dad said, "Should we take 'im?" Tyler said, "Sure". So dad shot him. The end.

The mighty hunters
Payton, Todd & Tyler

It was a good turkey hunt this year for Todd and I'm so glad Payton got to be there with him. They went out early one morning before school and were home in time for Payton to take the story with him to school. It had an 11 inch beard {apparently that's great!} and according to Payton it had hair on its waddle and on it's chest. Gotta love the hunters!!The 11 inch beard

{probably why I've never been one who likes beards}

A Sweet Surprise...for Todd

A warning for the girls:

DON'T BE JEALOUS OF ME!

So on my way home from work yesterday I called Todd and asked if he had picked the kids up from Tiffani's. He said he hadn't because he had been delayed and he had a surprise for me when I got home. My first question was, "Is it another dead animal?" He laughed a bit and just said he wouldn't tell me. I'd just have to wait until I got home.

Well, I picked up the kids and hurried home to see the great surprise. It was a surprise but it was greater for Todd than for me. I shared in his joy as he told me the story about our new pet, "The Calico Buck". One of his buddies, Seth, had taken a set of old sheds Todd and his dad had found hunting a long time ago. (for you non-hunting folk I'm not talking about storage sheds. I'm talking about deer sheds--their antlers that fall off every year and Todd loves hiking around finding them) The sheds were old, broken and falling apart but Todd hung onto them because they were a matching set and I think some of it was for sentimental reasons--being that he found them with his dad and all.

Seth took them over a year ago and has been working on them, fixing them up and restoring them to what the original probably looked like. He was working with another of Todd's buddies, Jeff, who does taxidermy and was giving Seth pointers to help him out. Seth was trying to fix them up as a surprise for Todd to give to him. After Seth got them looking good he'd take them to Jeff for more tips on what to do next. After a while of doing this the sheds were looking great and Jeff got the brainy idea that they couldn't just be sheds given to Todd, they needed to go on a body. So these two buddies worked together for over a year on this buck that they now call the Calico Buck. Todd was in awe when they just gave it to him last night. He didn't know what to say because he was so taken back. When he shared the story with me he kept saying, "I don't get it. Why would they do all that for me?" Well, I know why--I married him, duh! It's awesome to see his friends show him by doing something awesome for him. Heaven knows I can't compete with that.

I just need to write a letter to those boys now and let them know the deer on the wall has stolen Todd's eye and I just can't compete anymore. He used to look at me like that. At least when I think we have no money left we will always have two bucks to our name!

The deer on the right is the one from Jeff and Seth and the one of the left Todd shot a couple years ago.

End of one hunt...start of the next

I think this must have been Todd's horse. Just not sure what the picture's for other than to show the horse and his back?

Nice back side shot

Todd, Dave & their horses (don't know the horses names...sorry)

On top of Pine Valley Mountain...or as Todd would say on the phone when he'd call, "We're on top of the world".

This was the boys camp for the five day trek.

The Muzzle Loader is over and although I might have complained (mostly to Kandice) about Todd being gone for five days it wasn't all bad. He even took the boys out hunting the last night of the hunt. They didn't leave until after 5pm and they were back by 8:45 so you can imagine the huge bucks they saw. I just thought it was good he took the boys with him. Porter sounded a bit sad because "Payton and dad were being mean" to him. I guess when they got out and hiked around he couldn't keep up as well--that happens when you have mom's length of legs--and so he got told to hurry up a lot or he was going to get left. They are just so mean, huh? At least they had good snacks (String Cheese, grapes and cheetos..who could ask for anything more?) and mom got a night alone to watch a chick flick Todd would never stick around long enough to watch. Can't wait for the rifle hunt to start in a couple weeks. Then the hunts are really over...until the next one. This was the only picture I got before they left to go hunting. He's so photogenic eh? No wonder they didn't see any bucks. I'd run away from that too! Kinda' Elmer Fuddish.

Muzzle Loader coming to a close

Well, Todd has been gone with my bro-in-law Dave hunting since Saturday and won't be back until tomorrow....sometime. It hasn't been awful without him but it hasn't been all hunky dory either. I'm having trouble with my four year old being able to listen and follow directions. Now I'm told this is normal but it is sooooo frustrating! Kandice, Tiffani and I went yard sale shopping on Saturday. (here's a picture of all our treasures!) Somehow Tiff got her hubby to take her boys along on his muzzle loader hunt. Gunna have to do some practicing i guess to get Todd to take that hint. Anyway we went to Costco later that day. The dang kid (talking about Payton here) got lost...well...so he ran away trying to be funny. Costco's a bit larger than our house or even Nissons Food Town for that matter so his mom didn't find it a bit funny when she found him standing on top to three stacks high of the tissue paper in the back of the store. He had a bird's eye view of his mom looking for him I'm sure and was probably just thriving on the whole experience of watching me freak out! Well, there's more instances of course but I'm sure excited to have Todd come home so he can deal with him for a little while.
Of course we have done some fun things while Todd's been gone. Last night was probably one of the most fun things. Kandice called me up Monday and said she had a fun idea for dinner and FHE that night. She brought over some Kimono's (sp?) that my bro. brought home from his mission to Japan and we made Chinese food. The boys dressed up and used chop sticks and everything. It was a fun way to have dinner and something different. Payton asked this morning if we were going to have China food again today. Thanks Kandice for spicing up our lives. We just got back from the Rec Center and the boys are zonked out on the couch and their bed so I thought it was a perfect time to do a bit of blogging. I would love to say I'll have a great post on the successful hunt tomorrow but I know Todd a bit better. He's not shooting anything unless it's a monster buck...and do those really exist?