So Daddy took off on his yearly hunting trip.
Now before I begin, I must tell you we missed him muchly! (yeah, that’s not a word) I had to tell you that because it might not look like it from this post . . . but we truly did miss the most fun person in our lives.
However, we have a theory that goes something like this:
When the cat’s away, we mice play!
We figure that if Daddy is gone having fun hunting, shooting an elk, enjoying a whole week of quietness (sounds heavenly) and bringing home some meat for us . . . we are going to be having a party of our own!
Of course, it wasn’t all fun and play. We did lots of work, too, as you’ll see! But the work makes the fun more worthwhile.
So while the Cat was Away . . .
(please forgive me, hun, for calling you a cat)
We got one of the huge jobs out of the way on the day Daddy left! Canned 36 quarts of peaches.
Lots of late-night movies and slumber parties in the living room.
We headed to the garden and dug up “Idaho treasures”! Otherwise known as spuds. These were two of our biggest ones!
For more fun, we rode the zipline a couple times at our bishop’s place (also where our annual church campout is). It extends over the gully behind the platform.
My brave little girl!
I had not ridden it yet, and was determined that if my children could do it . . . then I could too!
AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
The kids wanted to push me off. Chicken that I am, I let them. Saved me the terror of jumping!
We also went to the driving range. The kids had been asking to go all summer, so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go!
So is that considered a “golfer face“?
I wouldn’t know. I’m not a golfer . . . although I can make some strange faces.
The practice putting range was free and the managers lent us some equipment. The kids had so much fun! I enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air.
Sunday morning we found a treasure in the chicken coop. Our very first egg!!!!
You should have heard the celebration that followed.
{ Insert Sunday morning church service in here . . . without Daddy! }
Those always make me tremor a little inside. Six kids, by myself, in front of the whole church. As you can see, I was not cut out to be a single mom!
Sunday afternoon, we went to the park playground with Darlene and her children. Her husband, Marcus, had gone hunting with Lowell. So we were “hunting widows” together!
The sun even managed to peek out from behind a cloud at us for a few minutes!
On Labor Day, Derek was busy working at Charles’ cabinet shop for the day, so the little ones and I left to pick blueberries. They were big and beautiful, and it was a gorgeous day to be in the blueberry patch!
We took our blueberries home and put up a batch of blueberry pie filling – one of Lowell’s favorite!
Next up was the huge job of putting up our freezer corn for the year. To make it not such a ginormous job for one day, we picked and husked it the evening before. So on Tuesday, we brushed, cooked, cooled, and cut it off the cob.
But we had a good crew! Of course, it helped to take a 2-hour break by going to the zipline – again – at William Byler’s place. Then we were back at it, and finished in good time.
31 quarts later, we had washed it all up, and were ready to shout “hallelujah” that we were done for the year!
By the end of the day, Mommy was very tired. And cranky. Nobody wants to be with Mommy when she’s cranky.
Snuggling on the porch helped! We even sat out there after dark, watching God’s fireworks, and rushing in after the wind from the storm got too strong.
We also turned some of the cabbages from our garden into sauerkraut! The kiddos loved taking turns at the shredder. It was great, on my part! All I had to do was show them how to do it once, turn it over to The Big Cheese (i.e. Terrel when Derek is working), and 45 minutes later we had shredded cabbage.
Enough to fill 12 pints that are now fermenting in my basement!
Finally . . . the best day of the whole year!!
School starts!
We love school around here, don’t let those crazy faces fool ya. Even Little Tyke got his own mini lunchbox, although he still stays home with me.
The Moment We Anticipated . . .
I told the kids before Daddy arrived: “You kids can have the elk . . . I get the hunter.“ 🙂
And in case you other hunters are wanting to know, yes, that rack is from Lowell’s hunt this year. He shot a four by four at 35 yards with a bow! We are proud and thankful for meat to fill our freezer.
And now that Daddy is home – it’s back to real life once again!
- The Adventum CD Collection – Sale Now - March 27, 2021
- Alternative To Facebook Option - January 30, 2021
- The Beauty of the Hoary Head - January 2, 2021
Cynthia Freed Winger says
Great accomplishments on all endeavors!
Betsy says
Such a fun filled post. It sounds like you had the perfect mix of fun and work. Your kids happy faces show it all. And…I’m impressed that you were able to do the zip line. Not me. I’m terrified of heights.
Blessings,
Betsy
Living in the Shoe says
Truthfully, I was terrified! But only for the first time. 🙂 Second time was more fun – I even looked down!
Grandma says
This is the best & you are the best! I’m glad Lowell got the elk. Thanks for the wonderful post.
Living in the Shoe says
Thanks, Mom! We are enjoying eating Lowell’s elk – it was a young bull and is so tender and delicious! It’s what’s for lunch tomorrow. 🙂
Martin & Rachel Holsinger says
You got a lot of work done! And took time for fun too…good job,mom! 🙂 I always heave a sigh of relief when my corn is done too :p
So glad I got to see you this summer!
Living in the Shoe says
Yes, I love getting that job done for the year!! Feels so good. 🙂
And it was so very wonderful to see you, Rachel! Hopefully, it won’t be that many years before we see each other again.