Day 28: Thankful for our Fireplace

It's the U.P.... it's late November... and it's cold!! And on days like this I am very thankful for our wood burning fireplace that makes our house nice and toasty warm. I've even learned how to successfully start a fire myself with out causing too much smoke to fill the house! It makes me very happy and is so cozy :) Today I am thankful that Luke cut all this wood for us and that we get to enjoy nice fires during the wintertime!

Day Six: Thankful for a Successful Hunt

Fall is a rough time of year to be married to a Yooper. Between bird season, trapping, bow hunting and gun hunting, there are plenty of activities for Luke to partake in. I enjoy bird season because we can go walking as a family, and trapping season means lots of time for Luke and the boys to be together. But bow and gun hunting are more individual sports (at least until the boys are older). So last year when Luke suggested we purchase some additional land behind our house, I was all for it. It would protect our view of the woods, ensure our privacy, give the boys tons of room to explore and provide a place for Luke to hunt close to home! That has been one of the best decisions we have made. And from a hunting stand point, it paid off Sunday morning when Luke got a nice 7 point buck. He was SO excited and even though he has gotten over 20 deer in his life, this was only the third deer taken with the bow. He came into the house to tell us the news and I quickly got the boys bundled up so they could go look at the deer. I'm not sure who was more excited, Blake or Luke. Blake kept asking me if he "yooked yike a hunter man". I was a little nervous about how they would react to seeing the deer, but Luke has done a great job on educating them about hunting, gun safety, etc. Plus, I'm not sure that Blake can even connect everything yet. When Luke told us about the deer, Blake said that he "yuves deer meat" :) So today, I am thankful for a successful hunt, for deer meat in the freezer and for the happiness in my husband's (and boys') eyes! A couple pics of the hunt:

Day Two: Thankful for Luke

I'm sure it goes with out saying that I am very thankful to have such a wonderful husband by my side. He is very loving and caring, but one of my favorite things about him is that he is an amazing dad! He is so active in the boys' lives and loves to be with them. For the past two weeks, Luke has been setting or checking traps every other day. Even though it wasn't easy, he has taken the boys with him to check the traps almost every time. Here's an email Luke sent out with some pictures from their trapping adventures. I think the love and pride he has for his sons really comes through:

Well, this year has been one of those years where it has been tough sledding from the start. You know you are in tough country when you need to start taking pictures of coons. Anyhow, the one pic is the standard pic my dad would take. Basket on the hood of the old Chevy pickup, and the other is the boys favorite part of the whole trapping experience this year, "The cows." I now have cow drool all over my truck inside and out, but the smiles and laughs from the two turkeys are worth it. Alan's farm is the perfect place for two boys to have some fun. We have one checking left, but the tally so far is 1 grey fox, 1 coon, 3 skunks. I had one coyote and trap gone, and I also had a fox that I believe was stolen. There was bow stand up there when I went back to investigate the second time after a sleepless night of wondering what happened. The only thing worth bragging about in any of the pictures is the boys, they remind me of my dad all the time and that makes me smile. Talk to you later.

Luke, Blake, and The Big Haus (Drew)

Had to add in this last picture of their final "check" of the traps - they got a Coyote!

Generations

Luke's Dad, Steve, was an avid hunter/fisher/trapper and definitely passed on the love of the outdoors to Luke. Now Luke has started to teach Blake about his passions. Here are a couple of neat pictures showing multiple generations enjoying the sport of trapping:


Luke and his Dad Steve (~1986)

Luke and Blake (2010)