A Hunting We Will Go...

Since we have returned to California, we have been doing some hunting. First, Mark had to fulfill a "promise" he made to the kids (which Josh wouldn't let him forget about, of course). He said he would take them out each by themselves for a hunt. I thought it was a great way to return, spending individual time with each kid after the long absence...during the next few Saturdays. Oh no, Mark couldn't wait! We returned from Pittsburgh on Friday(Nov. 30th) Mark took Sierra pheasant hunting on Tuesday. And they did pretty well...(so did Scout!)




Then he took Joshua duck hunting on Wednesday. They sat...and sat....and sat! Mark got about 13 shots and didn't hit anything. But JUST as they were about to leave, Mark took ONE last shot and got a golden eye. For Josh, it was all worth it.



And THEN we went hunting for our CHRISTMAS TREE! Saturday morning we set out for Apple Hill(Placerville). We thought we'd go for an "experience" this year rather than going to Target like we do every year. Not that there is anything wrong with Target, heck, we'll probably do that next year. But we thought it would be fun to go tromping through a big forest, looking for the PERFECT tree because you know, only the "perfect ones" are still out there in their original spots all nice and fresh, right? So we stopped at the first tree farm we saw that said "$35 dollars, any tree!" Who can beat that?! We all jumped out of the truck, dog and kids running through the mud, up the hills, down the hills. The guy gave us quick advice and a saw and we were one our way.

His advice was to look at the top 10 feet of the tree (the 40-50 foot trees that is!) and cut it down and chop off the bottom. It sounded so easy! 45 minutes later in 35 degree weather, getting headaches from looking up at trees with the sun in our eyes, we started to see why the trees were so cheap! You can't REALLY tell how good they are when you are staring straight up at them! You had to tromp up the hill to try and get a "level eye'd" look, but it's only from one side. After Josh slipping down a hillside in mud on his rear(Picture below bearing Josh's embarrassed stance with a mudbum), Scout running off after another dog over and over, Sierra trying to go pee in the cold because there wasn't a bathroom anywhere within miles(sorry, no picture!), we were laughing hysterically and having the adventure we usually have, CRAZINESS! :) But we got our tree! And after sawing it down let's just say it's fit to be a "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree. We like it anyways...because why? IT WAS ALL FOR THE EXPERIENCE!






I'll save the decorating pics for tomorrow...the finished product needs some fine pruning...although I think it's hopeless! :)