Mocha Pudding Cake
[recipe found here]
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder, divided
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups hot coffee

Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine flour, sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in an 8 inch square baking pan and stir with a fork to combine. Add in milk and oil, and stir with the fork until batter is uniform and no patches of dry ingredients remain.
Sprinkle brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa powder evenly over batter.

Add vanilla to the hot coffee and pour over everything. Do not mix.

Place pan in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until surface of the cake looks dry. The pudding will be bubbling around the edges. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, as desired.
Leftovers, if you have them, can be stored in the fridge. Reheat before serving.

Now, of course, I used a 9×13 pan (a real 9×13 pan works a lot better than the 10×14 pans we call 9×13!), and double all ingredients. I suppose your coffee would be alright to put the full amount in; mine was too strong so I had to back off a little (2 cups coffee, 1/2 cup water) last time, and it was…wondamous.

Oh yes, and I also mixed my ingredients in a different bowl…I just find bowls easier to mix in! I also used Rice Milk because Mom doesn’t like it as much as soy milk. It may be a little bit sweeter because of it!

And sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product in the pan…I was too eager to get to EATING!!

Time goes by so fast. You can’t do anything to slow it down.

Ephesians 5:15-16 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

What then should you do? Consider the foremost commandment:

Mark 10:28-31 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

I suppose love is a good place to start then. Love God, love others. What does it mean to love God?

John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

Think love isn’t a big deal? Check this out:

1 John 4:7-11 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

and…

1 Peter 4:7-9 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Hey…if love covers a multitude of sins, I say everybody could use more loving! If you love God, you will do what He says. If He says to love your neighbor, you will. If you love your neighbor, you will be looking out for his better interest above yours. If you love your neighbor, you won’t be focussing on yourself. If you love your neighbor, you can look past his faults to see a creation of God’s who needs the Truth, no matter if the Truth seems harsh.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

For instance, if your neighbor was about to be run over by a speeding car, but he was talking to you and you didn’t want to interrupt him because that would be rude, he would soon be run over by the truth of that speeding car. Truth isn’t always easy. In fact, it’s rarely easy. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t share the Truth.

Ephesians 4:9-16 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

How about some “truth in love” in action?

Jude 22, 23 And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.

James 5:19, 20 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

Annnd…I don’t know if I really have a point, other than use your time wisely: love God and love others.

Men in the Kitchen – Valentine’s Day Edition.

The girls are gone and it’s Valentine’s Day…what should the boys do?

The answer is: Get creative!

And Happy Valentine’s Day!

“Those are molasses muffins,” Dennis said, upon being questioned.

After dinner, however, muffins were divided and the ice cream brought out of hiding to say that yes, this sugar fast is over, and yes, it did end early contrary to former assertions.

Today, the family enjoyed treats from England and Scotland. Their English neighbor spent the holidays in England, and brought them back chocolates (made in Ireland, actually), some other kind of candy, real Scottish shortbread, and Lemon Curd and Beetroot Chutney. All were much appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed.

For some reason, even though we eat all the sugar in the month of December, in January we are usually sick a good part of the month. This time it seems to be pretty bad (although not as bad as one year in particular).

Let’s see. First we’re all kind of passing around colds. And the swollen-tonsils bug (which is nasty!!), and the cough bug, and the red-slightly-swollen-cruddy-eyes bug (gross). Yeah. So like, two at a time will have it, so it’s nice and spread out. Oh and I forgot, the one-or-two-degree-temperature-feel-really-miserable bug. Yesterday I was feeling miserable and almost wished I had a temperature to justify it (I mean, besides my stuffed-up running nose…how does that work at the same time, anyway?…and my slightly swollen tonsils and cough and red eye). So later on I took my temperature…and I did have one!

Ok, and then was it Monday? The boys were at Kelly’s fixing Joe’s bumper and Mom got a call and Joe was freaking out saying “Kelly says Ben cut his finger off!!” and Mom didn’t know if he was joking or not, or if Kelly was joking or not! (Both are such big jokers it’s hard to tell when something actually IS wrong!) So finally it came out that he had a cut on his finger (left middle…no more flipping people off! OK so he doesn’t do that!) because when they were throwing the 100+ pound bumper in the back of Joe’s pickup, it landed on Ben’s finger, and since they could see bone when they opened it up, Kelly took him into the Emergency Room.

So they’re in there, and Joe takes a picture on his phone of Ben on the table, and his finger. Gross. Well, the verdict was, the finger wasn’t cut…it was burst! Now doesn’t that sound just disgusting?!?

Anyway, so the doctor was giving Ben a shot on either side of his knuckle on his hand, on the top side (the burst was on the underside). He’d poke the needle in…then wiggle it! Then he’d poke the needle through Ben’s hand and squirt the underside of his hand with the numbing stuff! And then…he poked the needle through Ben’s hand and into his own! He jumped and told Ben “Don’t move!” like it was Ben’s fault!

Well, he got six stitches, and a bandage, and the nurse gave Eric the forceps, tweezers, and scissors (which Eric gave to us girls for sewing scissors!). And they came home.

Then yesterday, Joe was hammering something (to do with his bumper again, I think!) and whacked his finger really hard (left index). It hurt for a long time! Mom and I were wondering if he might have cracked his fingertip bone or something. We told him to take Tylenol. After all, that’s all Ben’s prescription was…acetaminophen!

Mom went to town yesterday to meet Dad, and called and told Eric (who was helping Joe with his bumper again) he better be careful. He wanted to know why. Mom told him there seemed to be a trend…first Ben’s finger, then Joe’s,…so Eric better watch out!

Anyway. This isn’t a complaining post, I promise! Just…one to let you know…if you never hear from us again…we disintegrated!

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

It has been almost five weeks since Grandpa’s exit to Life.

Homesick
Mercy Me

You’re in a better place, I’ve heard a thousand times
And at least a thousand times I’ve rejoiced for you
But the reason why I’m broken, the reason why I cry
Is how long must I wait to be with you

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home’s where my heart is then I’m out of place
Lord, won’t you give me strength to make it through somehow
I’ve never been more homesick than now

Help me Lord cause I don’t understand your ways
The reason why I wonder if I’ll ever know
But, even if you showed me, the hurt would be the same
Cause I’m still here so far away from home

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home’s where my heart is then I’m out of place
Lord, won’t you give me strength to make it through somehow
I’ve never been more homesick than now

In Christ, there are no goodbyes
And in Christ, there is no end
So I’ll hold onto Jesus with all that I have
To see you again
To see you again

And I close my eyes and I see your face
If home’s where my heart is then I’m out of place
Lord, won’t you give me strength to make it through somehow
Won’t you give me strength to make it through somehow
Won’t you give me strength to make it through somehow

I’ve never been more homesick than now

Everyone was glad Mom and Joe went. Everyone was also glad to have them back.

Dad, Ben, Elle Janie, and I ended up going; we left on the 19th, sometime after 8pm. We left at night, so the baby would sleep! Which she did; she actually did very good.

Our kind dentist loaned us a Buick Park Avenue, a few years old but awfully nice. Mom didn’t think Dad would take Dr. Wagner up on his offer, but the dentist phrased it somewhat like this (I wasn’t there to get the exact words, but I guess this is a paraphrase!):
Dr. Wagner: I have this car that really misses Portland.
Dad: Oh ok, you need it dropped off?
Dr. Wagner: No, it wants to come home after a few days.

Well, it was a really nice car and we took it. It had so many bells and whistles that I’d never heard of! The windshield sensed rain and turned the wipers on automatically. There was a head’s up display that showed the mph on the windshield. It was really comfy. Anyway, the dentist wasn’t joking. As soon as we got into Oregon, the windshield wipers started going enthusiastically! All by themselves. It was funny!

When we got into town we went to Grandma Kathy’s. Aunt Laurie was looking through pictures because they were making poster boards with pictures of Grandpa on them. Joe let me look through pictures he had on his camera. Here’s some from the two and a half weeks he was there without us (minus the food pictures, which will come another time!):

Grandma Kathy in the hospice

Joe while driving

Paul (left) and John

Mom

A very picturesque picture of the river to which I added a few effects

Papa making Mom and Joe breakfast

Joe’s reflection (I thought it was picturesque!) in a birdhouse hubcap…birdhouses were made out of different things; this one was made out of VW Bug parts

Mom (right, in the blue skirt) and Aunt Laurie doing puzzles in the hospice

Paul (left) and John

Left to right: Joe, Gramma Kathy, Mom, Aunt Laurie looking at the pictures for the posters

We had lunch at Grandma Kathy’s, and looked through pictures and stuff.

Mom and Elle Janie who was so glad to see Mom that…(see next picture)

…she orbited around Mom! She kept her hand on Mom and walked around her in a circle for a long time, not letting go!

Dad rocking out with his acoustic guitar!

Dad and I

Dad, Aunt Laurie, Mom, Elle Janie, and Ben looking at pictures

Me writing as always! This is what I was doing while they were looking at pictures

Later on went to Grammoo and Papa’s for dinner. We got there about six. Grammoo made us an awesome roast dinner, with all the milk we could drink. We (the six of us; Grammoo and Papa don’t drink milk) drank a whole gallon at the one dinner!

Dad read a few Pat McManus stories. He got a few Pat McManus books as a surprise for when we went hunting, then we didn’t go!

Friday we got up at 7…Grammoo made breakfast (hash browns, which Joe made; bacon AND sausage, and blueberry muffins). After breakfast, we left to the Mausoleum to see Grandpa interned.

We were the first at mausoleum (after thinking we were late, we were early!) so we waited for Grandma Kathy and family. Aunt Jeanie and Uncle Earl came too. Grandma Kathy’s dad (who I guess is our great-grandpa Peterson!…he was only three years older than Grandpa, actually) came and Grandma Kathy’s oldest and youngest sisters Karen and Paula (respectively). We realized they are our aunts!
Anyway. Once everyone came we went inside and stood in the entry way, then went and sat down in a little living room thing. After a while a man came with the urn, and we followed him out to the mausoleum.

The earliest date we saw was 1914. The walls and fronts where the caskets and urns went was marble. Some spaces were caskets in sideways; some were in longways, with their ‘head’ showing. Grandpa’s is in one of the longways places because Grandma Kathy wants to be in a casket, so she will be interned with him when she dies.

We followed the mausoleum man through the halls and to the elevator, then up a floor, and to the open crypt. The square marble slab was off. It reminds me of that one verse where Jesus compared the Pharisees to a white washed sepulcher. That’s what it was! The marble and brass and ornate finishings merely were decorations for the concealing of dead people. It was a weird thought.

The man put the urn gently in the cavity, and let us say words. Dad read the passage from 1 Thessalonians, and Grandpa Peterson told us about this song, something about seeing Jesus in people, and he said he saw Jesus in grandpa, there was no doubt. Then we all said the Lord’s Prayer, and kind of stood around. Grandma Kathy went around and hugged everyone. Then Mom asked the guy if we could see where her mom and brother were interned. Entombed? Encrypted?
Anyways. So he asked the desk and got directions and we saw their crypts. On another nearby wall were Grandpa’s folks, in caskets. We stood there for a while. I couldn’t help thinking of the state of the bodies. Grandpa’s parents were in the sideways caskets, so the bodies were there, whole, instead of ashes. I thought I should feel creeped out to be surrounded by dead bodies, even if they were behind marble, but I didn’t…but I thought if I were alone, at night, perhaps I would have been creeped out…especially if there was a creepy guy chasing me around! That would be scary!!

After looking for a bit, we left. Everyone except us, Aunt Jeanie, and Uncle Earl left; we talked to them, then they went home and we went to Grandma Kathy’s. We weren’t there very long, then we went to the church. When Leo got there (he is…a family friend) we practiced playing “In the Garden” which we were performing at the memorial service later on. Leo played a 12 string guitar; Joe and Dad played guitar, and I played piano. Leo had actually never played it before, the song, but he did great.

After practicing we hung out until the service.

Aunt Jeanie had reserved three pews for family, but we ended up using seven! Aunt Jeanie’s sister and brother and their spouses were there too (along with her unmarried older sister); and Grammoo and Papa, Uncle David, Aunt Fran, and Cody; and Uncle Pat, Aunt Laurie, Nick and Amanda came…we hadn’t seen them (besides Aunt Laurie) in forever! The service was really nice, and afterwards was a cookie reception.

Dad, the tall dark and handsome

Leo, who played guitar with us

Me

Left to Right, Aunt Karen, Aunt Paula, and Grandpa Peterson

Left to Right: Mom, Aunt Laurie, Aunt Karen, Grandma Kathy, Aunt Paula

My cousins Amanda and Nick

Uncle Hap (Grandpa’s brother’s wife’s sister’s husband)

Papa

After the reception was a private dinner, served at Grandma Kathy’s, so we went there. Some ladies they knew prepared an awesome chicken/broccoli casserole!

Grandpa Peterson, one of the neatest, Godliest men you could hope to know

Aunt Jo (Uncle Hap’s wife; she is Grandpa’s brother Earl’s wife Jeanie’s sister)

Aunt Paula holding pies

One of my very cool brothers…Ben!

Aunts and Uncles…left to right, Uncle Earl (Grandpa’s brother), Aunt Jeanie, Uncle Hap, Aunt Jo, Aunt Shirley (Aunt Jeanie’s oldest sister), and Aunt Verna and Uncle Harley

Uncle Harley

Aunt Verna

Left to right, cousin Nick, Uncle Pat, Aunt Laurie, and Uncle Pat’s mom (Amanda had to go back home)

Paul

Aunt Jo and I (I’m really not taller than her!)

Aunt Jo and eeek who’s that face?!?

Me

After that we went back to Grammoo and Papa’s. I had a hard time getting out the door…I was saying goodbye to Grandpa Peterson (who is only about my height!), and he was like “Here, I have to show you something!” after I’d hugged him. He dug around in his wallet…and pulled out a family picture of US! Joe had given it to him! He was tickled to learn he had twelve grandchildren he didn’t even know about! He started bragging on us (while I was there) to Aunt Karen, who’d already heard all of it. “They make their own knives and bullets, and play music…!” he was going on and on. He showed me also a laminated paper with his other grandchildrens’ names and birthdates on, and said Grandma Kathy would make him another one with our names and birthdates on it. He hadn’t even met the rest of the kids!

Finally I said I really had to go, otherwise my family would leave me behind! I even got called a social butterfly, which was a first, because I can be pretty anti-social! Maybe I was just acting…

Anyway, we were going to leave first thing in the morning, but it was late, and we didn’t feel like packing the van, so we decided to leave second thing in the morning…which turned out (after a big breakfast and a lot of packing) to be about 10:30 am!

We got home at 2 am…stayed up for half an hour telling some of the stories and stuff…then went to bed.

Here’s a final picture of Grandpa Peterson and Grandpa…and a funny story about Grandpa.

When we came in June, a lot of the times someone else and I would help Grandpa stand, as he had a little trouble having enough ‘ooph’ to get out of his chair. Sometimes he would be a little wobbly, and we’d hold him until his legs were strong enough to walk.
One time he was being wobbly after we helped him; kind of bending his knees and stuff.
“Are you ok?” we were asking him, rather worried.
“I’m just doing my exercises!” he said.

Grandpa Peterson and Grandpa…two of the best men I’ve ever known

However, there is hope. He is a follower and disciple of Jesus Christ, and we will see him again, which makes the parting not quite so hard. There’s a really neat Mercy Me song called “Homesick”, and here’s the bridge:

In Christ, there are no goodbyes
And in Christ, there is no end
So I’ll hold onto Jesus with all that I have
To see you again
To see you again

If you could be praying for everyone involved and related to Grandpa, that would be very much appreciated. For the disciples of Christ, that they would be good witnesses…even though we have the hope of seeing Grandpa again, the parting is still sad. For the unbelievers, that they would realize they are lost and mortal and realize their need for a Savior.

For us, it’s been really strange not having Joe and Mom around (especially since this is the longest we’ve ever been away from them), and we miss them and they miss us. When Grandpa does die, Dad, Ben, and I will go for the funeral.

Anyways; prayers are very much appreciated all around, and I thought you might like to be updated on what’s going on.

Grandpa and his (living) children when we visited in June: Aunt Laurie (far right), Mom (far left), John (behind, left), and Paul (behind, right)

The title of the post is from a song called “Grandpa, Tell Me ‘Bout The Good Old Days”.

10:00 a.m. And we’re off! Got out the door sooner than I thought. Feels like 12 though!

1:00 p.m. We’re here. We stopped on the way in and got some hamburgers to eat (from Burger King!!), and some stuff at Walmart. I hadn’t ever been to that Walmart before! It had freezers that had motion sensors on them so when you walk down the aisle, the lights turn on ahead of you! It was neat. Ben said the ones at our walmart do that too, but people are always in front of it so you never know!

Bear Mountain

The van and the girls’ camper)

left to right, Eric, me, Ben…man I look short

5:10 p.m. We just had cheez whiz, summer sausage, and Ritz and Triscuits for celebrating Mom and Dad’s 24th wedding anniversary. And we had sparkling cider, sparkling white grape juice, and sparkling red grape juice. I liked the red grape best; it tasted like the grapes we picked! That was our surprise. Later we will have ding dongs for dessert ^_^ they don’t know about that quite yet though!

Rase eating Triscuits

After setting up camp, we took a turn around the Loop, then just been hanging out at camp. The season doesn’t start until tomorrow, so we have a whole day to do nothing!

Joe let me use his old film camera. It’s harder, but fun. I’ve taken a few pictures already; hopefully they will turn out! I can’t post them until they get developed though. Too bad!

Me taking pictures with the film camera

Joe posing

It’s kind of windy, and the wind is chilly. The smoke keeps getting in our eyes! Mom said “Smoke follows beauty!” but Dad said “Smoke goes to the one with the pink underwear!” So we kept teasing the boys, when they got smoke in their eyes!

Em was holding Elle, whose fingers were cold, so since Joe was closer to the fire, he offered to take her. She didn’t want to go! So he pretended he had some stuff in his hand, but that didn’t work so he got a flourescent earplug out of his pocket and pretended to eat it! Elle wanted it, so Em was saying “eww, icky!!” Elle didn’t like her saying that so she leaned over and pinched Em’s nose!
I told Joe, “You sure make earplugs look tasty!”

We’ve already had our traditional candy-swap.

I’m tired.

Jay wanting to swap candy with Joe

Elle Janie

Elle Janie again…her expression cracks me up!

Duke, watching candy-eaters intently

Dad’s perfect marshmallow

6:30 p.m. I laid down for a while…chilly! Dinner’s ready though.

8:00 p.m. Dad can’t get the heater on…good thing I brought my ‘cloud’ blanket! It’s soo nice and cozy!

8:20 p.m. Dad’s gonna read Pat McManus. Hunting (or camping) standby!

9:25 p.m. BED.

Sunday

6:05 a.m. Most of us are gonna go to our stands. Well, all, I guess, just Beth and I are last cuz we’re closest!

6:20 a.m. Still an hour to shooting light; I think I’m not going out quite yet! It’s pretty brisk out there…not as cold as some days, but pretty cold! It was sleeting earlier, Dad said. It’ll probly get warmer later!

We’re at the spot in the meadow, because there’s a fence across the old spot. I mean, where we’re camping. It looks like nobody’s driven down to the old spot in a long time, and there is a lot of snow covering the road. This spot is closer to ‘my’ spot, but the other spot is nicer because it’s cooler for hanging deer!

7:25 a.m. At my stand now, looking at the creek I drowned a deer in once. It’s getting light fast now. I suppose I should get the camera ready! I plan to shoot with my rifle before I shoot with the camera, though!

There’s a cold wind!

At least my mouth is feeling better!

1:45 p.m. Ben’s going home now :(

At about 9 (we were supposed to meet back at camp at 9:30), I saw Joe walking on the hill across from me, and down the hill on the right. He walked back up, out of my view behind some trees, then into a clear spot in front of me. He started dancing!! It was sooo funny! He did an egyptian thing, and peekaboo’d (he said…I didn’t catch that part!). Then he left and Beth came up to meet me, and we went back to the campers.

Evidently, just after we turned our backs on the hill, three guys popped up where Joe had been dancing and were scoping us and the trailers and stuff! I was pretty mad at them! Abby kept calling them “stupidheads.”
Joe and Eric came up to camp, and we told them about the “stupidheads”, so they took off in Joe’s pickup. We saw the boys walk up to the guys, then the boys walked away. They didn’t come back for a long time (the guys left shortly after the boys talked to them), until Ben, Dad, and the twins came back. Joe and Eric were walking! Joe’s pickup had broken down or something.

We had some cup o’ noodles, then Ben and Eric took off. After a bit, the rest of us (including Mom and the little ones) did a turn around the Loop. We didn’t see any deer, but did happen upon Ben’s unlocked pickup, windows rolled down, with a nice .22 rifle in the gunrack! So we snitched it.
We got around to where Joe’s pickup was, and he got it going (with Dad’s help). Dad gave him a pull out of the place he’d been backed into (it was downhill so he couldn’t get up the hill or out of the mud or something), then we got to camp. We’ve just been hanging out.

Ben and Eric came back a while later (around 12:30). Both got one! Ben got a little buck, and Eric got a doe. Ben used the knife he made and Dad sharpened. Ben had whittled a 2×4, then used it to gut his deer. He said he cut through the breastbone (not along through the ribs) one-handed, like butter. He was pretty proud of that!

Ben’s .44

Ben warming his hands after gutting his deer. Smoke follows beauty!

Dad carrying Ben’s microcompact .45

He’s left now though. He’s actually going to work, then home tonight. Sounds like Mom and the kids are going home tonight. Which would be nice because it would mean more sleeping room…Tess was next to me on the big bed (which was left to right, Kate, Tess, me, Beth…Em slept on the floor), and she kept putting her feet under my rear and wiggling her toes!! I had about four hours’ sleep or so. After I woke up at like 1:30, Duke kept making disgusting mouth noises, and someone (I think it was Kate) kept grinding her teeth really loud! YUCK!!!
BUT, it’s fun having them here, and we’ll miss them if they do go!!

I’m sooo tired!!

We’re gonna do the Loop now. It’s just after 2.

7:30 p.m. After the Loop, we came back to camp, kibbutzed a while, and got out to our stands. After shooting light ended, we met back up…well, Beth and I were walking cuz we were cold…we met Joe and Eric (Joe was driving..he got a doe!)…had to tell all our stories, of course! Then Dad and the twins came up, and the stories had to be retold! Back at camp now…waiting for hamburgers!!!

10:00 p.m. Yay bed. Dad was reading but I was asleep mostly!

Dad reading

Monday

6:20 a.m. We’re up…shooting light in an hour. We slept nice and long! I had weird dreams.
Last night Dad said “Do your sleeping where you should…on your stand!”

1:30 p.m. Well, I didn’t sleep on my stand, but I tried to! Nobody saw deer today, at least deer not on private property. Kate and Dad heard a mountain lion, and Em saw a bear!

After meeting back at camp at about 10, we went around the Loop, then went to the other Forest Service entrance, then back to camp. A game warden was checking our three deer and very interested in Ben’s because he wasn’t there!
We’re just hangin’, waiting for 3 when we’ll go back out.

4:45 p.m. We did a Loop, and are at our stands now.

It’s Mom and Dad’s 24th wedding anniversary today!

Mom and Dad in our sweet hot rod hunting rig!

Sounds like Ben’s gonna come out tomorrow, too!! We miss him!

7:35 p.m. I’ve gotta watch the clock very carefully; we’re timing the ‘pop’ biscuits. You know, the kind in a can thing that you unpeel and they go “pop”. I love those! Except I don’t like opening them!

At our stands, I saw the babies of the mama doe Joe shot yesterday (Joe said they were making a whistling noise, which only the babies whose mamas he’d shot made that noise!), but they were spooked and motating. And I’m not that desperate yet!

Beth and Eric saw a moose walking up the creek!

Tuesday

6:55 a.m. Shootin’ light at 7:25…Dad and the twins and Ben went out to their stands already. They had far to go, though. Eric’s going in his spot; I’m going in mine; Beth’s going to where Joe shot the doe the other day, and I don’t know where Joe’s going.

3:10 p.m. After the morning stand, we went around the Loop. Ben left at quarter to two. We’ll see him Thursday.
Gonna go out again soon; Beth and I are going to walk.

9:10 p.m. Oh man I’m TIRED! Beth and I walked for like two hours. We saw the little bull moose they saw yesterday! OK so he isn’t exactly LITTLE…but his rack is small for a moose! We were walking up a little trail, and there was a Y in the road. Suddenly the moose came crashing out of the brush about 20 yards away in the right fork! We scoped it a bit and stuff…it was totally unconcerned, looking at us and eating and stuff. We were scoping it and saying like “You are so dead moose!” I told Beth, “He’s probably thinking ‘those are the weirdest looking bears I’ve ever seen!’”

Bedtime!!

Beth

Beth keeping tabs on our actions!

Wednesday

5:30 a.m. Beds are all made…not sure where we’re going this morning. No fresh sign anywhere, soo…anywhere’s as good as any I guess!

Yesterday when Beth and I walked at night, we walked from the gate in the meadow to the beginning of private property, then up the road (and off two side trails, that’s where we saw the moose) to the van. We had to cross the creek…Beth went first and got her pants wet, so I said I did NOT want to get my pants wet, so we went downstream, and I found a log to cross so I crossed on there.
We saw a bit of fur on the barb of the fence; Dad thinks it was coyote.

Well, we’re gonna have breakfast.

Em

Em again!

No, this isn’t Em again! This is Kate

7:30 p.m. Let’s see. This morning we went to our stands. I was just down the hill from the Big Rock (where Joe and Beth had been the other days, and where Joe had shot his doe); my back was to the road, and I was like five feet down a steep hill so I couldn’t see the road. Well, this jogger lady came by. I’m so paranoid; I thought she was a moose running down the road! Then I saw this big black rear end wiggling around over a little rise; I thought it was a bear! Then I saw orange on its neck and thought it was Beth, crawling around on all fours to scare me! But then I seen it was a dog, and another dog came up.

After the morning stand we went back to camp, ate, and went on walks. Dad and the twins went up Red Lodge Creek Trail; Beth and Eric went somewhere (and got kind of lost when the mountains moved from the south to the north…how uncooperative!), and Joe and I went up an old two-track. We walked FAR! We got almost to the top of a huge hill (not labeled a mountain, but I say it was!). There was like a steep half mile to the top, and I didn’t want to go up! Joe said “If Eric or Ben or Dad was here they’d climb up it with me!”
“Yeah, but guys LIKE to conquer mountains!” I said.
I had great cell reception up there, so I suggested calling Mom to tell her I was on top of a mountain, but Joe didn’t want to. So I checked my voicemails! LOL (none :( )

The wind was blowing in some clouds, and it started to sprinkle, so Joe and I pert’near ran down the mountain!

Beth and Eric almost got lost really because the compass on Eric’s new watch points North every direction he is facing! But then they got unlost!

So Joe and I got back to the pickup. On our way walking, Joe had said he wanted to see a moose. So we’re going along the road and all of a sudden two moose jumped out in front of us and walked across the road and went to our right! We watched them for like 10 minutes! It was the small bull and the medium bull.
Dad and the girls saw two cow moose and a calf, so that was cool too.
Anyways, as Joe and I were going back to the campers, he seen a deer in the road, so he jumped out and went up the hill a little, and shot twice. He thought he hit it, and saw a spot of blood on the snow where it had run by, but it was too spry and he couldn’t find it.
Dad and the girls came by, and we told them about the moose, so they went up and got Eric and Beth, then went up and saw the big and medium bulls, and took pictures (with the film camera…hope they turn out!!) and videos!

Then we had our evening stand (I listened to my mp3 player! it kept me awake!) then back to the campers. I made the fire. Boy scout fluid FTW!! (that means boy scout fluid rocks)
We had our traditional backstraps and fried potatoes last-day dinner. Dad added in some really yummy sausage. Sooooo good!! We saved some for Ben for his lunch tomorrow! We had yogurt and granola for dessert, then Dad read.

Good backstraps and potatoes!! That sea of ketchup kinda ruins it…I prefer mayonnaise…but oh well! It wasn’t my food!

9:10 p.m. We’re going to bed. It’ll be soo nice to get home tomorrow! It’s fun here but it’ll be good to be home!

Thursday

5:30 a.m. We’re gonna have breakfast…

11:10 a.m. Going to leave for home soon.

When we left this morning for our stands, Joe and Eric went out to the Deer Jump meadow, Dad and the twins walked up Red Lodge Creek Trail I think, and Beth, Ben, and I went to the other Forest Service entrance. Beth and I walked along one fence to a little valley, and Ben walked somewhere else. There were two little deer, but I’m still not desperate enough for those! Beth and I walked just over the hill, and sat there in the morning. I was so comfy I didn’t want to leave! But finally we got up and walked to the pickup; Ben met us, thinking we had gotten something because we were taking so long!

Then we went to camp…had lunch…it’s now 11:50 and the campers are being hooked up and we’re gonna leave!

Eric was doing interviews of us on video, that’s why it took so long to get that all spit out! He is a great anchorman…he used words I didn’t know were even in his vocabulary! O:-)

Eric interviewing

Eric interviewing

My interview

The twins’ interview

Ben’s interview…yes, eating is the normal state of Ben!

Joe and Eric

Eric being interviewed!

Joe goofing off with the camera!

Joe interviewing Eric

2:25 p.m. HOME!!

On Friday we processed the deer, and two goats from Mrs. B. in exchange for pizza. It was worth it! And we’re promised her awesome homemade pizza next time we come home from hunting! Yay! And no, we didn’t butcher goats on helloween on purpose; we forgot it was helloween! And no, we didn’t draw pentagrams or anything like that either. And yes, the pizza was awesome!

And now since it’s the official start of NaNoWriMo and I am officially done with this post, I can go start writing! YAYNESS!!