Deer Land 2010

Another great trip in the book. We all made it there, had lots of fun, and make it safely back home. But. . . it was the trip that almost wasn't. Suz and Jason had a flat tire on the trailer on the way there that delayed them about three hours. We got lost, which delayed us about two hours. And there was the snow that delayed us about twenty-four hours. We seriously wondered if it was a sign that this year's trip wasn't meant to be.

We had a few extras this year. Reid's friend Damon came. Joseph's girlfriend Kelsey came. Crystal's nine-week-old puppy Duke came. Here's the group, minus James and Rachel and Matthew. They had to leave on Sunday because James had to work Monday. There were seventeen of us, and not a single fight between us. Well, other than one little bitty spat Jeff and I had.

There was snow on the ground Saturday afternoon when we got there. Here's a tiny little snowman. He stayed with us until Monday morning when it poured down rain.

There's this neat place that we always go eat named Railey's. They're only open on Fridays and Saturdays and have catfish and a grits bar. Yep, that's right. Some places have salad bars. Some have dessert bars. Railey's has a grits bar. So good. They ran out of lettuce for the salads, but had plenty of grits and good ol' southern fried catfish, fries and hushpuppies. Oh, and the BEST sweet tea.

In addition to riding the four-wheelers and shooting skeet, you do lots and lots of eating. We had enough food to feed the entire town we were in. Here are the kids during one of the chow times.

I happened to come inside Sunday night during the campfire. The kids were inside playing a new version of spin the bottle. I guess you could say it was the kind of spin the bottle that you play with your cousins. They would say what the person had to do if the bottle pointed to them after it was spun. If it landed on you, you'd have to do things like smell someone's feet after being inside a boot all day. Or smell an armpit that had had no deodorant for two days. Alayna had to drink an entire bottle of water all at once. Innocent, but gross things, you know. Poor Alayna. I think the bottle landed on her more times than anyone.

The sweetest girl in the world and Duke, the most spoiled puppy in the world.

I love this pic of Eli with his motorcycle helmet on. I took him for a ride and he just talked and talked and talked. I could hear him talking, but I couldn't hear a word he was saying. Except that he was telling me to just go straight, go straight. Cam took him for a ride and they splashed through a big mud puddle. They both looked like someone had splashed chocolate milk all over their faces. Suz said it took her two hours to clean him up last night.

Reid got a dirt bike for Christmas. And then for his birthday he got the riding outfit. He's not actually riding here. Here he's just watching the other guys shoot.

Ethan learned to ride the dirt bike while he was there, too. I suspect a dirt bike will be on his Christmas list this year. He only fell off once. He was turned telling his mom to watch him ride. I don't think that was what he wanted her to see.

Here's Joseph getting ready to shoot skeet. What a sweet gentleman he's turned out to be. He's probably smiling at Kelsey in this picture. I had my zoom lens on my camera, so he didn't even know I was making the picture.

Every year there's something different that takes the spotlight. One year it was riding the four-wheelers. And then there was the year that it was a little warmer and all we did was fish. This year the highlight was probably shooting skeet.

Jeff's not a hunter and has no interest in it at all. My boys, on the other hand, L-O-V-E it.

But it turned out that he was quite good at throwing the skeet or whatever you call it. And he even shot one of Ross's pistols a few times.

Here I am ready to make my Charlie's Angels debut.

Ross is a great shot. He rarely misses. He's loved hunting and shooting since he was old enough to know what it was.

Here's Cam on the four-wheeler watching the others shoot. He shot quite a it, but he hasn't had as much practice as Ross, so he's not quite as accurate.

For our big Valentine's dinner, we had hamburgers and hot dogs grilled by none other than the Grill Master, Jeff. He had a mighty cute assistant, don't you think?

And here's the campfire. We sat around it for a while. Told some of the same old campfire stories we tell year after year. We didn't make Smores this time. I'm not sure why we didn't. I think it was because it was just too darned cold. That and we all forgot our chairs. We used the few chairs that were around the cabin, but it was nowhere near enough.

So yes, another trip is in the book. Here are a few highlights I'll remember. The atomic wedgies the boys gave each other. Cam's four-wheeler getting stuck in gear in the middle of nowhere. Crystal alone on the four-wheeler a mile from camp, in the dark, and running out of gas. The whining puppy. The spark that burned a hole in Suz's glove. Eli in his Hugh Hefner pajamas. Sleeping to the sound of rain on a tin roof. But best of all, I'll remember getting to spend hours and hours with my favorite people in the world. Thanks, Jason, for another great trip! Can't wait to go again.