Swamp People

JR has been waiting for this trip since January.

He was so super excited to go alligator hunting with Jason and Grandpa Gary, and thankfully, it turned out to be a great hunt. 

(I believe their final totals were 15 alligators: 1 over 12 feet, 1 at 11 feet, and none under 6 feet.)

The alligators don't look too happy, but you'll notice JR is all smiles!

Bears 3. Jason 0.

So for the 3rd time, Jason and JR came home empty handed from a bear hunt.

(Although it wasn't for lack of trying since Jason's neck is purple it's so sunburned from riding a horse all day.)

Kyle and Reed are now old enough to know when they're getting left behind, so I had to pull out my own "big guns" when it came to entertaining them.

We tried two new things this weekend, which both went surprisingly well.

JR told me he wanted to paint pottery for his birthday party this year, 

(That child never ceases to surprise me with what he comes up with.)

so I went by to reserve the studio for his party.

Guess who thought they needed to paint pottery?

The lady who owns the studio was a typical, artsy Durangoan.

Had she known the rest of the family was on a bear hunt, I probably would have been asked to leave.

But instead, she thought she'd found a kindred spirit in me.

When she asked the boys what colors they wanted to paint with Kyle said, "Pink!"

(Of course he did.)

She immediately looked at me to see how I would react to my son asking for pink.

 I said, "Okay. And Reed what color would you like?"

(I think he picked yellow.)

Her face lit up and she started praising my parenting skills about how wonderful I was to let my son express himself with pink.

Yeah. I just kept my mouth shut.

I had no intentions of telling her that I'm really just a lazy mom and pick my battles. 

Pink paint isn't a battle I feel like fighting.

Besides, he picked out a 4-wheeler to paint. I figured that was manly enough for the day.

I also took them to their first movie.

I figured if we made it halfway through it'd have been worth it.

Poor things don't even weight enough to keep the seat all the way down.

Reed asked me not to take his picture.

There was lots of changing seats, getting in my lap, and of course...shirt taking off.

Yep.

Kyle informed me he was hot and needed to take his shirt off.

And again, my lazy amazing parenting took over and I figured, it's dark, he's 3, who cares?

We made it through the entire movie, and Kyle's shirt was back on before the end.

Total success.

Except for Jason and JR.

More With My BFF

So, as you remember, a few weeks ago Jason and I were in Reno to see my fantasy BFF, Sarah.

While we were at the fancy, schmancy "Sarah Dinner", my father-in-law, Gary, was in charge of a raffle that benefited taking kids with disabilities on hunting trips.

(On a side note, there's a great description of Gary's book about hunting here.)

It was a table raffle, so when you bought a ticket, you bought a ticket for the table.  The prizes were Weatherby shirts for the men and autographed Sarah Palin books for the women.

And though I was a bit peeved my husband had to run around selling raffle tickets during the shrimp cocktail course, (Jason loves shrimp cocktail more than anybody I know) it actually turned out great.

The winning table was a couple and then the military servicemen who were there to post the colors. 

Which meant....

there was only one woman at the table.

And since my father-in-law was in charge....

Guess what came in the mail for me last week?

Stay Tuned

Jason just booked an alligator hunt for JR with one of the groups featured on 'Swamp People' for labor day weekend. JR is going to freak out!

Fair Warning

Jason is home.

Which means he has a camera full of pictures, that I (loving, devoted wife) am supposed to be proud to post.

I do have one non dead animal picture, but then you might need to look away quickly and join me back here tomorrow when I'll once again be showcasing cute pictures of my kids and my own amusing stories.

So, would I rather go hunting with my husband or a spa weekend with the girls?

I'd say there's no contest.

 Hunting pictures:

And my wifely duties have now been completed.

Bear Hunt

 Kyle and Reed are constantly "hunting bear", both in our yard and inside the house.

When they make the inside rounds they'll come to me and say, "I got all the bears out of your house!"

But looks like Kyle's not taking any chances.

He's making sure those bears aren't getting him in the middle of the night!

Some Whopper Tales

As you well know, I'm not really interested in anything considered outdoorsy. But Jason says these fish that JR caught are good ones, so for those of you who like the hunty/fishy thing, here ya go. (And although JR might go fishing, he is so me. Notice how he's not actually touching any of the fish in the pictures!)

This is my dad's farm hand, Freddie. When you work for my dad, "farm hand" job requirements include: accompanying us on our Bell Bell Factory tour, giving Kyle and Reed tractor rides, taking JR fishing, and as seen here...touching the fish JR catches. Needless to say, Freddie is a big hit around here.

Kyle and Reed were super excited to "pet" the fish.

The Bears were Bare

The Bear Hunters returned home last night about 11:30 empty handed. After 3 hard days of hunting (leaving at 5:30 AM and returning to the hotel about 9:00 PM) I believe the closest thing they saw was a bear butt. JR is quite upset about not having a new rug for his room, but on the bright side, they get to go try again in September. And since Jason was the photographer for this little expedition, I have exactly one picture to share with you. This picture just makes me think: You know you're a red neck when you pose shirtless with the hunting dogs while enjoying your beef jerky.

DeDe Hunt Bear

Jason, JR, and Jason's dad left a little while ago to go bear hunting. And even though they're gone, Reed is still under the impression that Hunter (AKA: DeDe) is going hunting with them. The other day Jason was telling JR that they'll hunt the bear with dogs. Reed was obviously enthralled in this conversation as he's told me all day long, "DeDe hunt bear. DeDe hunt bear."
And since Reed knows Hunter's main form of physical activity is walking to his food dish, Reed has taken it upon himself to give Hunter some pointers. He's been showing him pictures of bears and saying, "Look DeeDee. Look. Bear." As of this writing, Hunter has yet to develop an interest.

JR Is Furious He Wasn't There

Disclaimer: This is a Jason post, which means it includes a hunting story and pictures. So if that isn't your cup o' tea, make sure and check back in tomorrow.

So Monday started off just like any other day, until I got an afternoon call from Jason telling me he might be "a little late" getting home since he was heading out...to hunt a mountain lion. Now seriously, how was I even supposed to respond to that? He explained that some "big mountain lion tracks" had been spotted on one of the nearby Apache Jicarilla Reservations and that he was going after it with a guide. (You have to have a tribe member with you on The Res.) Great. I called him a couple hours later just to see if he was planning on coming home anytime soon, and yippee for me, I learned that I am now the new "proud" owner of a 7 foot 8 inch, 202 pound mountain lion. He thinks he's going to make a full mount of this thing. (And here I was thinking I was going to be a beyond fabulous wife tolerating a rug.) Negotiations to be continued, but in the meantime, here are some pictures.

Hodgepodge O' Updates

The 1st day of school was deemed a success by JR. We made cookies when he got home (you didn't think I'd have them waiting for him did you?) and he took some to his teacher this morning (all his idea, he can be so sweet when he feels like it). I think Harry had some trouble with the language, but said he likes his math classes. (He's taking Trig and Functions...I can't imagine anything worse, except having to cook everyday...which will be the subject of another post.) I think he was a bit scared of the kids who "have earrings in their faces and wear big coats like it's winter". Jason and I agreed that we're a bit scared of those kids too. JR wasn't interested in having me walk with them to the bus this morning, so I said 'bye' to him in the driveway and off he went with Harry. Did I mention they both were wearing jackets? 48 degrees on the 2nd day of school. I think the high in Texas today is 102 or so.

Jason, his dad, and JR went antelope hunting this past weekend in New Mexico. This picture just cracks me up. JR posed himself, so Jason and his dad started calling him Teddy Roosevelt. JR had a great time, except for being furious that he wasn't allowed to shoot.

And finally, Kyle has his MRI in the morning. It's at 10, but I have to be there with him at 9. Poor thing can't have anything to eat or drink before we go. I could probably get away with that with Reed, but Kyle is going to be some kinda mad. Praise the Lord I only have to go to the hospital here in Durango, no Death March Drive to Albuquerque. The MRI itself should only take about 20 minutes, but they have to put him to sleep to do it. They did tell me I could stay in the room with him, so I'm happy about that. Reed is staying with a neighbor while we go. Our neighbor works from home and her son is a day older than the twins. She has a babysitter in the mornings, so it's a little combo playdate/babysitter for Reed. Hopefully he knows he can only attack and sit on his brother for toys he wants...come to think of it, I might need to give him a little refresher lesson on playdate manners.

Hunting is a Dangerous Sport

So you might remember back in October when I tripped over our zebra rug and broke my new computer. (If not, here ya go.) Obviously this zebra is getting its revenge on Jason since now another family member has hit the deck. Poor JR was about to go to bed and was coming into our room for his last 'goodnight'. As he walked in, he slid on the rug and tripped. When he fell he hit his head on the siderail of our bed. Our house is all wood floors with lots of wood trim (What you'd think a house in Colorado should look like) so just walking around seems to be amplified by 10. The sound JR's head made when it hit our bed made me think we were headed straight to the emergency room. I grabbed him up, fully expecting him to be covered in blood or unconscious. Luckily, neither was the case. His head bruised and a goose egg popped up immediately. I ran and got him a bag of frozen brussel sprouts (I know, but Jason's mom loves them so they're in our freezer for her) which really seemed to do the trick. This morning he awoke with just a slight bruise and no bump. But was quick to tell me that it still hurt (after I asked about it, of course).

Empty-Handed Hunters

For the male Ingersolls (which I guess would be everybody in the house but me) the most exciting season of the year is deer season. Luckily for them, the season started on Saturday. Luckily for the deer and wild hogs, they didn't see any. JR was pretty disappointed. This morning he said, "We didn't see NOT ONE deer or pig!" I'm pretty impressed that JR is able to sit out in the deer stand with Jason for so long. He plays his Leapster, but for a five year old to sit still that long...I think he's doing a great job. So here's JR, doing what Ingersolls do best...Look closely, that's JR in there.

Africa According to JR

They got home about 3:00 P.M. today. It's good to have them back!

JR wants everybody to know about Africa, so he talked and I dictated. Here's the Africa trip according to JR:

"I shot a lion, daddy shot a lion, and they killed an ostrich, and I shot a black wilderbeast and a blue wilderbeast. They made pizza for me and it was special. We shot 3 springbucks. We had a house, actually 2 houses, and they had a sign and it said 'Big Woods'. I had 3 airplanes to go on to get to South Africa. They made hamburgers for me. They had candy, and I ate candy. And my dad gave me candy if I was so good. They had a bucking bull and a tent for a party, and they had cowboy hats and a sheriff hat. I sat on everything and I saw 2 rhinoceroses and I give the 2 rhinoceroses a shot and took a picture. They had Fanta Orange and Sprite. They made spaghetti for me. Did you know that they made spaghetti? I saw an ostrich, I ride on a horse, and I saw a 'baboom'. In Germany I went on a tour. I toured stuff you don't know. I go on a boat ride and I saw castles too, I saw a bunch of them, but not any of them had knights. I came home to America. I stayed for Africa for 10 days."

A Note From Jason-Part 2

I've saved up all Jason's emails from the week. Since I only get a sentence or two a day, I figured I'd bundle them all together. I don't have any answers to questions you might have. I haven't talked to him, and as you can see, descriptive writing is not Jason's forte. I can promise you that if I had been on the trip I would have pages full of blogs for you...but instead, you only get a few sentences. I have put my own comments in red to fill you in on any background information.

Tuesday, 4/22
I wrote the wrong animal. She was going after the rhino. (He had written that his stepmom, Elizabeth, was going after a lion in his previous email.) She got her rhino and I got mine this afternoon. It was unbelievable, I was within 10 yards in thick brush and he could not see us. We were crawling on our stomachs. Dad was really excited with the picture of all 3 of us. It even brought back memories for me. We miss you and JR was really excited about sitting on the rhino.

Wednesday, 4/23
Well we had another good day. Dad got a copper springbuck and I got a black wilderbeast (now we have a blue and a black to hang on the wall). JR did really good today, elizabeth said she could not believe how good he was. Tomorrow we are going to look at lions for JR. I would love to shoot one.

Thursday, 4/24
JR wanted me to email you and tell you that he got all of his words right with no help. (I made them take JR's sight word flash cards that he is supposed to know for school.) JR goes hunting with us every day. He stays in the truck until I shot then they come to the animal for pictures. He likes sitting on them and touching them. Dad usually watches him in the truck if I am not there but elizabeth watched him while dad went with me after the rhino. He watches his dvd's or plays his games. He seems to love hunting so far he got to shoot the rhino dart gun and hit the bullseye both times.

Thursday, 4/24- second email
Well you will not believe this. He is going to let me try for a lion. Can you believe it? I have 2 days to try and get one. Tomorrow could be exciting.

Friday, 4/25
Well we have a lion. I shot a big male. You will not believe the hunt.How are you and the boys hanging in? Have they been good? We have to figure out where to put the lion when we get back. It is really big. JR wants you to get everything ready for his birthday party, that is his main concern right now.We miss you.

Any suggestions on where I'm going to stick a lion in my house? Sigh.....

A Note From Jason

One of the great things about Jason is that he is a fabulous story teller...Unfortunately, he is a very unfabulous emailer. I got a note from him yesterday afternoon and about the same time today..so about 9:30 PM their time. If you're wanting details, sorry, I have none....here are the unedited emails....

Hey, not sure if you can get this. In certain areas my email seems to work. We are at the ranch and completed the first day of hunting. I shot a blaesbuck for meat and tried to get a shot at a springbuck but we could not get to them. JR is having fun and for the most part he has been really good. How are the boys doing? We miss you. Let me know if this comes though
Love jason and jr

Today I shot a springbuck and a blue wilderbeast. Jr was good again today. Tomorrow Elizabeth will try for her lion.I will email again tomorrow.Jason and jr.

There it is, folks. That's all I got. Well, it's definitely better than nothing. But don't worry, blog audience, I'll come up with some stuff around here to keep you entertained!

More Hunting Pictures, and Video

Hunting Trip

The hunting trip to Uvalde was a big success. I thought I would let JR tell you all about it, so I played secretary while JR dictated. "I shot a deer and a black pig and I shot all the targets. And I had a big house and a little house that you had to climb a ladder to. And I was pretty good. And I shot lots of targets and I got a silver bullet and a light bullet, they were big. And I folded napkins, and I helped cook, and I ate 2 hot dogs.

For breakfast I had a big french fry, scrambled eggs, and bacon with ketchup. I put a stick on the pig's back and 2 rocks on it. And we used a stick to show his teeth and we put a rock under him so he could stand up. And I want to show everyone all the pages in my new Scooby Doo pop up book, Folks, you need to look inside this book."

Jason's side of the story is just a little bit different. It was actually Jason and Grandpa that shot the animals (a buck, doe, and the pig for Jason and a doe for Grandpa), but JR did get to target shoot, although I think he did have a little trouble getting the hang of looking through the scope. Jason said everybody got a big kick out of JR. The cooks let JR help them in the kitchen, and JR came home showing us his new napkin folding skills. My favorite story from the trip was when they first got to the lodge JR walked in and saw a musk ox and elk on the wall. He quickly pointed and told everybody, "I have one of those in MY office; I have one of THOSE in MY office too." Thankfully, a good time was had by all....can you imagine if JR hadn't like hunting? Oooh, I don't even want to go there!

Guns A Blazin'

Jason took JR for his first trip to the gun range on Saturday. Jason, Grandpa Gary, and JR are going hunting in South Texas in a few weekends and Jason said he needed to go fire his gun before they went. I wasn't sure how the trip to the gun range would go, and as soon as they were finished I had a phone call from a very mad JR. Of course he's not big enough to shoot Jason's gun, but to make matters worse, he wasn't allowed to stand near his daddy while he shot. He had to stand back with Grandpa Gary and just watch. JR reported that "everybody was mean to him because he didn't get to shoot". According to JR, the best thing that came out of the experience was that he got chicken nuggets on the way home! I think Grandpa Gary has a little gun for JR to shoot on their hunt...Let's hope so, or they're going to need lots of chicken nuggets!