Raph's telephone conversation with Gabe

This is part of a conversation Gabe had with his Dad when Raph called to say he was on his way home from his hunting trip (the last one of the season) at the end of November:

Gabe - "Hi Daddy, did you get a deer?"
Raph - long pause "No, no deer."
Gabe - incredulously "Did you bring your gun?"

Christmas Tree

Last Saturday we went to a local Christmas tree farm to get our tree. Gabe and I had been the day before with his class for a fieldtrip to get a tree for his classroom which his teacher will donate to a family in need next week. That night at dinner he was telling his Dad about the lookout in the middle of the farm where he had seen a "weawwy big twee". So our mission was to chop down that tree when we got there. This is Declan, Daddy and Faith looking far and wide for the "weawwy big twee" and this is Gabe pointing to the tree right in front of the lookout!

This is us looking all through the trees for the perfect one because Gabe's tree really was big and we have a small house.

Here is the perfect tree that smells really good! If you look really closely you'll notice Gabe testing the tree saw blade to see how sharp it really was. This was not noticed by his parents at the time. Hopefully no one reports us to Social Services.

Here's Raph posing with his "kill"! They also had 2 ponies, chickens, a rabbit, 2 donkeys and free hot chocolate. All in all it was a really fun time!

Faith's "Best Day Ever!"

Well, it is hard not to "blog" about hunting only because it has become such a huge part of our life. Raph starts planning hunting trips early Spring, then spends the summer thinking and making sure he has all the equipment he needs and then the "season" starts in September until the end of November. I have a very small window of opportunity for any renos around the house or even just talking to him about anything other than hunting! It is more than just getting the game for Raph, he loves the opportunity to travel to the Interior and just get out in the woods. I myself prefer to just listen to the stories of his travels in the woods rather than joining him. The kids on the other hand absolutely love going out with him. This was the first year that any camping trips with the kids involved Raph taking them on excursions on the quad and in the Fall they each had a chance to see animals. This particular trip with Faith they saw a buck and Faith insisted that Raph shoot it (he was holding out for a big buck but decided to make a memory for Faith instead). As you can see by the smile on her face she had a great time with her Dad! Needless to say, after all the learning she does with her Dad out in the woods she got an "A" in Science on her report card!

Gabe's first loose tooth

Well, it does seem a little early but he finally got a loose tooth! Gabe had been waiting for quite a while for his teeth to get loose. Unfortunately for mommy, it happened when daddy was away. I do not like pulling teeth - I consider it not one of my jobs but I had to step in and suck it up. We put the tooth in a little bag to show daddy when he got home which was about 8 days away so needless to say the tooth is now completely missing. We are planning on writing a note to the tooth fairy so we can still get some money.

Kindergarten!!!

Well, I finally made it ... 3 kids in school! Gabe started Kindergarten this year and is loving it! He is usually a little apprehensive to go in the classroom and I am told to stay by the door for a few minutes but once he's in and indoor shoes on he is good to go. They go to the gym right away so basically life could not be any better! The gym is his second favourite place at school, the first being the playground. He is almost as tall as his teacher, Ms. Woo, a very petite lady. She tells me that he is doing great and everytime she needs to leave the room he politely says "I'll be in charge!". He has a tendency to gravitate towards the most haywire kids around him and his new friend in class is a little boy with a mohawk - to which his father's response was "of course he is". He loves telling us about his day at dinner time when Daddy is there - I am not allowed to hear about it until then. It's a good start which makes my life so much easier!

Faith's Dance Recital

Here are some pictures of Faith in her dance costumes this year. The first one is her acro and the second was her ballet. She had awesome performances this year and nailed all her limbers (hand stands into back bends and then back up again). I love her ballet teacher (I danced with her when I was younger) and she choreographs beautiful ballet routines and of course I thought Faith was the brightest star (could be a bit biased though!).

Frogging in Hammond

The favourite past time of this summer has been hunting for frogs in the ditches on our street. As well, they head out in the back field to catch snakes and for the first time a vole (kinda like a mouse). Raph picked up a fish tank he had at his parent's house and brought it home for them to put all their wonderful catches in. They are only allowed to keep the frogs or various other creatures overnight and then let them go the next day. Currently, there are 7 frogs in the tank. They have actually become quite good at catching frogs, hence the large amount at the moment.

Raph is actually the biggest kid out of all of them. He had scratched up legs all summer from all the blackberry bushes he "had to" forage through to get the frogs. He's a pretty cool Dad in their eyes!