New Toy!!

Check out my sweet new toys....a meat grinder and sausage stuffer for my Kitchenaid stand mixer. They are early Christmas presents from Clayton and Sharla (thanks a bunch guys:)...pretty sweet right! So obviously I had to try them out right away:) I ground up the venison and mixed it with a little pork and beef...all together I had 30# of meat to process! I had to do a little trouble shooting with my new gadget because I was getting gristle wrapped around and stuck in the blades. So I Google'd it and discovered I needed to cut my meat into smaller strips (not chunks) and tighten the front piece...after that it was smooth sailing! After I ground up my meat I made some sausage. I had watched my parents do this a handful of times as a kid so I kinda knew what I was doing. Luckily the boys had just walked in the door from school as I was beginning this because believe me sausage is definitely a 2 person job!(the icky sausage casing...aka pig intestines)
Braydon started out as my helper but that lasted a whole 2 minutes. Apparently he had better things to do...like torment the dogs. Burandt gladly took his place though...anything to get messy:)

They turned out pretty good..I think:) Maybe a little lumpy looking, but not to bad! It was a fun time and I just know that those two new little gadgets will be getting a lot of use around here, and gave me another reason to appreciate my Kitchenaid mixer...that thing can do anything:)

Thank you again to my wonderful in-laws for the fabulous early Christmas present!

With Honor

I would like to take this time to say thanks to all those who have served for our country. Specifically, I would like to thank our great friend Jeffery Graves of the 148 Air National Guard, who will be deployed overseas early next year to serve our country. Your sacrifice is great, and you are appreciated, respected, and loved by many.

Thank you for your service to our country!

Fun with Family

Today we had a wonderful visit from Auntie Vickie and the boys! It was so great to spend some more time with them while they are here. They boys played ball, rode bikes, and ran around for hours like they have been best buds for years (even though they only met for the first time a few days ago). We even took a walk down to the fire hall to check out the trucks, and give them their first ride in a fire truck.The kids on the back of the Rescue Truck at the Fire Hall

(Slayte, Burandt, Braydon, Brecken, and Asher)
Braydon, Burandt and Slayte in the Rescue Truck
Vickie and Asher in the Rescue Truck....Asher liked the colored lights:)

The boys trying to lift Rescue Randy (he's really heavy 165# of dead weight)

Asher was not quite sure about Rescue Randy:) The Jaws of Life

Braydon, Slayte, and Burandt in Engine 1 waiting to go for a ride.

Vickie and Asher riding in the fire truck.Blake dropped us off at home after the Fire Hall trip and we had some tacos. Blake found himself a new little buddy...Asher:) They were so cute together sharing food and giving loves:)

We had a wonderful time guys!! Thanks for coming and I hope we can get together again before you leave! Love you!!!

Wild Boys

This is what I deal with on a typical day....

Within 5 minutes of getting home from school, they are body slamming each other!Where is Brec during all of the after school rowdiness??? Playing DS of course:) He has had one to many bloody noses from those boys in the past...now he just watches. Smart boy!

A Doe... A Deer

Blake shot a doe about 2:30 this afternoon! 1 down 1 to go :) She's not the biggest weighing in at around 120 pounds but hey it counts.

The boys really enjoyed watching them clean it! Brecken kept saying he was getting freaked out because the deer was naked:)

of course Burandt had to get right in there and touch it..and make his finger prints in the blood:)

Ooops!

I forgot to post a picture of my tree when it's all decorated (see Trish I did actually put it up:). I am really enjoying it...I just love this time of year!

Two the Same

The resemblance is still amazing to me...even more so in person! Here is Burandt and my little cousin Slayte who is here visiting from Alaska...(Slayte's Mom Vickie is my Dads sister). It's not just their appearance that is so similar...they even have the same personality, and facial expressions.
Didn't take these two long to become best of friends...they even had each others back when it when they got in trouble:)

Slayte and Burandt climbing trees at Grams and Gramps!

Can't forget lil' Asher...what a CUTIE!

Brecken and Keelie

These two are so cute! Hard to believe she is a week old already today.

Happy 1 week old Birthday Miss Keelie!!

Little Princess

Keelie came to visit today...oh she brought her mom too!

We sure had a fun time dressing her up in that little tutu:) She is such a cute baby!
Typical Keelie...always has her mouth open!

She was not happy with me...so she peed on me!

Toesies

She was just soooo sleepy!

Ahhh....such a good baby!

Tis' the Season

Okay, so I am a little early putting this up... 4 days earlier than last year actually:) I like to enjoy looking at the tree as long as I possibly can! I am sure it will be decorated sometime this week ...What can I say I was overwhelmed with Holiday Cheer!