Don't try to make children grow up to be like you, or they may do it!

Of course as my mother will attest, I was a perfect child so I know my kids will turn out just fine! The scary part is that my children are growing up and there is nothing that I can do to stop it. It seems like only yesterday that I was rushing Rebecca to the hospital for a night of long labor which would result in us being blessed with the most amazing little girl I could ever have hoped for. Yet here I sit 15 years later reflecting on all the memories we have already made together in a rather short period of time.

Ariel ,you are my one and only daughter and are more than I could have ever hoped for. Being my first born I can honestly say we have learned (a lot) together over the past 15 years. I have watched you grow from my cute little girl into a beautiful woman.

With that said be sure not to leave your youth behind too soon. Enjoy this time in your life and remember that you have a family that loves and cares about you. Resist the push from society for you to rush into adulthood, these are the years that you will hone your skills and master responsibilities but that doesn't mean that you can't have fun and enjoy your teenage years while doing so! I pray that no matter what you encounter in life during the next several years that you know you can lean on me and your mother - while it may be hard to believe it wasn't that long ago we were your age and understand life's challenges! I will continue to pray for you every day and while we may not always see eye-to-eye I hope you know I will always have your best interests in mind. I love you and am very grateful that we share so many likes and interests and the memories of your first trout, your first deer and everything in between bring a smile to my face more often than you could ever imagine. While you may be growing up I hope you know that you will always be my little girl!
Happy Birthday
XOXOXOXOX
Daddy

 Never too old to be silly!

 15 Candles! 

Fun in the sun with Lexi and Alex

Steak and Chicken and Shrimp - Oh My!

Grammy's homemade Ice Cream Cake - Yummy!

A Fathers Dream Come True

I grew up with a father who loved to spend time with with his kids. While my brother and sister grew up enjoying some of our fathers hobbies and outdoor activities I cherished every moment spend in the woods learning the in's and out's of hunting with him which is one of the reasons I love to hunt to this day. On March  7, 2010 Ariel began her own journey of becoming an accomplished hunter and I posted here that she was "The Apple of My Eye"

Fast forward to today and I have the pleasure to tell you that one of my greatest dreams has come true. Today my son Alex completed his Connecticut Conservation Education and Firearms Safety Program. He spent two days in a classroom interacting with 5 separate instructors learning about firearm safety, ethics, local game species, hunting, trapping and much, much more. I was proud to sit at the back of the room watching him ask questions, be the first to raise his hand to answer questions directed to the class and the thing that made me happiest was when he was called upon to demonstrate safe gun handling and knew before being told by the instructors how to properly handle the weapon which resulted in him being the demonstrator at the front of the class for the remainder of the lesson.

At the end of the class today he took his final exam which he passed with a great score then moved out to the shooting range. While the range part was more to show good safety practices he also out shot most of the class which was made up of adults with the exception of Alex and one teenager. Needless to say, much like the day Ariel completed her class I have been walking on cloud nine!

Alex's main request has been to learn how to turkey hunt, something which I have been successful at in the past but by no means am an expert on teaching. I decided that while I would like to get him a shotgun of his own for turkey hunting much like Ariel I wanted him to have a rifle that one day he could call his own. I was blessed to have a family rifle passed down to me by Rebecca's Grandfather so in keeping with tradition I decided that I would pass down the Winchester .30-30 that I got from my father many years ago. It has been a good gun and I have taken many deer with it over the past 20 years and I look forward to watching him take many more with it too!

Over the years I have enjoyed the time spent in the woods, not only the thrill of a hunt but also the peaceful times observing God's amazing creation. While the time I had to spend with my dad in the woods was cut short I now have the joy of spending time with my own children in the woods teaching them all the knowledge I have learned over the years and continue to learn each and every time I go out. The is no doubt that I have been blessed in life and knowing that a cherished tradition is being passed on to another generation is a beautiful reminder. 

I love both my children and look forward to spending time with each of them one on one and together as a group at the range practicing with our firearms, in the woods observing nature, harvesting game for our food and every moment in-between! 

Congratulations Alex on a job well done. I love you and your sister very much and I am very proud of you both. 

As you can all imagine I can't wait for hunting season to open later this year!