Futbol - The PVCS Eagles

Much to our kid's delight PVCS allows Homeschooling kids the ability to enroll in school sports. Alex has been asking to play soccer and was thrilled to get accepted onto the school U8 team. They practice at the school during the week and the games have been on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. The first game ended with a tied score, the following 2 games have been won by the Eagles. The kids all have a great time and get lots of exercise, they all take turns playing different positions and their coaches do a great job of teaching them how to play a sport while having fun doing it. So far I think Alex's best position is goalie but due to taking a swift ball to the face it is not one of his favorites! Here are and assortment of pictures from the past few games. Ariel will be playing Basketball later this year so I will be sure to post those pics too!

Let's get ready to Scramble!

Everyone has been patient with me due to my crazy schedule and now I am patiently waiting for some yummy eggs! I finally got around to making my new nesting boxes and upon completion I actually installed them into the coop.

My original design was 9 14"x14" cubes but after some thought I decided on a simpler set-up that will be easy to clean and access for our daily bounty of eggs.

We have a couple of weeks before I am actually expecting any eggs which is a good thing as we still have several roosters. Roosters who are starting to act like I did as a teenage boy - after eating and drinking they are consumed with girls and fighting!

My next chicken related post will be the meal we make after I finish slaughtering the roosters (some time during the next week). So feel free to post any suggested chicken recipes under the comments section!

The Grand Stand!

I have been saving up my Cabela's points and when I thought about what I wanted to purchase it was an easy decision. With archery season upon us here in the Great North Woods and gun season just around the corner, I decided it was time to upgrade some of my equipment. The entire time I was considering what to purchase the faces of my two wonderful children kept flashing before my eyes, It was then and there that I knew what I needed to get.

Anyone who knows me is aware that some of my best memories were made while hunting and fishing with my Dad. I have been blessed with 2 kids who started showing interest in hunting at an early age (Ariel's first deer hunt was at the age of 3!) and we have already started making some memories of our own.

Now when I went hunting as a kid my tree stand was just that... a tree! I can remember fall afternoons spent wandering the woods looking for the perfect pine tree to limb out and the cold winter mornings spent sitting on a branch in said tree wishing I had a commercial built tree stand with a nice comfy seat.

I decided my kids deserve better than that, so I went out and bought a tree stand that would make their hunting experience a good one, (this is my excuse for spending so much $$ and I'm sticking to it)!

I spent last night putting my new purchase together all the while my children squealing with excitement behind me. They were quite surprised at how high the stand was but both declared they were up to the challenge. Tonight with the help of my hunting season widow, (aka. My Wife - Rebecca) I put the stand up in the back yard, minus the add on camo blind and before we could blink - the kids were up, up, and away into the "GRAND STAND" as Alex called it!

I look forward to many mornings spent watching the sun rise while sitting side-by-side with my kids and the satisfaction of watching the sun set after spending an entire day together. There is also the anticipation of the conversations we will have and the life long memories of spending time together in awe of God's awesome Creation and possibly filling our freezer with healthy low fat venison.

So. until my back is well enough to move the stand into the woods of our favorite deer hunting grounds it will be in the back yard; where if you look closely as you pass by - you just might see one of our next generation of deer hunters sitting quietly looking for their next dinner!

Life is good...

I want to start by thanking everyone who has kept me in their thoughts and prayers the past week and a half. The first several days after my injury I was bed ridden but after a week of making the trek to the chiropractors twice a day and a follow up visit to my family doctor I am feeling much better.

Even though my job can be quite demanding at times and I am always looking forward to time off to spend with my family I was actually looking forward to my doctor letting me return to the daily grind.
Due to the extent of my groin injuries I am on a 30lb lifting restriction for the next 2 weeks. Despite my restrictions I have managed to book my work schedule full for the next 2 weeks and will meet all of my monthly requirements despite missing over a week of work - Something my boss will be happy to see/hear, as will my wife when she gets my paycheck!

During my down time I was able to spend some time assisting with my children's education as we are joining the growing number of homeschooling families. I have really enjoyed watching the wheels turn inside my children's growing minds and the satisfaction they exude when they succeed at learning something new. Ariel has always enjoyed reading (and unlike me there doesn't have to be pictures) and devours any reading material you place in front of her, Alex on the other hand has a gift for anything mathematical. Alex is still attending Pioneer Valley Christian School twice a week for a 1-on-1 tutoring class. We decided to let both the kids enjoy the summer off and were pleasantly surprised when they asked if they could start school early. While we(Rebecca and I)were enjoying the carefree summer we were more than glad to get back into a daily routine. The first week was a big adjustment for the kids, Alex has enjoyed getting his work done and enjoying the extra amount of "free time" as he likes to call it. As I said before Ariel really likes to read which has been an easy way to get side tracked, she is taking a literature/creative writing course and tends to lose track of time while she reads ahead rather than working on her other subjects - resulting in long days of school work. We are now 3 weeks into the school year and both the kids are moving along with their curriculum.

I have also enjoyed catching up with several of my old school mates via "Facebook" who are now spread out across the country and beyond. It has been nice rekindling old friendships and spending time reflecting upon the past, present, and future. (well everyone knows that the future doesn't exist but you know what I mean). I have also enjoyed expanding the blogs I frequent as several of my facebook friends are also regular bloggers.

As I stated before the first several days were spent in bed and as I began to desire to escape from my bedroom the rain started falling. The ran fell and the grass grew - then during one of my daily trips to the chiropractors my amazing wife completed my weekly task of mowing the lawn! Not only did she mow the lawn she actually mowed it at a right angle(I am rather anal about mowing the lawn a different direction each week)! Unfortunately I was unable to capture this with my camera - something that Rebecca is not disappointed about.

Once I was up and about I enjoyed watching the kids ride their bikes in the race tracks they designed with chalk attached to the back of Alex's John Deere tractor. I even had enough energy to pitch baseballs to the kids - a task cut short when I almost got drilled in the groin by a line drive!

I was content the rest of the time sitting in the backyard. Time well spent watching my kids be just that, kids. No worries about work, politics, war, bills, etc... It's amazing how content one can be sitting on a lush green lawn with a cool breeze blowing though one's hair (yes I know what your thinking but facial hair is still Hair!) while chickens free roam around you looking for their next juicy bug with the sound of children playing in the background.

I have truly been blessed with an amazing family. All of my needs have been provided for - we have a beautiful house in God's amazing country! Despite the occasional set back (ie.. back/groin injuries) life is not only good - it's great. The silver lining in this cloud has been the time spent with family and the quiet time reflecting on and nurturing one's personal relationship with God. As a matter of fact the only thing that could be better is doing it while sitting in a tree stand - a task I hope to tackle soon considering Archery season opens next week in the North Woods!

Pain in the Butt - I wish!

So this Post will be more of a "feel sorry for me" more than anything else but I have nothing else of interest to write about at this time.

Sunday I decided to work on my yard chores - mowing the lawn, cleaning the chicken coop, spread the left over pile of top soil around... you get the picture. Well I got most of it done when I notices the logs I have been using as seats around my fire pit. I was originally planning on burning them at my annual cookout but due to the lack of night owls we let the fire burn out before midnight and I left them for another day.

In my unorganized madness to clean up the yard I decided to move all the logs into a pile so I could mow the back yard and have ease in splitting them the next day. Well as my luck would have it while moving the last log I lost my balance and while trying not to crush my self with a log I strained myself and felt a pain like I have never felt before - I can only imagine what you

women go through during childbirth!

With the help of Ariel and Rebecca I managed to get back into the house and remained in bed for the next 2 days. After 2 days and no relief in site I made myself a doctors appointment. My first appointment was with the chiropractor who after taking x-rays was quite surprised with my happy demeanor. My pelvis was shifted forward and several of my lumbar vertebrae were twisted causing my spine to look more like a stair case than a curving seductive spine!

I received my first adjustment and decided to see how I felt. Later that morning the pain in my stomach/groin area was still quite noticeable so I made an appointment to see my general physician. After a morning of poking, pulling and pushing I found out that I did not have a hernia. It turns out the muscles in my groin were torn but had not intertwined with each other.
I was given strict orders to lay low which means I'm out of work for the next week and to ensure I remain in a useless stupor they prescribed me some muscle relaxers!

Hopefully I will be with it enough to post something interesting during the next week (maybe some pictures of my hot wife mowing the back yard in her Daisy Duke's outfit!) if not you will surly be able to find me entertaining my self on FaceBook!

Stealing first...

I want to start by saying I never advocate stealing anything, and this post is not about baseball - that's a different story. What I'm referring to a child first for... Their first word, first step, and most important in my mind, First Fishing Trip!

Now you all know that my kids are far from novice - they use the same poles as me and the bonus part is I don't have to cast for them, much to the surprise of the occasional person passing by. (A fathers pride showing - I know)

Where am I going with this story? Well Rebecca's brother took his wife to Block Island for their Anniversary and we are making their kids do all our chores - Um i mean taking care of their children, Noah and Lily. Today after doing my chores - cleaning out the chicken coop etc... I decided to take the boys fishing. As it turns out my nephew has never been fishing in his long 6 years of life! Gasp.... I know what kind of parents let a kid go this long without introducing them to the joy of impaling a juicy wiggling worm onto a sharp hook and in the process of the worm getting torn apart by the residents of the pond take personal joy in pulling them from their native habitat and then in an act of pure kindness, release them back into the water. These fish must be looked at by their peers like we look at southerners who claim to have been abducted by aliens and returned to there homes again!

Well despite the above mentioned fact I really do love my brother-in-law and admit he is an awesome father. The truth of the matter is I feel a little bit guilty about taking so long to introduce Noah to the sport of fishing.

Normally I don't fish with live bait but I wanted to ensure the kids would catch something and have a memorable experience. I collected some yummy nightcrawlers from the yard and we headed out to a local pond in the bordering state forest. In no time at all we were into the fish. Due to my inexperience with fishing with a bobber the first 30 minutes were spent feeding the fish a free meal of worms! After a little instruction the boys were setting their own hooks and reeling in a bounty of fish. The boys were giddy with all the Bluegills they were catching and after about 2 hours and 16 fish we called it a day, not just any day but an Awesome Day spent in God's glorious nature.

Above - Noah reeling in his first fish ever!

Below - Noah's very first fish!

Daily Life in the Woods.

Saturday was one of those days that around every corner was something exciting. The kids were out playing with the chickens as they free ranged in and out of the woods gobbling up all of the yummy bugs they found (the birds not the kids!)



We also found 3 baby ringneck snakes which are always fun to play with.

We also found a baby bird that was still learning how to fly and let us all take a turn holding him.

The Highlight of the day was when we found a larger Garter snake that had caught a nice toad dinner. We patiently sat and watched as the snake engulfed the entire toad - I realize many of you might find this morbid but it truly was an amazing experience. (click on the picture for the full effect)

Vacations End

Today was the last day of my summer vacation. We had a great week together as a family and went out with a splash - literally! We held our annual BBQ on Saturday night, while there were a lot less people this year we enjoyed the ability to converse one on one with all of our guests. We enjoyed a clear evening with food, fellowship, FIRE, and a few fireworks. I am hoping to get some pictures from a friend who was diligent with picture taking (unlike myself) throughout the night.

We were able to perform all of our cleanup before going to bed and enjoyed a full nights sleep. We got up this morning and packed up a cooler with yummy leftovers from the BBQ and loaded all our swimming and fishing gear into the truck and headed for the ocean. We arrived in Rhode Island and decided to get a day pass to my childhood campground where we could swim, fish, explore the salt marsh and simply enjoy the last day of vacation.

Much like the cookout I failed to bring my digital camera so the only pictures I have were taken with my Blackberry but I guess they are better than nothing and I will look upon them with fondness in the years to come.

This is the first time the kids have ever fished in the ocean and were quite surprised when they found out we would be fishing with bait and not lures! As anyone who has fished with me knows I despise drowning worms and would much rather keep busy throwing a lure than sit in boredom waiting for some brainless fish to find my bait - but the ocean is a whole different beast. While I have caught some massive fish on lures in the ocean I actually enjoy fishing with bait (cut bait, eels, minnows, sandworms etc...). I find sitting on the edge of the water while basking in the sun with the sound of the waves, birds, and bell buoys the ultimate in relaxation.

The kids soon realized I was serious (I don't know why they would ever doubt my sincerity?) and in short order we were all pulling fish out of the water. I caught a couple of Snapper Bluefish, Alex caught a Black Sea Bass and all of us took turns reeling in loads of Scup(Porgy).

The crabs, snails and starfish(sea stars) were in great abundance; the sun was shining, the water was perfect for swimming and most importantly we were enjoying it together as a family. We stayed long enough to watch the sun sizzle into the ocean horizon and shortly after enjoyed watching the moon appear from the opposite direction and make its grand entrance into the sky above. The fish were still biting but the bait was gone and in the darkness we made our way to the showers. After cleaning up we made the journey home recalling the days events as well as the highlights of our past week.

P.S. > The literally going out with a splash comment earlier - in my feeble attempt to wash up before getting in the truck I slipped on the rocks and fell into the water! Thankfully it was dark enough outside nobody could see my face so I don't have to worry about future embarrassment when I pass by people on the street!

StoryLand - Where fun abounds!

Here are some of the pictures we took yesterday on our trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. We took the kid's to StoryLand which turned out to be a big hit with the kids (Becky and I included)! While I had only driven by the park with my Dad while working in the Big Red Tractor Trailer, Rebecca had fond memories of visiting the park during her childhood. I think we will definitely have a return trip in the upcoming years.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Anniversary Rebecca

While I know that Anniversary's are generally an occasion shared between a couple I wanted to let the world know how much I appreciate my lovely wife.

Rebecca,

It seems like just yesterday that I became infatuated with you (the cute little girl with long braided hair) and I found myself pleading with my mother to let me buy you a balloon and a card (rather than one of those cheap generic valentines) to give you on Valentines Day in grade school. Over the years we had our moments as friends and I am still in disbelief that you finally came around to my way of thinking and we became a couple(Remember 10-5-92 Rescued?), I am also still in disbelief that your parents approved! It felt like an eternity between dating and marriage but when the day came there was no doubt you were the one for me. While Valentines day has had its ups and downs during our journey through life I feel like celebrating and treating every day with you like the masses due on that one specific holiday.

As I look back over the past 16 years (13 of them married) I remember the times we spent together in college Accounting class, fancy dinners at the drive-in, our wedding day (and NIGHT!), buying our first house, our first puppy, our first camping trip, the day I realized you were pregnant with Ariel, the day I realized you were pregnant with Alex, experiencing parenthood together, family vacations and every single day in between.

You have supported me through hair loss, multiple career changes, hunting and fishing seasons, as well as moving (we all know you had the hard part - packing and unpacking). While I have had the pleasure of changing you into a person who likes country music, Nascar and Monster Trucks, I can honestly say there is nothing I would want to change about you. You have made me a better man and I can't imagine going through life without you.

I love the fact that my silly antics still make you smile, I love that you don't look down on me when I need a shoulder to cry on, I love that we have fun and enjoy being with each other whether we go out for a night on the town or if we just stay home and do nothing.

Thank you for being an Awesome wife, a Fabulous mother and my best friend. I look forward to many more years together. I love you!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Love,
C.