Giving Thanks

We kicked off the morning inside with a Treadmill Turkey Trot since it was too frigid outside.

After a quick snowmobile ride, we headed over to Grandma's for dinner. The cousins put on a little play about the first Thanksgiving, complete with Hudson's cap gun and the paper bag turkey. Not many anticipated the bang, so Hudson got a good belly laugh when people jumped.The kids worked on thankful worksheets and countdown Christmas chains.
Hudson's thankful list included cousins, family, and his tongue (the other day he started a great discussion about all the things our tongue helps us do.) While the other kids were stapling candies to their paper chains, he graciously refused with a simple "I'm trying to eat more healthy."

My heart is full of gratitude and Thanksgiving for the life I have and the blessings I enjoy.

Salmon River Adventure

I got to join my husband and his friend for a Steelhead fishing trip on the Salmon River. It's a unique experience. Our friend's Grandpa pioneered the river for private boats. He is a legend, so it's fun to go with him. This trip was quite an adventure. We left in snow and drove 6+ hours to the campground. The first day was cold, but a few fish were biting. I wrestled a big one for over 10 minutes trying to land him. Towards the end I could barely keep a hold of my pole I was so tired. He must have been a wild by the way he was fighting. He finally surfaced near the boat and he was huge, we estimate over 40". Just when we thought we were going to net him, the line broke! Dang it! No picture. Take it as a fishing story if you want, but my arm is still sore.The next morning we woke to 3" of new snow. It let up, so we shoveled the boat out and went on the river again.



The wind decided to pick up and persist, not good for fishing. We tried to keep warm and wait it out but finally decided to pull out, pack up and head for home.
It was slow going, but we made it to Salmon to find out the road was closed home. We spent the night and continued rest of the way home in subzero temperatures. The closer we got to home, the worse the roads got.
We won't be eating Steelhead for Thanksgiving this year, but at least we're home.

Paper Bag Turkey

Hudson was having a Thanksgiving Feast at school and of course, everything had to be store bought (Maybe safer, but definitely not funner.) So we bought a bag of popcorn and whipped up this turkey in no time. While we were at it, we made one for the cousin table for Thanksgiving.As luck would have it, school was canceled due to the snow, so we have two birds waiting around for the big day.

From Sunshine to Snowboots

Last week we were enjoying the beautiful fall weather in t-shirts. We picked the last of the apples and cut the tops off the onions for the winter.



It's a good thing because now we're scrambling to find our winter clothes to keep warm. The kids insisted on dragging out the mittens and hats so they could go play in the snow. We kinda got knocked upside the head with this winter thing. But you know what they say, "When life gives you snow, make snowmen."

Big Deal

Grandpa Hillman pulled out Hudson's 1st tooth Halloween night. Grandpa has a lot of experience and did a great job. It was relatively painless. The family was together, so there were cousins and aunts and uncles to show the tooth to.

Once we got home (at bedtime) Hudson requested to call his Aunts and Uncles on the other side of the family. It was pretty important to him. Loosing teeth for a kindergartner is a pretty big deal.

The tooth fairy even came!