Squirrels 4- Valentines- ZERO!

What is going on? There are more squirrels in my parents backyard than all the acreage we "hunt" on! We can't say we were surprised that the squirrels won AGAIN as we traipsed around the forest with our unruly bunch brandishing a gun.  As far as wildlife goes, we did happen to see two deer & either a bunny or a baby hog...more on that later. 

The girls had been prepped well for the possibility of killing a squirrel & eating it for dinner. They were actually really excited to eat it although I am pretty sure of what their faces would look like if it was served up as squirrel stew ; )  Grammy & Grandpa were still in town on their extended holiday visit/dog-sitting Bella/repainting the interior of our house & were happy to join us on our tour of the woods with the Fab Four in tow. 

The little guys were decked out for their first hunt & could not have been happier to eat dirt & leaves! Owen actually broke out in some strange rash soon after we plopped him down for this picture : / Thankfully it wasn't poison ivy & went away rather quickly! Here are Anson & Owen on their first squirrel hunt...

It was AMAZING to have two more adults to share the carrying/rounding everyone up with. The girls were happy to fill Grammy in with what we do on a squirrel hunt on our way there. It went like this: "First we have to be really quiet & look for the squirrels with the binoculars. Then when we see one, Daddy will shoot it with his gun & then we will take him home & eat'em for dinner." Oh my goodness I was laughing so hard with her matter of factness! Grammy was laughing too & we thanked Char for preparing the "new" hunters.

Chubby Bubby hitched a ride with Daddy when he got to heavy for me to carry around.

Char hauled this branch around showing us how strong she is. I think she gets it from me ; ) Actually I am a total weakling when it comes to lifting things or unscrewing the lid off a jar of spaghetti sauce or sadly, taking the lid off a sippy cup Robby screwed on tight. He always refers to me as "Muscles Ellis" when I am struggling to do one of the previously listed tasks & it is usually in a tough coach voice saying "C'mon Muscles Ellis, show me what you got!" It always makes us both laugh since we know I struggle for a minute then just give & let him do it ; ) Maybe Charlotte will inherit some Valentine muscles & be a little more athletic than her mother.

Daddy is a popular guy when it comes to carrying kids & Anson soon got booted so Lolo could climb aboard.

When I say he got booted, he was actually delighted to be in the arms of his Grandpa who kept him happy with lots of sugars on those chubby cheeks.

Lunch at Billy Lake was quick, painless, a little muddy & full of opportunity to take pictures. I LOVE this one....

Those four all came home from the hospital in the big red Texas truck & were so precious sitting together eating lunch. Robby swears that truck will be around long enough to teach the kids how to drive it...can't wait to see that! The little misters were driving their sissies crazy by trying to steal every bite they were taking. I had to grin a bit knowing that it is only getting worse as they become more mobile!

Sweet Eloise, the middle child... we love her.

and we LOVE her dimples!

and Charlee, she did a lot of exploring & asked a lot of questions. Such a pretty young lady.

After lunch we headed over to one of our favorite trails that has lots of water. IT was a fun ride there because the girlie pies, Anson & I got to ride in the back of the truck. They thought that was about the best thing ever!  Once we arrived at our next destination, the girls were completely occupied splashing in puddles, walking along the edge of where some little streams began & throwing sand into the water...my favorite ; )  This gave Rob a chance to look for some squirrels sans kids.

It was beautiful outside & I loved watching the girls enjoy some good ol' fashioned fun. 

That last picture was where it happened.  Eloise got completely soaked head to toe! Grandpa helped her get her boots off & we were all laughing when he poured a good two cups of water out of each one! It was chilly when wet & silly mommy only brought leggings & a jacket but no shirt. That was better than forgetting diapers like I did last year ; ) 

It was a good thing we got a family picture before the splashin' began!

While the girls were splashing away, Grammy & I were ergoed up...

Anson was really tired & doing a lot of screaming/squirrel alerting so I walked & sang to him for a bit. He started saying "Mamamama, mamama" loudly at first but then it quieted down to the sweetest "mamama" you ever did hear. When I looked down, his eyes were closed, his thumb was up to his mouth & he was saying "ma-ma-ma-ma" so sweetly. I just about melted. Really though, I was teary eyed. Last year those buckaroos were carried in-utero while we "hunted" & this year they can say "mama." Sweet, sweet babies.

Eloise received a pair of binoculars in her stocking at Christmas with the hope that she would get to use them while hunting. She kept us laughing the entire time by referring to them as her "knockers." She would say "look at my knockers" or "Grammy has knockers" or "Don't touch my knockers." The list goes on & on. The "knockers" came in handy for these two....

When we were leaving that last hunting trail Rob was driving the truck with his dad in front of me in the Expedition. He stopped & jumped out right by some bushes saying that he saw something. I glanced over & swore I saw a black bunny. Robby had his gun out & was looking close hearing something rustling around. Charlotte was up against the window super excited saying "What is it?" I said I thought it was a bunny & she said "Is Daddy going to kill it? Can we eat it for dinner tonight? I really want to eat a bunny." Hahaha! I did not expect that from a 4 year old girl! Bob was wanting to get a better look too & said "give me some binoculars" while he was opening up the trunk & next thing I knew he was using the Fisher Price "knockers" searching for the supposed bunny. Another hahaha! After further debate, Robby declared it was a baby hog & that he could hear some snorting. I guess he was probably right since I have never heard a bunny snort. That would have made some good breakfast sausage though...better than squirrel stew! He escaped the hunter & we were loaded up & headed off the trail. 

Just a couple more pictures of the Valentine girls & boys on our first hunt as a family of six. 

I love this day every year! Being outdoors is one of my favorite ways to spend time as a family & the perfect weather helped for the wonderful time had by all.

I know I say it every year but....next year is it! We are going to have a feast of squirrels!