Happy Hunting!

Good evening to everyone! How are you this blessed day? I am very well.

Well, as my post suggests, two of my three guys went hunting this weekend. Jordan went on his first duck hunt ever today. They had one "lucky duck" (pun intended) that flew overhead. Between Jordan and Nathan, they shot six times and it never came down! It had to either be really good luck or divine intervention! They did get any ducks this morning. I got a call from Nathan this evening and Jordan shot his first duck! He is so excited! He can't wait for us to cook it up. I am actually thinking Nathan should smoke it for us! Yeah, I think that's a GREAT idea! Nathan and Jordan are staying up in Farmington with Nathan's cousin Darin and his family. Darin's oldest son Dakota and Jordan were the primary hunters and they both got their ducks today! Good job boys! I am very proud of you for bringing home the ducks!

I had a somewhat interesting day! I could not go to sleep last night. I never sleep well when Nathan is gone. It was around 3:30 when I headed to bed, but couldn't sleep. I remember looking at the clock at 4:00. I woke up at 7:30 and tried to wake Aaron up. He couldn't sleep either and he actually stayed up till 6:00 and worked on school since he couldn't sleep. I can't wait for him to get officially caught up in school so he can get back on a regular routine and sleep at a normal time again. Aaron and I were going to go running first thing this morning. We were going to start training in preparation for Kangeiko which is coming up later on this month. Kangeiko is a once a year week long training in which we push ourselves to the limits and force our bodies to train under adverse conditions. It sounds crazy, it probably is, but it is a lot of fun and it truly is a life changing experience. My boys and I completed the training last year and were awarded highly sought after certificates. I was actually awarded "Best Spirit of Kangeiko 2012." The actual training starts each morning promptly at 5:30. Sensei Nagatomo does NOT tolerate tardiness whatsoever. He would prefer you NOT come at all if you are going to be late! We wear only our GIs (our white uniforms) and running shoes, no socks, gloves, hats, coats, scarves, etc. we run a mile. The first 1/2 mile is all down hill, then we turn around and return the second half all uphill. Once we run our mile, we run inside, put our shoes upstairs, grab a quick drink of water, then line up for stretching. After stretching, we do a regular training until bout 7:00, then we are dismissed so people can go to work or school. We do this for six days straight. I usually have to wake my boys up at 3:45, get in the car by about 4:15, then the drive is about one hour to get to the main dojo in town. The first three days, I thought I was going to die! Then I really enjoyed it! I am so looking forward to it this year. This year I have decided that I don't want to just survive, I want to excel!

I survived my run this morning. I couldn't get Aaron to wake up, so I ran by myself. Probably was a good thing, since Aaron runs a lot faster and longer than me! After I got back. I thought I was going to be sick. I felt like I was going to cough up a lung! Btw, can you all tell that I am NOT a runner by nature??? When I finally recovered and felt like I wasn't going to be sick, I tried waking Aaron up again...no such luck! I got the milking equipment together and went out and milked our cow and our goat. I brought the milk back up to the house and started pouring it up. I was finally able to rouse Aaron enough to get him to do feeding and watering chores.

I treated Aaron out to breakfast at one of our favorite breakfast places in Edgewood, Carl's Chili Hills. Aaron surprised me by not ordering his usual. He usually gets the Brama Buster (beans, Mexican rice, fired eggs, hash browns, cheese, and all smothered with red and green chili sauce. It is really good. I got my usual, the same thing, except minus the beans and double hash browns. You know me...I love my potatoes! Aaron actually ordered the biscuits and sausage gravy with fired eggs.

After breakfast, we went to two feed stores to pick up chicken food. Aaron was a sweetheart and offered to carry out an elderly lady's order to her car since she had a huge bag of dog food. I don't think she could possibly lift that herself. I was glad he offered to do it for her! The world needs more people like him!!! Was a sweet and thoughtful young man he is becoming.

I came home and finished making the new batch of sourdough English muffins tonight. I also made the filling to make Kolachi (a sweet bread with a cream cheese and tapioca filling). I plan on making the dough tomorrow. I haven't made it in several years and I know my guys love it!

Well, my eyes are going cross-eyed. I'm going to take that as a sign that my body says it's time for bed. Please remember to keep Nathan's Uncle Jerry in your prayers. He is not doing well and has taken a bit of a turn for the worse. They had to hook him up to a respirator today. Nathan's grandmother, Nanny, is doing ok. She is making progress each day. She continues to walk, but is still in quite a bit of pain. She is having major difficulties remembering things. She wakes up and has no idea where she is or what has happened to her.

Sleep well. I pray for God's blessing to surround you tonight. Until tomorrow...