A Family Hunting Trip
Yep. You read that right. A family hunting trip. I was very skeptical of this suggestion at first. My dad's birthday was this past weekend and he is currently on a "bucket list" life quest to kill a turkey in every state. Texas is of course on this list and as of yet, unconquered. For his birthday which nicely coincided with my sister's spring break, he requested a Texas visit complete with turkey hunting. But did he really want to sacrifice time with the boys for time in woods? Hmm.. Justin arrived at the perfect conclusion. Buck Valley Ranch located in Centerpoint Texas. And we all would stay. All including 2 tiny boys, myself, Justin, Mom, Dad, Justin and a little tiny dog named Emmie. Obviously a hunting lodge is not the dream vacation for us women but it was close enough for us to spend the day in Fredericksburg one day and San Antonio the next. Perfect!
Friday morning we anxiously awaited the grandparents and Aunt GG's arrival. I purchased a new stroller ( I know we have 2 already but none like this... and it was SO worth it this trip. It was awesome) Anyway, Eli loved it in the living room. He crawled in it and watched cartoons. Then after they were dressed, they both crawled in it to wait for Poppy and Gigi to get here! The hunters headed out a little early to get over there and do the scouting roosting stuff. We were hoping they could scope one out, get the job done first thing Saturday morning and be free to play the rest of the time.
The little boys (dressed in their camo for the occasion of course), me, Mom, Gracie, and Emmie started out a little later. We went to dinner in Comfort, right down the highway from the lodge, at a really neat place. The food was delicious. Emmie found a nice spot outside. Beckett and Eli loved their herb crusted tilapia and grilled vegetables followed by peach cobbler. Eli did some dancing to the guitar player. He would not dance in the main room in front of the other tables but would stand to the side. He LOVES music and LOVES to dance..so cute.
After dinner we headed to the lodge. Kinda nervous about it actually. As we wound through hill country looking at some really rough trailers and other farms mom and I started planning our escape to a hotel in Fred in need be. However, we were pleasantly surprised when we arrived. The scenery was gorgeous and the bunk house exactly perfect for us. Cathy the hunting guide was waiting on us and showed us to our rooms and the family room. Really neat. It was a beautiful evening, Mr Beckett was very very tired so he went to bed early but Eli was wired. He sat outside with us watching the animals come up and feed. He added "deer" to his vocab over the weekend. And every large animal was "moo" :-) They have exotics on this ranch too.. animals that are native to Africa. Crazy stuff.
As it got dark, we started getting nervous that the hunters had yet to arrive. As we watched the field, we saw them coming up the road towards the bunkhouse... and Poppy was carrying a Texas Turkey! He got one on the first night. A big one too. Eli was totally amazed at the turkey. He kept brushing his feathers and pointing. Poppy was so proud to show it off and taught Eli all about the beard and spurs. It was a really sweet memory.
Later that night as the hunters were eating and Eli had gone to bed we were sitting around and talking about the turkey. Poppy's eyes were watering as he told us all how much it meant to him to not only get his turkey but to have his whole family there to share it with him and be apart of it. Made my eyes watery too. A sweet memory for our family for sure.
Guess that hunting lodge thing wasn't so bad after all :-)
Friday morning we anxiously awaited the grandparents and Aunt GG's arrival. I purchased a new stroller ( I know we have 2 already but none like this... and it was SO worth it this trip. It was awesome) Anyway, Eli loved it in the living room. He crawled in it and watched cartoons. Then after they were dressed, they both crawled in it to wait for Poppy and Gigi to get here! The hunters headed out a little early to get over there and do the scouting roosting stuff. We were hoping they could scope one out, get the job done first thing Saturday morning and be free to play the rest of the time.
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| Loving Mommy's new stroller |
The little boys (dressed in their camo for the occasion of course), me, Mom, Gracie, and Emmie started out a little later. We went to dinner in Comfort, right down the highway from the lodge, at a really neat place. The food was delicious. Emmie found a nice spot outside. Beckett and Eli loved their herb crusted tilapia and grilled vegetables followed by peach cobbler. Eli did some dancing to the guitar player. He would not dance in the main room in front of the other tables but would stand to the side. He LOVES music and LOVES to dance..so cute.
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| Beckett had to check on Emmie |
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| Beckett Loved the peach cobbler! |
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| Eli loved the live music |
After dinner we headed to the lodge. Kinda nervous about it actually. As we wound through hill country looking at some really rough trailers and other farms mom and I started planning our escape to a hotel in Fred in need be. However, we were pleasantly surprised when we arrived. The scenery was gorgeous and the bunk house exactly perfect for us. Cathy the hunting guide was waiting on us and showed us to our rooms and the family room. Really neat. It was a beautiful evening, Mr Beckett was very very tired so he went to bed early but Eli was wired. He sat outside with us watching the animals come up and feed. He added "deer" to his vocab over the weekend. And every large animal was "moo" :-) They have exotics on this ranch too.. animals that are native to Africa. Crazy stuff.
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| The view from the back porch |
As it got dark, we started getting nervous that the hunters had yet to arrive. As we watched the field, we saw them coming up the road towards the bunkhouse... and Poppy was carrying a Texas Turkey! He got one on the first night. A big one too. Eli was totally amazed at the turkey. He kept brushing his feathers and pointing. Poppy was so proud to show it off and taught Eli all about the beard and spurs. It was a really sweet memory.
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| Poppy and his Texas Turkey |
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| Eli and his Poppy |
Guess that hunting lodge thing wasn't so bad after all :-)