Antelope Hunt 2012

Hunting season has officially begun! I drew out for antelope and deer this season. Two weekends ago, I went with my dad and brother-in-law into northern Nevada to start the hunt. We camped in the middle of a hot, dusty nowhere and went into Battle Mountain, NV everyday to get ice and gas. Battle Mountain isn't even technically a municipality in NV, but it has a Maverick gas station - all you need to be a true city in my eyes.

Our hunt on the second fastest land animal in the world was an adventure! Pronghorn antelope are only second to the cheetah and have been clocked at a top speed of 61 mph. Unfortunately, we witnessed these animals kick up the speed plenty of times. Check out the video of the antelope keeping pace with the truck at about 35 mph. Crazy stuff! Oh, I did get my antelope also!



My antelope



Welcome to BM



Dust...everywhere!



The campsite...and Dad in the background



The view from our campsite - yep middle of nowhere




Thunderstorm moving in - kept us up almost all night

Here is the video of the antelope keeping top speed with the truck. Most of the time, they will parallel the truck and then run right in front of it - not sure why! We were so focused on the antelope that we flew into a puddle without realizing it -haha, good times.

Hummingbirds

So I put up a hummingbird feeder a month or so ago. My grandma used to have one of these...my love of hummingbirds must be a mix of nostalgia and fascination. I didn't really expect much and wasn't sure if the hummingbirds would even be able to find the feeder. Fortunately, we have had tons of hummingbirds outside our window. They are amazing, and I love watching them hover and fly off in a buzz. The best part is gettng a glimpse of them sitting still for a few seconds on the perches of the feeder. The other day, this one hummingbird sat still for such a long time. He got a drink and then sat on top of the light for about five minutes!! It was the coolest thing and something I haven't seen before. We were able to get a picture even though the blinds were in the way...we didn't want to scare it away! Check out the hummingbird at the top of the light.

Summer Vacations Part Two

Our next trip was to Newport Beach, a favorite place of mine...maybe I just like going on vacations, no matter where! It was filled with beach and pool time, sleeping in, absolutely perfect weather and a lot of tacos from Great Mex...so yummy!!! If you have never been there- you must go., best tacos ever! It was fun to be with the family for a week, and the twins especially loved the beach. They even took a liking to eating sand...

Barrett thought he was funny after having dumped sand all over this chair.



Garrett was able to make it for two days but had to do some studying on the beach - fun!

Yes, that is sand/spit...

The twins loved riding in the wagon!

Mom and the girls on Balboa Island



Getting "hangry" on Balboa Island




Garrett's last day.



Not sure who these people are and why they need so much stuff for the beach!



The girls getting buried.



Brady and Barrett



Mom and I definitely hold the record for staying at the beach the longest for the most number of days!



Mom and dad at "The Wedge". Thanks for a great trip!

Summer Vacations Part One

So blogging has gotten away from me for almost a year now...not sure why I have gotten so behind! My two months off of work during the summer didn't scream "blog"...but "lay by the pool!" And so, that's what I did many days during my time off. We also did some fun family vacations. First was Flagstaff which was gorgeous and very relaxing. Still in love with that place. We rode bikes, went shopping, sat on the back porch, and went to Bearizona! I managed to take very few pictures during this vacation, most of which were of the bears at Bearizona. I have to admit I was impressed with this place and would recommend to anybody to pay a visit! Here are some pictures of the trip...