Tate's first hunting experience....he LOVED it!

Yikes! Not growing up in a hunting family this is all new territory to me and makes me a bit nervous. Ok...it makes me REAL nervous! Guns, open land, early mornings, no sunlight, lots of fog, more guns and a bunch of camo....

I do have to be honest though.... There was one hunting experience that I remember as a kid where my brother headed out (oh he is going to kill me for this one!) to gather the food for the family. Let me remind you, we grew up "in the country" (if any of my current friends are reading - it's true I'm a country girl!) and behind our five acres there was a bird, game preserve (i think that's what it is called). As my brother and his friend headed out in my dad's pickup one day (it took them a while) they loaded up their guns, boom box, cooler full of snacks and lawn chairs. Remember...this is a true story! City slickers headed out on a hunt.... Now, my memory is fading quickly so I'm not sure what they returned with - if anything. Now do you understand my initial fear and concern (as the previous experience was my only point of reference to hunting) when Erik says he is taking my PRECIOUS (almost) 8 year old out to hunt.

Tate was so excited and had been requesting to go with Erik for some time. So, mom HAD to get on board and give the final "ok". This did not come without much prayer! Thank goodness for my husband and his brother and their reassurance that they would be extremely safe, although, as you can tell by one of the pictures, they did "lose" his shoes somewhere along the way. Guess a little frost bite never hurt anyone.....he doesn't need those toes! Oh, and check out my nephew's extremely "manly" (and warm!) Converse hunting shoes. Nice.... I was told that the shoe attire was not what they were actually allowed to hunt in. The bare feet and converse shoes were only in existence for this photo.

I do LOVE all these boys though and am extremely grateful that they have found something that they enjoy doing together. Now, if I could only get that little blonde girl in my house to love hunting too I'd be set for some quiet time! :>)

Note: In picture #1 and #2 below Tate was actually standing on ice. Not sure how that makes me feel but it is what it is. Supposedly, that's a sign of toughness in the world of hunting. Or so that's what they tell me....