Oct 16-21, Campouts and Volleyball

Couple of updates to get caught up.
Our family has been busy doing 'normal' stuff for several weeks with work, school, volleyball, band, nursing, hunting, etc.  Kids have all been doing great. They seems to be adjusting okay. As all kids do, they have their moments with friends but they are getting there.  One of the best things we do as a family is eat dinner together, and give each one of our kids a turn to talk about their day. It's a great way for us to learn about what is really going on in their lives. Anyway, we just haven't been able to update the blog. Now we are in Calif for two days for routine checkups, so it is a great time to update. 

Stacy and I drove down yesterday with 4 of our 5 kids.  Sierra has IVIG and biopsy, Gage has echo and pacemaker optimization, Lindsey has biopsy and echo, and Megan wanted to see some of her Calif friends. Hunter stayed home with Grandma.  It is a combustible combination when Lindsey, Hunter and Gage are cooped up in a vehicle for 13 hours!!  This trip we are staying with the Blacks, some really nice people we met last year.

These are a few pictures of the activities we have been up to.

I took hunter with me on a boy scout campout.  As a 9 year old, he had a great time hangin' with the big boys.

Tommy Huntington (the boy in red) explaining breakfast to Dwain, Colton, and Isaiah.

 

 Sierra's final volleyball game of the year. They beat Elgin in 3 games. She had some great hits.

 

 Megan warming up for a game. Lindsey singing along to the warm up music.

Megan serving during the game.

 

 

Megan and Sierra had a great time during the volleyball season and are now doing dance.

Oct 21-25, The Elk Hunt

Wanted to post a few pictures from the elk hunt.
This year Ryan and I packed 7 horses in for week long elk hunt. Spent the week with Flint, Blake, John, Eric, and Skye and had a great time.

Monday. Packed in and set up camp. Great weather, sunny all week!

Tuesday. Finished setting up camp, scouted around a bit, and played pinochle (which is a really fun game),

Wednesday. Now we got busy. Ryan and I got into some elk and Ryan shot a nice point bull.  I took a quick shot at a rag horn but didn't knock it down. (grr) Took us most of the day with two horses to pack him out.

Thursday. Blake got a nice 5 point. Long shot, about 560 yards on a steep slope. It was pretty exciting getting the bull out.

Friday. John took a few long shots at nice bull, but couldn't get on top of him (about 700 yards).  Tracked him for a while. We even took a picture of his hoof print just to prove how big he was. We decided to leave him for next year.  That evening Ryan and I were sitting on a ridge top and looked about 3.5 miles away into some distant meadows.  I noticed the meadow started 'moving'.  There were elk everywhere.  We got soooo exited. We went back to camp and started making plans.

Saturday, Ryan and I left at 6 am with 4 horses for a 5.5 hour trip in search of those elk.   That evening, we got into them. I got a shot off at a nice bull, but once again, I missed it. Now I am ready to wrap that !@#$ gun around a tree. Lots of excuses, but bottom line is I missed it. Still looking for my 1st bull. After the miss Ryan was able to bugle with the bull for about a hour, but we were never able to see him. We got back to the horses way after dark, then took the long 5.5 hour trip back to camp.  For 5.5 hours I followed along on my horse looking at the empty pack horses in front of me.  I dreaded the thought of explaining this to the anxiously waiting elk camp crew, my brothers and uncles, the Thompsons, Stephens, and Hibbards, my own children, and many other big elk hunt fanatics.
It really was a fun hunt, hope to do it again next year, this time with a different result.  Before I do anymore hunting, that 300 WSM I have to come together, because something ain't jelling.

 At the trail head

 Along the trail

At the pass
 

 Entering camp. The last horse's pack was falling apart!

 

 Rollin' into camp

 

Ryan's nice bull

 

 

Blake's bull

I was pooped! Had 3 nice blisters to tend to.

 Beginning the long trip back to elk camp. grrr

 

  Blake's bull and we are out of there!

 

October 15, Still Adjusting

Stacy here, thought I would update since Jason is working on a tax deadline today. Some interesting observations and challenges we didn't realize we were going to have. We were able to be home from California early enough that the kids were able to spend the last week with their class mates here in Oregon. It was all great, the kids were "stars" and everyone was happy to have them back. As the new school year has started that newness has worn off. Megan and Lindsey are really struggling with finding their place again. We were gone an entire school year. Their friends had to make new friends. It is like starting a new school, only harder because you already know everyone. What ends up happening is they feel rejected and left out. I never thought I would hear our kids say, "I just want to go back to California." That has been spoken a few times. This week has been a little better for Megan. As for Lindsey, in California she had a year of nothing but adults. One-on-one teacher time, a nurse constantly at her side, therapists, doctors and her parents. We find that she is most comfortable around adults instead of playing with kids her age. At lunch she goes and helps at the cafeteria instead of going out for recess. This is all very kind, but she is cheating herself of building friendships with kids in her class. We have had to strongly "encourage" her to play with kids at recess. Being in the fourth grade, The next few years will be vital in having friends (just ask Megan).

Megan has on occasion wanted to go back to California and play with the friends she made there. Even though, she has some great kids in her class here. She has been trying harder this week. Sierra and Hunter are both doing great. Sierra is easy going and just goes with the flow of everyone. I think someone could really offend her and she would look at them and say, "Okay." Then walk off skipping and whistling. Hunter just loves to have fun. He has plenty of kids in his class that he rotates through and plays with. We are just working with him on appropriate times to "play" and appropriate times to hold still and listen. Gage is loving preschool and is really enjoying being back with his cousins.

Jason has been busy with his October 15th deadline. He is getting really excited to go elk hunting next week with my brother, Ryan and a bunch of other guys. Hopefully this is the year! I have been busy canning and keeping up with work and the kids. It is a rewarding feeling to see the storage room shelves full and ready for winter, knowing we will be here to use it up.

This is Sierra and Megan's last week of volleyball, then we start into Lindsey's basketball. We are proud of our kids and all they do and have to face each day. They are really trying their hardest.

 Helping Dad with gathering cattle in Durkee

October 6, Calif trip and Gage's birthday

Kids are all good. Gage turned 5 last week and had a blast partying with two of his favorite cousins Range and Lyndi. He seems to be growing and doing well.  Sierra and I went to Calif for IVIG. We stayed with the Zangers and had a good time. The IV treatment is the same long 14 hour infusion she gets each month.  In early November all 3 kids go back for biopsies, echo's and checkups.  We were planning on going to the Stanford / Washington game but our flight was changed and we had to come home on Saturday morning. Bummer!! That's the way it goes, we are okay with that. Drew and his daughters had a good time at the game.

Lindsey is doing well. She is having a bit of a tough time at school.  She is tired of not growing. She has not grown at all in the last year, maybe a 1/4 inch, but that is stretching it. It is all relating to prednisone and the trauma of the transplant. She is also ready for her chubby cheeks to go away, they may have gone down, but they are not gone. Once the prednisone is turned off, that should help with the growth and chubbiness.

Busy week coming up. Tax extension deadline. Megan and Sierra volleyball games. Stacy works as a school nurse and her regular one night a week at the hospital. A lot of cattle is being shipped and moved around. Planting fall wheat. ALL good stuff.
Till next time
Jason

Gage's new cowboy hat, so he can be like Range

Hunter's birthday party during the deer hunt

More of Gage's party, with Range and Lyndi standing by.

 

 Our 14 and 12 year olds prep'ing for spirit week. This was 'Villain' day

The plane we came down in. Very nice!

Toby the pilot from Sisters. Very nice guy. Thank-you.

Last of all. My sister Garrity. Expecting their first baby in about 3 weeks.

Sept 30, The Deer hunt

As usual we had a dang good time at deer camp. Sometimes we had to work at having fun, but it was all good.  The wind and the rain and the cold was all there in full force. Some years it is warm and sunny and other times it is not. We had 11 kids and 7 adults there. Me and my 3 girls, Josh and his 4, Jake and 2 of his, Justin and Keanna, Nick and Abby, and the 2 Grandpa's Dad and Allen.  We saw a few bucks but were never able get to them.  At 4 am we had had enough of the wind and rain. We had tarps, a canopy, and camp supplies strung all over the place from the wind. The stove pipe came off and filled the tents with smoke. So we packed up and headed home.
We still had a ton of fun.  The kids played games, went on a few hikes, rolled rocks, looked for deer, and giggled a lot.  Somehow in all the fun, I was able to keep track of Sierra and Lindsey's meds.

Back home Hunter had his 7 year old birthday party, and Aunt Garrity had a baby shower. Stacy may have some pictures of that.

This week Sierra and I are heading to Calif on Thursday. Sierra has IVIG on Friday. Not exactly sure how we are getting there, but we are working on it. 

The group shot

 Cali, Ashley, and Sierra

 The Princess

 Some deer on the run. I didn't have a tag, so I took some pictures. Can you see the buck? 

 This is the bear cave in Log Creek.  Landon was the brave sole to go in first.

 At the mouth of the bear cave.  There were no bears there....this time

 Jake and I after our ride up Corral Creek.

 Keanna and Megan at Packsaddle.  You can see some big horn sheep off her left shoulder way down there.

 Kids out doing some scouting in Fence Creek.

 Lindsey in the bear cave.

 Huddled in the tent next to the stove.

 Lindsey and Abby scoping out a group of deer down in Log Creek.

 

 Nick and Justin standing guard