We Like to Shoot Guns, Okay!

You know, I am getting so tired of all these evil, spineless, mass muderers being called "shooters"
Can we please call them what they are, disgustingly disturbed killers.
The media would love nothing more than to make it look as though anyone with a gun is a threat.
I am a "shooter" my family and Arron's family are all "shooters"
We know how to use guns, we have taken gun safety classes and hunters ed. We have a right to protect ourselves with guns, and we like to shoot.

I have been around guns my whole life. I was taught gun safety when I was young. I knew they were not toys and I respected them. Guns were not taboo, just part of our lives. We took them camping, hunting, and sometimes we would go out and target practice.

 

 

When I hear people refer to these killers as "shooters" I am going to use the opportunity to educate them. Most shooters are just like you and me. We love God, we love our country, our families, life is precious to us and we abide by the law. You want us to have guns. These low-life delinquents should NOT be refered to as "shooters" they really shouldn't be refered to at all. Their names should not make the news, and all the papers, with their head count next to it like a trophy.

 

Lad is Back Home



Lad came home from serving his two year Mission in Carlsbad California on October 31.

So of course, we had to greet him at the airport in Halloween costumes.

Skye made his super cool mask in welding class. Arron and I spent the afternoon doing "arts and crafts" to finish ours. Laiken was a black cat and Jon was Dark Night.

I don't think we fooled him for a minute.

We were pretty anxious to see Lad after two years of just letters and e-mails.
 

So much has happened in our family since Lad left two years ago.

We moved to the Villa. Sold our business. His little sister got married and he has a brother-in-law. His little brother is taller than him and is driving. His grandparents moved down the road and his dad is now working in Florida!

But as soon as he stepped through those doors...it's like everything was back to normal again.

I can't even put into words how great it is to have us all back together.

Lad is so great! I feel like when I try to describe him to people I just gush. It's like I don't even know where to begin to convey, just how amazing he really is. You have to 'know' him to fully 'know' his awesomeness...it just can't be explained. Lad has had so many wonderful experiences while on his mission. We are hearing new stories all the time. I know he wouldn't trade the experience for anything. I love what his misson has done for him.

 

 

Arron has missed him so much these last two years. He couldn't get anyone to go ride with him like Lad does. He also had to finish quite a few house projects without him. These two are close. Arron was able to come home from Florida for ten days so we could all be together for his Homecoming and early Thanksgiving.

We didn't waste any time getting Lad re-aquainted with home life.

 

We had a Turkey to prep. for dinner!

Two turkeys actually. The boys set them up behind a log, called to them, and when they stuck their heads up...well, you know the rest, it's history, at least they were...history that is.

They were also tasty.

 

Skye has been waiting for Lad to come home so he could do this turkey shoot with him.

They make me laugh all the time. Boys do the craziest things. I'm so glad they enjoy each others company so much. It was getting pretty quiet at the Villa with just Skye and I there.

 

 



Welcome Home. To both my boys.

 

 

Would You Say I Have A Plethora of Pumpkins?

I had so much fun with my pumpkin patch this year!

It started off as a good way to keep weeds from growing on my West facing hillside, and it worked well. The real bonus was watching the chickens hunt for bugs in it, watching them grow, and giving them away.

I had so many pumpkins this year, I decorated the gym at the Stake center for a dance with them. The best part was the clean-up, after the dance I had the kids all take one or more home with them! Neighbors got pumpkins, all my Beehive girls got pumpkins, family got pumpkins, and even the FedEx lady got pumpkins for her and her grand kids!

I had some help from Lydia and her family. They came over and helped me clip and move some of the pumpkins off the hill. Later Lydia and mom helped me clean all the vines and chuck them over to the goat pen.( I'ts a huge bonus having goats, they eat all the garden scraps that the chickens aren't interested in!)

 Owen and Lylian picked out their favorites.

It was a lot of work moving all these pumpkins! I later used the 4 wheeler and trailer to get them all off the hillside. It made the work go quick, it still took several trailers full to move them all.

Since we had the whole Lawson family together...why not get a few family shots?

Pretty cute! I love how Olive just worked her way in there. Such a good lookin' family! I LOVE that they live so close to us now. We have lots of good times in store.

Camp Shore

We don't need to pack up all our gear and drive for hours to go camping.
We can do it right here.

We invited a few locals to join us.

 Kids love Camp Shore. They get to meet new friends...
Shoot their bows...

Ride the 4 wheeler...

Sleep in tents...

and roast hot dogs!

By morning Owen and Jack were best buddies!

We love having friends and family over.
 Camp style is my favorite, no dishes to do or sheets to wash!
We eat outside, play outside, sleep outside and yes...
sometimes we go potty outside! (sorry no pictures) ha ha.
This is Arron's tough 'I just got back from North Dakota' look.
(not to be confused with Blue Steel)

Lylian loves Jon's dog, Lily.
Every time Jon called "Lily" Lylian would drop everything and go running into Jon's arms.
It was so cute and we really got a laugh out of it.

There's not many pictures of me with mom and dad. I had to share this one.

Owen loves holding Claudia. She's my favorite too, she's one tough chick.

My best friend Raquel. Love her.

For breakfast we had Farm Fresh scrambled eggs, of course.

The kids played non-stop, ate heartily and slept soundly,
and that goes for the big kids too.

Camp Shore may not be as fun as Disneyland, but I bet it's a close second.

Y'all Come Back Soon!

 

Picnic Table

I have so many memories of growing up on the farm in Paul. When I think of my childhood, that's where my thoughts take me. We could play outside all day and mom didn't have to worry about us. We would play in our sand box that grandpa Calvin built, or the playhouse that dad built us. Mostly I remember riding motorbikes, shooting our BB guns and our siblings were our best friends. We were tired and dirty by the end of the day, as it should be with kids. I also remember eating many outdoor meals on our big picnic table. It sat under the shade of our weeping willow tree. I bet everyone of my cousins at some point have eaten at this table.

I don't know how it happened that I now possess this very same picnic table. It was at home with grandpa Virgil in Shoshone for years, while my family gypsied around the country. I am so grateful it stayed in the family. We use it all the time at the Villa. It must be about 30 years old! It is showing some signs of wear. A few dings here and there, but it is as sturdy as ever. I decided it needed a little lovin'..

The boys are so quick to lend me a hand they got to it before I could get a proper "Before" picture. You can see how 30 years in the sun has dulled the finish. It just needed some fresh paint.

I love this oiled bronze color.

Six cans of spray paint and several coats later... I think this table is ready for it's next party!

I wonder if this table will bring back good memories for the next generation? I can't see why it wouldn't be around for another 30 years. One of my grand kids will probably end up with it.

That makes me smile.

This is my cute little nephew Richard Robert. He loves being ouside in overalls.

Oregon Coast

With Summer winding down and the temps rising, we decided to beat the heat with a trip to the coast. Four days in Waldport was just what we needed to cool down. We got a late start on the road and planned to drive as far as we could, then pull over and set up camp.

I love driving in the early evening. Everything seems to be quieting down. The scenery was beautiful.

I'm actually surprised Arron drove past Sisters Oregon before pulling over to sleep. Like pros the boys set up a tent, threw in some bags and we were sawing logs in no time. (all except Jon)

Good Morning!

By the way Laiken looks you'd never know just how close to Hwy 20 we pitched our tent. (maybe it wasn't the snoring the kept Jon up, but the semi traffic?) Just a short winding jaunt to breakfast, then the beach!

Ahhh, that's what we drove all night to see!

There was a lot of frisbee tossing and beach combing going on. I think my favorite was just chillaxing in a beach chair with a book, and my camera.

I think Arron found 16 cents.

We had a nice relaxing first day. We watched the Olympics on T.V. and Laiken made us rice krispie treats after dinner. Our little beach house was so fun!
I had to throw in this picture of Laiken rockin' the pearls and leather...not to mention the leopard yoga pants and turquoise flip-flops...how does she do it?

We were all pretty stocked for the all-day fishing charter. I was sure we were going to bring back loads of Rockfish, maybe we'd even get lucky and catch a Salmon!

It was a great day.

Jon pulled the first one in.

He was also the first to have to throw one back. Whatever this blurry blob is, it was no longer in season. Bummer.

After Laiken caught several Starfish, she finally pulled up a "keeper"

We didn't catch as many fish as we would have hoped. Honestly, Laiken was the hero of the day with a grand total =1! But....

we were not going home empty handed!

We caught our limit of crab! 60

Nothin' left to do but eat these little monsters!

What tastes good with crab?...more crab, and butter, maybe fries.

No one is walking away hungry from this table!

So we ate and ate and ate, all the while watching the Olympics. It was bliss.

We explored Newport the next day.

At Pirates Plunder there was much to see.

We couldn't have asked for better weather. Sunny, every day! What?

We couldn't keep Arron away from the waters edge for long, we wound up back at the docks.

I know he's thinking...if I can't catch a fish, by dang, I'll buy one!

Needless to say, we ate fresh Albacore Tuna that night. Arron cooked it up on the grill.

We strongly believe in making your own luck!

I'm so glad we did this trip.