Camping and Canoe Trip

This weekend we camped at the same KOA in Stanton, MO that we did last year.  We took the canoe trip on the Meramec river and had an awesome time.  We took flashlights this time and went way back in the cave and saw some really amazing rock formations.  We all took Monday off and went to the zoo on the way home.  Had a great time because it was cool weather and all the animals were out.  The new stingray exibit is pretty neat.  Taylor and Terri really like petting the rays.  Me, not so much.  Check out all the pics below.

Link to the pictures – http://public.fotki.com/jdaniels517/2009-meremec-trip/

Here a video.

Labor Day Weekend

I worked on the fence all day Saturday but had to stop in the late afternoon because I ran out of fence.  Taylor and I played hooky from church on Sunday and drove to Jacksonvilled to pick up another roll of fence.  We got back and she helped me finish what was left.  It’s not complete yet because I still have to put the top rails on but at least the yard is enclosed and keeps the dog in (so far).  Faith (our dog) is not very happy about the fence.  She seems visibly depressed but I’m sure she’ll get over it in time.

Dad and I went for a drive on Monday morning.  We heard about someone selling 50 lb sacks of potatoes for $5.  We found the potato farm but there wasn’t anyone around.  Dad stopped and snatched a handful of potatoes from the field while I nervously waited in the truck.  He’s going to try to go back sometime this week to see if anyone is around.  From there we went to the Sanganois Conservation area just to have a look around.  There were lots of guys out there building their duck blinds and now I’m kind of missing the whole duck hunting thing.  Hopefully I’ll get the chance to go this year.  After our ride dad and I went to my house with his chainsaw to cut up the big hollow tree that I got for Taylor a couple of years ago.  It was starting to rot and attract bugs so we decided to get rid of it.  Dad made short work  of it and even hauled it off.  After that Taylor helped me change the oil in my car.  We rounded out the afternoon by watching movies.  Taylor watched something in her room while Terri and I watched District 9.  It was a strange movie but I liked it.  We then went to Terri’s mom’s house for hamburgers and hotdogs and pretty much called it a night from there.  It sure didn’t seem like a three day weekend.

Cat in a tree

I was in the house and heard Taylor screaming and the dog barking in the front yard.  I went to check on what the problem was and found out that our dog had chased our cat up the tree.  Taylor was upset because she thought he wouldn’t be able to get back down.  I got Taylor to leave the tree and put the dog inside and five minutes later the cat came down with no problem.

Taylor and our dog Faith Wrestling

Taylor and Faith are just like sisters.  Sometimes they get along and sometimes they don’t.  Tonight they were doing pretty good.  They played in Taylor’s room for about an hour before Taylor got bored with it and went outsite to play with Brody and Ty.  Here’s a clip of them wrestling around as they do almost nightly.  Tonight it was pretty tame.  Sometimes they really get rough and it has to be stopped.  Faith is pretty good about it even when Taylor gets too rough.  I’m glad Taylor has a dog she can play with.

Feline Attack

Last night about 8:00pm Taylor and Terri were in the yard with Faith (our dog).  The dog saw the neighbor’s cat and ran into the neighbor’s yard after it.  Taylor ran after to “rescue” the cat.  Terri got the dog corraled but Taylor wanted to pet the cat.  That’s when all heck broke loose.  The cat, who normally is not friendly was even less so after being chased by our dog.  When Taylor cornered it and tried to pet her, she attacked.  In the blink of an eye the cat bit and scratched Taylor on both arms, her shoulder and one of her legs.  Terri came to Taylor’s rescue and the cat sunk it’s teeth into her hand a couple of times, ran up her back, and into the bushes.  I was at the track trying to get some exercise so Terri loaded up Taylor and came and got me.  Thankfully by this time Taylor had calmed down and I was spared the siren cry that Taylor is so famous for.  I drove them to the hospital.  Taylor was up to date on her shots so they just cleaned her up and gave her some antibiotics.  Unfortunately, they didn’t have any liquid so they mashed a pill up in some apple sauce and Taylor didn’t like it at all.  She finally got it down though.  Terri had to have a tetnus shot and some antibiotics as well.  We got home a little after 11:00 and went straight to bed.  Hopefully, Taylor has learned her lesson about trying to pet strange animals, even cats.  She’s looking forward to daycare today so she can show off her battle scars.  Check out pictures of the carnage below.

More video of us at the pond

Here’s another video of us at the pond.  Taylor had jumped off the diving board 4 or 5 times but as soon we turned the camera on she was a big chicken.  This was her first time swimming in the pond and she was a little freaked out because this was the same pond she had just caught fish from.  I told her that the fish wouldn’t bother her but I don’t think she ever quite believed me.

A Day at the Pond

We spent the day at cousin Stacy’s pond and had a great time.  It was hot but we swam in the pond to cool off and paddled the canoe around a lot. Man, my arms are sore.  While eating our lunch a deer came out of the woods and got a drink on the other side of the pond.  We got a nice long look at her before she bounded off.  Taylor got in some target practice with her .22 rifle (see video below).  We caught lots of fish and kept just enough for a meal.  Taylor caught almost all of them.  All in all it was just about a perfect day.

Daddy Daughter Fishing Expedition

Hey everyone long time no post.  Sorry but I go through phases where I’m really into updating this site and then things get busy and this just gets put on the back burner.  Anyway, this weekend Taylor and I went fishing for the first time this year.  We went to cousin Stacy’s pond and they were really biting.  She would no sooner get her worm in the water and a fish would instantly take it.  Taylor caught two really nice sized bass.  One of them she caught while I was taking a restroom break by the nearest tree.  I heard her scream and looked over to see her little Barbie pole almost bent in half.  By the time I got there she had him up on the bank and was trying to pick him up.  In the first 30 minutes we caught 10 to 12 and she just got plain tired of reeling them in and took a break.  I had been so busy fixing her worm and taking the fish off the hook for her that I hadn’t had a chance to fish so I took a few minutes and caught three while she “explored”.  We ate lunch right by the water and enjoyed the beautiful day.  When we got home it was time to clean them and she stuck with me the entire time playing with the fish.  Check out the video to see her with her catch.

Getting Older

We still have two sippy cups around.  I know, I know she’s too old for sippy cups but they do such a good job at preventing spills.  Anyway we’ve decided it’s time for them to go so I told Taylor we were going to get rid of them and she got all teary eyed but accepted it.  She told me she didn’t want me to throw them away but to give them to someone who had the same favorite color.  She then went to the kitchen table for a few minutes and brought back this picture.  She tearfully said she drew a picture of her favorite sippy cup so she could remember it.  It’s funny what kids get attached to isn’t it?

Taylor Learns to Read

Taylor has been working really hard practicing the sounds that letters make.  She has on occasion, been able to sound out a word but has been needing some help to do so. Last night just before bedtime I was reading a book about Benjamin Franklin to her and she wanted to try to read some words for me.  On the first three or four words she could make all the sounds separately but needed some help to put them together.  At some point it really clicked with her because she started putting the sounds together without any help from me.  She was so excited and we went looking through the book for words that she could handle.  After 30 minutes she was still going but it was past bedtime.  Terri was reading in bed and Taylor layed down with her and they practiced a few more words until it was time to turn the light off.  It was so amazing to witness and be part of the exact moment that Taylor learned how to read.