Ohio- Day 1 and the place

Wednesday morning Jana was sweet enough to get up at the early early crack of dawn and take me, mom and Aunt Kathy to the airport. I ended up sleeping in and woke up right as she pulled in the driveway. I was exhausted and slept through my alarm. So it was hoodie and hat day lol! It worked out well because when we got to Ohio the weather sucked. Mom, Aunt Susan and I had real tickets. Aunt Kathy was flying stand by. She ended up not getting out on the flight with us and got the next flight around 8. We flew into Cleveland and she flew into Akron. When we landed this was the weather.

 Here is a map of the areas we toured. My moms from Mansfield. We spent time in Ashland. We stayed in Perrysville.

 Marianne picked us up and we went to lunch then to get Kathy at the other airport.

 Susan, Me, Mom

Mom wanted to take an ussie instead of a selfie...

 Wednesday was so long!! Our flight landed there about 1:30 their time (they are two hours ahead) we picked up Kathy at almost 5. Stopped at Mariannes house to get our van, went to walmart and finally made it to our place after 830. Remember we got up at 2 am to start with.

We really did luck out on this trip though. My cousin Katie had a spare van for us to borrow so we didnt have to rent a car. Now see if you can follow this.. My Aunt Kathys husband is Dannie. His brother is named Jim and his wife is Jo. Jim and Jo have two kids. One owns this house. He actually lives in Alaska where he is a fireman/hunting guide/taxidermist for a few more years. Jim and Jo live at his house and manage his property for him. Jim and Jo live in the 'big house' and were sweet enough to let us stay in the guest house.. which once he and his family move back to Ohio the guest house will be Jim and Jo's. The houses are on 70 acres! This is the driveway and the view

The guest house and our nonrental rental van

 The view towards the house and of part of the land

Heading over to the main house

 View from the main house

 View towards the driveway

 The map of the land. Just the land the house is on

 The inside of our guest house. The downstairs has a master bedroom, master bath, living room, kitchen and dinning area

 Then you go upstairs and there is a bathroom, bedroom, another bedroom area and then into the main loft area where mom and I slept with the balcony.

 Right out of our room

The place was BEAUTIFUL!! We were so lucky to get to stay there

Turkey Hunts

Monday was the opener of the turkey hunt. I had to work that morning but K and I went out after I got off to see if we could find anything. I decided this year I want to get a turkey with my bow instead of shotgun. It makes it a lot harder. As soon as we got to the spot I wanted the blizzard started.

 We hung out in the truck for a minute until the snow stopped.

 We hiked to a few different spots. We would set up and call for a little bit to see if we got any reply. Kennedy is my lil turkey caller. Shes pretty good at it and can work most the calls really well.

 If it werent for her boots and teeth you couldnt see her.

 She got her own set of binoculars this time and worked hard on trying to find some turkeys

 We hiked some more and another snow storm hit.

 It was COLD and WINDY. She told me she was Elsa from Froze and she made it snow. Thats why it was snowing so bad.

 The snow wasnt letting up and the skies stayed dark so we started hiking back down. 

By the time we got back to the truck the snow was pretty much done and the skies were not as grey. We decided to call it a day anyways. When we got home it was sunny and warm but you could look where we had been and it was dark and stormy. 

We didnt see or hear any turkeys but we had fun. I love my little hunting buddy!

The next day I went out to some private land I got set up with. I missed TWO TURKEYS!!! I was hiding in a ditch and should have sighted in my broadheads a little more but it was a blast. I have never bow hunted anything before. It definitely makes it more challenging. Turkeys are spooked very easily. I had a nice tom about 45 yards from me and had a hen JUMP IN THE DITCH 5 feet from me. 5 feet!! She didnt see me but could hear me calling so she came to see where the other turkey was. The other hen that was with her was only 10 feet from me at the top of the ditch right in front of me. I was so surprised they didnt bust me! Thats alright though I still have a few more weeks to get my bird!

Week 18- Janas bday, chicken coop, garden

 Sunday was Janas real birthday. They had a family party at her house with her parents and sisters and their families. I stopped in after work. They had a big BBQ and so much food!

Getting up at 230 every morning for work and not getting to bed early wears me out. So while everyone else hung out and the girls talked, the boys played around in the garage Miss K and I took a nap. We BOTH needed one.

 Ry and I blew some bubbles. Shes getting too big!

After that we had dinner #2 at their house. Dad and Mom came down and cooked dinner for Janas birthday too. We all ate so much we couldnt breathe.

 After K and I went turkey hunting Zack and Taylor came over to visit together. Kennedys clothes crack me up. Shes in camo from hunting..she had her rainboots on because she was out back. It was cold so she put on her hat and jacket.

 She kinda  likes her swing

 This is a typical night at our house... What can we say..we are lucky to have such good friends!

Kennedy has been taking good care of Rue. I came home from work the other day and she told me to be quiet the puppy was sleeping. She had her tucked in the living room

 Chris has been busily working on the chicken coop. He has filled in all the walls. He made a bucket stand but decided he didnt like it and made another one. The buckets will be the nesting boxes (thank you pinterest)

He got most the side wall put up after he framed the door in

 Zack recently had to shave his goatee for a fire class hes taking. I hate it. Ive ALWAYS known Zack with a goatee. He kept talking to me and it was freaking me out. He looks so much like his dad. I kept holding my hand up as he talked so it covered from his nose down and it made him look normal again. I told him we needed to make a fence and pull a Wilson off Home Improvement and I'd feel better. So he grabbed some wood and made it better.

 He was giving me a hard time as he was talking

 Zack and his new stache..see its just not ok

 Not long after this I left to Ohio for a few days. Chris got to go out on a 6,000 acre control burn at Salt Creek. He got to light fires from an airboat. He used a drip torch, flare guns and fussees. He loves airboats and has wanted one forever. So getting to play with fire and be in an airboat is like a top five moment in life for him.

Kennedy stayed home with him while I was gone and they kept each other entertained. They had some good daddy daughter bonding time. He worked on Lorins lawn and Kennedy took Lorin for walks.

 When I came home my garden had started to grow! Peas and carrots coming up

 Kennedy helped Jana plant her herb garden.

 She also picked flowers and put them inside for me when I came home.

 We planted potatoes, onions, red onions, green beans and my raspberry bushes. Now all thats left is the tomatoes, peppers and squash when it gets a little warmer for good.

 We also finished the laying boxes and got our food feeder in

 All we need is the coop wire outside and we are set! Chris is working on wiring up lights and a heating lamp inside too.

 Which is a good thing because these chicks arent chicks anymore!

 I kinda missed this guy while I was gone. I think he kinda missed me too even though he wont say so. That night after Kennedy had gone to bed I switched over the laundry and came outside. He had set up 2 chairs on the back patio for us to sit in and hang out.  It was a nice way to spend the first night home.