WOW! Look at this 9 Point Mega Buck!!!

CONGRATULATIONS to Lynn Resseguie of Saginaw!

Lynn took this beautiful 9 point in Northern Clare County on Nov 25th, 2006, in the morning. This awesome buck has approximately a 24 inch inside spread. At the DNR check station in Gladwin, this buck was estimated to be 5 1/2 years old.

What a beautiful animal and a once in a lifetime opportunity!

I actually saw this buck in the back of their truck when I passed by them on M-18. I figured they might pull into the DNR office at Gladwin... and they did. I wanted to show the kids the deer, so I pulled in. I took these pictures at the DNR office at around noon on Saturday.

While was at the office, Mike Simrae pulled in with this nice 8 point and the rack of another nice deer (a nine point). Both were taken this season!

Congratulations to both of you!

Visit my Outdoor Life Page for more outdoor information and to visit the trophy room! http://acreage.gladwinrealestateagent.com/trophypage

Saturday Morning with Cats!

Our cat Titus, would rather drink out of a fish bowl or a toilet, than drink out of a water dish. The fish has gotten pretty used to this fuzzy face hovering over her, by now. You can see her watching the cat. Our male fighting fish died last week... so now we're down to just one fish.

Here is Princess Izzy begging for some milk, while Heather eats her "Oreo" cereal.
And here is Ryan, doing his favorite morning past time. Playing Gameboy.

Get dressed and go outside to play, young man!

Murphy's Law on Thanksgiving

Is it me, or if something is going to break down... it will be on either a weekend, evening or a HOLIDAY! This is what we did on Thanksgiving. My car got a split radiator hose on the way down state to Fowlerville. It first happened when we stopped at a rest stop just north of Lansing. Wouldn't you know it! I ran into a family that I knew from Gladwin, at the rest stop. They and some other people there, were nice enough to help us get our car back on the road. With a roll of duct tape and some jugs of water, we patched it back together (temporarily, anyway)... and we got back on the road. Just as we pulled into the driveway of my mother-in-law's place, the duct tape gave way and blew again.

My husband and brother-in-law (Mike, above) went over to Mike's hose to grab to stuff to fix the hose with and wouldn't you know it! He hit a deer on the way back to the house. The deer did some damage. (Sorry Mike!) Anyway, they did get the car put back together again. Thankfully, we did make it home that night. Here is a picture of my mother-in-law's house. It was recenty resided and redone on the inside and the place looks great!

We had a very nice visit with my parents, Jim's mom and Mike & Mariann. It was a beautiful day for a family holiday!

LORDY...LORDY... L@@k Whose 40!!!

YUP! Jim's 40 Years Old TODAY!

Don't forget to wish him a Happy,

Happy 40th Birthday!!!

Interesting FACTS

1. In West Virginia if you run over an animal, you can legally take it home and cook it for dinner!
2. To burn off one plain M&M candy, you need to walk the full length of a football field.

3. Your skeleton keeps growing until you are about 35, then you start to shrink.

4. The average office desk has 400 times more bacteria than a toilet.

5. A lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court.

6. The average American eats at McDonalds more than 1,800 times in their life.

7. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch procejt at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosnt mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe!

8. The octopus' testicles are located in its head.

9. Cold water weighs more than hot water.

10. Oh... AND... Pluto is NOT a planet.

11. Oh...and one more!!! President George W. Bush was once a cheerleader!

I got these interesting facts off of http://www.hookedonfacts.com/

Tip of the Day... Toilet Dating!!!

Here is a handy bit of information that I learned.

Toilet dating....you ask? If you are wondering the age of a house and you think it may still have an original toilet in it... look for the date stamp inside of the toilet tank. Yup...most of them have it! Look for the date and usually the house age will be pretty close.... at least within a year or two.

Ryan lost another TOOTH

Ryan lost another tooth. This time it's one of his top teeth. Now he can drink out of a straw with his mouth shut. I guess that the Tooth Fairy will be visiting soon!

He's got a couple more loose ones in front, so I imagine that the tooth fairy will be visiting a few times before the end of the year.

Deer Season Update

Well... nothing yet! I saw a nice buck yesterday morning. It was the first deer I saw.... However, he wouldn't come out from behind a batch of young birch trees. I could see him, but I wasn't comfortable taking a shot through all that brush and risk missing or worse, wounding him and not finding him. I like to wait for a more promising shot. If he would have continued straight on the path he was heading, he would have come out to a little bit of a clearing. But, he was following a doe, and she decided to head straight away from me and he followed. I never got a chance for a good shot! (DANG!)

I saw two other does yesterday morning and 2 more in the evening. Jim saw 6 deer yesterday evening....all does.

I went out again this morning. BRRRRR! Was it cold and windy! The weather was nothing like opening day! The wind was howling! I didn't think I'd see anything this morning, with that nasty wind. Most of the morning I didn't. At around 9:30, three does came across the field and slowed down to a nice walk about 80 yards away from my blind. I put up my gun and looked at all of their heads. No horns. I let them pass.

I'll go out again this evening... Probably around 3 pm or so. Hopefully the wind will simmer down by then.

Albino Peacock

This was forwarded to me by a couple of friends. You might have already seen this, but I think it's worth sharing. Isn't he BEAUTIFUL???

Powder Puff???

Not that I'm facinated with gas or anything, but this is funny and cute at the same time.

Deer Season is just around the corner!!!!

I can't wait! Deer season starts on Wednesday! Jim and I will be out there hunting first thing in the morning. Hopefully we will have better luck then we have in the past couple of years. I'll keep you posted on our progress... if any. Ha ha! At least it will be fun!

New Arrival (my friend Tami, had a Baby!)

Welcome little Julia into the world. My friend (who I went Pinckney Middle School with a long, long time ago), just welcomed little Julia into the world. Isn't she precious? Congratulations Tami!

Heather's Tribute to Veterans

Here is Heather's little tribute to Veterans.

FORGIVE ME! I had to post this funny video (Farting Preacher)

Farting Precher Mega Mix



My kids were laughing so hard, they were crying! (So was I) Hopefully this won't offend anyone.... but this was funny...

The Brass Lantern of Houghton Lake Closes after 33 Years of Business

PRUDENVILLE - The Brass Lantern restaurant, recognized by thousands of Houghton Lakers as a beacon of warmth, friendship and fine dining, has served its last meal.

The popular establishment closed Sunday after serving up its diners.

After an auction next Sunday of all contents, including some lovely antique items, the familiar building will be torn down to make room for a and a new Walgreen's.

Here is the link to the whole article: http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/features-0/115738302675540.xml&coll=4

However, this article is a little off on it's date. The Brass Lantern was supposed to close in September, but was postponed. The last day that the Brass Lantern was actually open, was yesterday Nov 11th, 2006. I know this, because Jim, the kids and I ate there Friday night (the same night as the snow storm) and we were then informed that Saturday was it's last day. The waitress broke the news to us. Partly because they were out of a lot of menu items. (There won't be any ordering chicken for dinner that night. They were OUT!)

It will be a shame to see it go. The restaurant was a long time landmark in Houghton Lake, with it's warm up north atmosphere and good food.

It will be torn down in the near future to make way for a new Walgreens. What a shame... History lost...

Auction to be held Saturday, November 18th, 2006. Visit John Peck Auctions for more details: http://www.johnpeckauctions.com/upcoming.html

Tribute to Edmund Fitzgerald

I thought you might appreciate this. It's a tribute to the Edmund Fitzgerald, which was lost on November 10th, 1975.



The Edmund Fitzgerald took the lives of twenty-nine men over 30 years ago, affecting dozens of families and a countless number of friends and comrades of the shipping industry. The Edmund Fitzgerald is lost, but not forgotten.

Thunder, Lightening, Slush, Mush & SNOW!!!

Well... it might not be official YET, but winter sure feels like it is here! It was a weird evening, as far as weather goes. Last night, we were up in Houghton Lake for dinner and some shopping and it was thundering and lightening out. The slushy snow was poring down from the sky! The roads were AWFUL! We even had a large 4 wheel drive truck and it was still a mess!
When we finally got home at around midnight, this is what it looked like in our driveway.

Here it is in the morning. It doesn't look like much... but the slush and mush made it seem worse!
Here is a bush in our back yard. Normally, this bushes branches are standing up. They're all slumped over with wet snow.

Sick at home....

Well...The yuck is going around! Heather was home, sick on Wednesday and Thursday. The flu was going around. Throw-up and all. YUCK! Here she is in bed with Titus.

On top of that, Jim had a nasty cold. So far, Ryan has stayed healthy. As for me... I'm fighting SOMETHING! I've been popping the vitamin C and the "Airborne" like crazy... In hopes that I don't get it. Opening day of Deer Season is Wednesday! I can't miss that. I can be sick after the first three days of season....But not on opening day! Wish me luck.

Oh... By the way... if you don't know what "Airborne" is, find it in the store! That Sh*t works! It many cases I won't get sick and if I still do, it's much milder than if I didn't take the stuff. Kind of tastes like sh*t, but if you get the grapefruit flavored stuff, it's not too bad.

Elections are OVER!!!

I was also disappointed with the results of the dove hunt. I bunch of bleeding hearts! What… are ducks, grouse or pheasants next? I personally wouldn’t hunt doves, but I do hunt for other types of birds. We need to protect our hunting rights.

I also voted for DeVos. Bummer that Granholm was re-elected. She hasn’t done any good for this state. People must have their eyes shut!
Watch prices go up on the state campgrounds next year. WAY UP! I heard a rumor from a friend (who works for the state) that told me that senior camping rates will triple. I’m not a senior yet…but tell me that won’t affect tourism??? What about all of the other crap she’s done (and hasn’t done)? I won’t list them here. Too frustrating!

Amazing! You have to check this out! Child Artist!

You have got to check this out!!! I stumbled across this site in a sportsman forum... of all places!
This girl is only 11 years old and this is a painting that she painted of herself. Absolutely amazing! She has a very special talent! Here is the site: http://artakiane.com/home.htm

An interesting evening...

We had an interesting evening. First, we went over to Blue Lake to see if some friends were there so the kids could play with their kids... but they weren't there. The kids were disappointed and we started to head home. On our way back, I suddenly decided to make a detour and visit some friends nearby, to see their horses. So we stopped in for a visit.

After looking at the horses, they invited us in for some hot chocolate and good conversation. Of course, we can't resist a good cup of hot coco. The kids played upstairs while we chatted. After a while, we were thinking about heading back home for dinner when one of my friends (who will remain "anonymous") noticed that their woods was on fire!!!! That's right! The woods right next to their house was burning!

Apparently, their outside wood burner must have spit out a spark and started the woods on fire! We quickly sprung into action. J*** grabbed a hose from the barn and quickly hooked it up to the outside spicket, while G***** called 911 for the fire dept. We told the kids to stay inside.

I grabbed the hose and J*** turned on the water and we started spraying down the garden just feet from the house. The fire had spread through the woods close to the house and even under the propane fuel tank.

J*** was able to knock out much of the fire with the garden hose, but didn't dare get too close to the propane tank, sitting in the woods. After about 20 minutes of fighting the fire with a garden hose, the Gladwin Fire Dept showed up to put out the rest.

What an evening! Of all nights for me to decide to drop by for a visit, their woods caught on fire. Go figure! It's almost like we were supposed to be there. G***** said that if we wouldn't have dropped in, she would have been down in the basement working and J*** would have been upstairs reading a book and they would have never noticed the fire.

Anyway, thank goodness it all worked out and not too much of their woods was burned. It was caught early enough. It made for an interesting evening, to say the least!

Thanks for the fun evening J & G!!!!

Halloween Whitetail

This little whitetail was walking around the Halloween decorations at a home at Blue Lake Estates (the same neighborhood where our Chalet is). She wasn't scared of us sitting in the car taking a bunch of pictures of her. She just cautiously walked around the yard, nibbling on green grasses. She seemed quite at home amongst the ghosts and ghouls.
Isn't she cute! BOO!!!!!

Our kitties...

The kids wanted me to post our kitties on the blog. The above picture is Titus. I think he's 8 years old now. We got him when Heather was just 2 years old and I was pregnet with Ryan at the time. I think he was about 8 months old when we got him.... so maybe he's 9 now. Not sure. Titus has a bum eye now. You can see it in the photo. He got into a fight with a cat that does have claws (he doesn't) and he got nailed in the eye this summer. The poor guy was in a lot of pain after it happened. Now he sort of looks funny, but we love him anyway.
This is Princess Izzy (Isabelle). We've had her less than a year now. We got her on Easter evening from some friends of mine. Their daughter had to give her away because their 7 month old son was alergic to cats. Izzy was 11 years old when we got her. I imagine that she could be 12 now, but not sure when her birthday was. She is totally a "People Cat". She doesn't care for any other animals and she lets Titus know to keep away. Same with our dogs. She will make a point to go up to the dogs and punch them (since she has no claws to scratch them with).

Soccer Photos!

I wanted to post this earlier, but couldn't find Ryan's photo. Well, I found it last night! Here are the pictures taken for the soccer teams.

Happy Halloween!!!!!

Halloween morning started out with a beautiful sunrise over Blue Lake. We stayed at the Chalet for the last 5 days so that the kids could go trick-or-treating around the lake on Oct 28th. The neighborhood around the lake has their own pre-Halloween trick-or-treat night for the kids in the area. There were a lot of people up that weekend for this little event.
We carved pumpkins and set them out on the deck, facing towards the house, so we could enjoy our little creations. Mine is the big one at the top. Heather's is to the top left, Ryan's is in the middle and Jim's bat pumpkin is at the bottom.
These pictures were taken back home on Halloween night, just before we left to head into town for more trick-or-treating.

Ryan wanted to be the "Grim Reaper" this year and Heather wanted to be a Black Cat.
Heather looks like the "KongFu Kitty".
I don't know how many people asked Ryan if he could see out of his costume! Believe it or not, he could and didn't run into anything or trip over himself the whole night.
Heather is such a BIG Ham!!!! Can you tell?
Here is Susi's porch monsters! Susi watches our kids for us when we have to work. Hmmmm.... I wonder if that's a good idea. These guys look kind of hungry! (Just kidding, Susi!)