Family Pictures 2015 by SMP Brit Miller

Quick update and a thought I want to remember:

Homemade Halloween

 Homemade elk jerky!

 Bryan's birthday party

 The kids watched as a deer ate our pumpkin

 I painted the bathroom and Brad put in a new toilet! Yeah!

 Ryan passed away, boy do we miss him.

 Jared loved shoveling and playing in the snow with me

 Hyrum was awarded his Arrow of Light

 Santa stopped by our home to see if the kids had been naughty or nice

 And then the traditional barefoot racing across the yard.

So back to Ryan. His death really surprised us.  It broke my heart in pieces. I love Brad's older brother, but we were very different.  Our opinions clashed often.  Although we were never enemies or anything of the sort, our differences seemed very difficult to overlook.  I spent a lot of time praying for peace after he died.  It crushed me to come to the realization of what an amazing man he is now that he's passed on and what stood out to me was our differences while he was here. It's easier to see a person as they really are after their gone. I never want to make this same mistake again. I am going to strive to see that goodness within every person.  I keep reminding myself everyday that opinions do not define who we are.  There is so much more to a person.  Opinions change, sometimes soften and do influence us, no doubt.  But not define. Be careful when disagreements arise.  Separate your love for a person from the opinion of a person. Ryan was good.  He loved.  He is wise and kind.  He reached out.  He watched out.  I love you Ryan. Thanks for your example.

Ryan Baxter

March 24, 2014 at 5:30pm · 

Love isn't a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.
Fred Rogers

Antelope Hunt

Filled my doe and buck antelope tags yesterday while hunting with my fantastic guide of a husband, my four little hunter boys and their good friend Kody. We had a great time and are so grateful!

And we found out that Paul is so so allergic to antelope fur 😯 poor guy!

Invention Intention

Right out of church, Bryan went straight to work. Who knows how long THIS idea has been brewing in his head.  He turns on the hose, without mom's permission.  But when she got a look at this, he knew she'd have no reservation.  Of course I was amazed!  Pvc pipe and noodles?  Sopping wet church socks, pants and white shirts.  Jared followed Bryan's lead as he fixed leas and brakes.  These boys and their inventions out rules this mom's clean and dry intentions.

The enevitable

Set aside furniture. We've got business to attend to.

Buck huntin'!

I love Wyoming!  One of the many perks of living here is hunting.

 I went hunting Monday morning with Brad and my father in law Paul. We backpacked in 5-6 miles in the rain. 

We set up camp and made a huge fire trying to warm up and dry out.  I hardly slept that night in the small "A" framed tent because of the rain and wind.  At 5am we took off to get into position for opening morning of the hunt.  The storm took a small break and millions of stars shined their light. We got settled in the roots of a tree on a horribly steep slope and waited for dawn. 

 As the sky and hillsides lightened, we saw 14 deer across the canyon and spotted a pretty decent buck.  I anxiously awaited it to get lighter.  There was other hunters near by and I was sure they were all looking at my buck.  It clouded up then started to rain.  I was shivering from the cold and my nerves. I had my gun loaded and was aimed, supported by my knees, just right where I thought I needed to aim.  I hear another hunters gun echo in our canyon.  My buck wasn't down, so I took my first shot.  Missed.  I took a second and third shot. Missed.  Brad and his dad couldn't tell where I was hitting, but kept telling me where to aim.  Missed the forth shot.  Brad handed me his gun, which was much much bigger.  I shot.  The gun scoped me right in the forehead.  I shot again, same thing.  I definitely earned the goose egg on my forehead.   Missed both shots.  Switched back to my gun and shot three more times.  Missed.  Missed.  Missed!  On my tenth shot, my buck (who was going back and forth in the trees wondering what the heck was going on) turned and looked right at me 450 yards away.  I went with my gut instinct as to where to aim.  I held my breath and pulled the trigger. That shot hit him right in his heart and he went down.  My first buck went down! 

  I was so excited and thought of all the yummy food I would learn to cook with him and having the food for my family!  We worked our way over to him all in the rain and then thick fog started to sink in.  There was an incredibly strong cross wind, which probably explained my many missed shots. Then there he was!

 I walked closer to the buck I had shot, overwhelmed with gratitude for all that this animal was going to provide for my family. And he was a beauty!

 Paul started me a fire while he and Brad cut him up.

  I was amazed at Brad's ability to know how to gut and bone out an animal. 

 On our hike back to camp, hail, snow and rain was pounding us and it stung so bad all over my face!  The wind was miserable.  We crossed steep ridges without trails and kept slipping. 

I had three layers on my legs and 7 over the top of me and we were still drenched.  We made it back to our soppy camp totally wet and cold.  Hours went by with piercing winds and precipitation.  I crawled into the tent and just tried to stay warm in my sleeping bag.  Brad got a fire going after an hour. I finally left the tent and tried to get warmed up and dried out around the fire.  I was warming my tush when I noticed a bear!

It was probably 50 yards away barreling down the hill! I pointed and Paul and Brad both looked.  I can't believe I didn't freak out.  The bear stopped and looked us over for a number of minutes.  He has NO fear of us. I was pretty glad when it left.

  The rain started to let up.  We packed up and started down the mountain.  The sun came out and the mountain was brilliant with fall colors! 

The whole 6 miles, I kept thinking how much fun the trail was! 

Well, besides the freaking heavy pack and mud, it was perfect!  I carried my own crap except for my gun, even though I was very concerned about my back.  Paul and Brad were way too kind and carried out the horns and meat from my buck.  Paul even had my gun. I am so grateful for their help and also for the harvest of a deer.  What a great hunt!