November Summed Up

 Welcome back!

We hope you all had a great November and a Happy Thanksgiving! 

This month (like every other month) went by way too fast!! 

Well, shall we begin?

Kind of a weird way to start off a blog post but here's Flossy after going all night without eating! She has gotten SO big (and now you can understand why)! We now have to put her Mom, Priscilla, in the barn at night so we can get some milk too! 

Ashley and Anna's co-workers went on a day's hiking trip up to Ha Ha Tonka!

"An amazing hike for the books - Ha Ha Tonka State Park was beautiful! 

I'm blown away by the beauty tucked away in this awesome state!" -Ashley

"The only thing that tops having a wonderful hike is having wonderful people to hike with!" -Ashley

We have a NEW attraction in the back yard!! 

It's been a year since our last trampoline bit the dust, 

and we finally bought a new one (well, new to us)!!! 

I'm not sure what's more fun, the trampoline, or the pictures you get on it!

 Before you scroll down any further!!!!! 

You should know, there are a lot of jumping pictures ahead!

 Wish our new tramp luck! This is the reason why the last one broke! ;)

When you try to get somewhat 'professional' pictures for the Farm but you also have weird siblings.  

  

 This time of year, life changes gears for our family. Fewer time is spent outside on farm chores, and more time is spent indoors hitting the school books, studying the cook books, reading farming and gardening articles, strategizing for the next year, and catching up on all those house projects that were put off all summer. 

A note to Peyton for her Birthday:

Happy Birthday to this beautiful girl!!! 

Already today you woke up at 4AM with me just to keep me company on my hunt. You offered to help me milk the cow, set the table for your Birthday meal, and you have jumped in wherever there's a need.

You are amazing, genuine, and beautiful on the inside and out.

You radiate joy all the time!!

You work non stop and never say a word to brag. You have contentment like no one I have ever seen. You can sit still when needed, and also be the most fun person to play with!!

Without a doubt I could go on and on about you. 

I respect you like an older sister and I have learned SO much from you.

 Thank you for all that you are!! 

You also have the purdiest blue eyes!!

-Izzy

Photo credit: Anna

What a goober!!

If you have kids, you will be forever photobombed!! 

Dad has a mini!

Just chilling!

This tree in our woods was blown down by that storm back in May.

I looked back on this picture a few days after taking it, and I was amazed at how grown up Peyton looks in it! It's like all the sudden she grew up into this little woman!

So far, our adventures in milking have been a great learning experience. 

For a jersey cow, Priscilla is pretty patient.

Don't get me wrong, there are days when she just will not hold still, knocks over the bucket of milk that's almost filled to the brim, whacks me with her tail nonstop, etc., but I have yet to meet an animal/person who doesn't have bad days.

The experience (and the yummy milk) has been so worth it! 

Flossy right after she was born in August.

Flossy now.

It's so hard to believe this is the same calf!! 

If you haven't picked up on it yet, bonfires are one of the Coulter's favorite pastimes!

The view from the woods.

This year we made sure

 we got target practice in before going hunting! 

Peyton shot the 30-30 Winchester for her first time! 

(Yes, those are balloons we're shooting)

A Pasture walk at the Freeman's is the perfect field trip for us! 

A lot of the younger ones got so bored they ran off with other kids and played. 

Hopefully they learned something!

Anna and Tori were able to meet up at the new Coffee shop in Seymour. 

Since the Young's moved to St. Louis, we have missed them so much!!

When you've had a crazy week, even a really good sermon can't keep you awake!!

Maybe they're just praying.

(Like I said, Dad has a mini!!)

For some reason we got the bright idea that we should all go hunting together. I (Izzy) would have the gun, Anna would have the bow, and Ashley would be there for moral support. Here's my theory as to why we didn't see any deer. 1) The fog was so thick that even if there had been a deer nearby, we couldn't see it. And 2) When the fog somewhat lifted, a couple of us couldn't stop laughing so......yeah.

Just to show you how much Hunter Orange sticks out!!

Anna is the queen of selfies.

On our way out after the fog had lifted somewhat!!

Can you guess who that is with the gun?

Overall, it was a beautiful morning!!!

"The reason behind why we haven't been successful yet...."

Ashley's kind of rude.

*On a different hunt*

Joe begged and begged for me to take him hunting. 

He was so excited to join me, he got up at 3am to gear up. 

A few hours into it he was out. 

He sure was a trooper though!! 

I'll definitely take him hunting more often even if I need to whisper "Shh!" 20 times.

Well, we finally got the family picture!! Here's a "sneak peak" of how it turned out.

With all this cold weather I'm beyond grateful for this thing!! We also have a tendency to see how full we can pack it with wood, if you couldn't tell! ;) 

The ducks still continue to go swimming!! Brrrr!

And that's a wrap!! Thank you so much for stopping by!!

We also wanted to send out a special thanks to all those who let us hunt on their land!! 

We appreciate you so much!!!

Have a blessed December!!!

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Mathew 6:21