Are you ready for Halloween? Sarah's costume is done, as is mine, and we're ready to be 'swimmin with the fishs' in our costumes. I'll be sure to post pics in the coming days.
So, Jordan and I are finally back home, whew! It was a lot of fun deer hunting, mostly because it wasn't freezing cold and we got to hike a lot. Meghann and Richard (my friend from childhood and her husband) came with us on Saturday and spent the day hiking and tracking with us. It was a lot of fun to have others with Jordan and me for a least part of the trip. This picture was taken near our cabin in Indianola, UT.
Instead of pushing out deer we pushed out two moose! Not to mention bull moose! They are majestic animals and it was neat seeing them. But, I stayed as clear of them as I could. Jordan and I sat on the ridge for about 30 minutes before we thought we were safe. We began hiking 
down the mountain again and suddenly we heard twigs breaking near us again. We turned our heads and five feet away from us were both moose! Jordan calmly turned to me and said, "Where's the camera?" I slapped him hurriedly on the back and exclaimed, "Get moving!" He has never been charged by a moose as I have and doesn't know the danger they present. Moose have been known to be more lethal than bears in Alaska (something he didn't know until I told him why I wanted to get as much distance between me and them).
On the trail we also discovered bear scat. Jordan didn't believe me when I told him that was what we saw until we spoke to another hunter who hiked the same animal trails we did the day before and said his brother had seen a cinnamon colored bear in that area. Well, needless to say I had my gun ready in case we walked into the bears path. But, luckily we stayed clear of the bear and the bear stayed clear of us!
On Tuesday we decided to go to the top of the ridge where we began hiking down yesterday because that was were we had seen the large herd of doe. Richard also saw a buck on Saturday, but Jordan was hiking behind him and couldn't shoot through Richard to get the deer. So, we decided that was where our best bet would be to find a buck. We waited in the cold for two hours, watching both mountainsides carefully for any movement--nothing. Then, just as I had convinced Jordan to start heading back to the 4-wheeler, a herd of deer came running over the ridge, stopped and looked at us, and began running down the mountainside. I was behind Jordan to the side and when I saw the buck I couldn't shoot through Jordan. Jordan shot once and then I saw the deer appear to be running down, so I got my gun ready and just as I was about to take off my safety, the deer tumbled down to the ground. So, Jordan shot a 4 point buck and could "hold his head high" according to him. At first, I must admit, I felt bad for the deer. I know others who read this blog do as well. Well, let's just say he died very, very quickly without suffering because Jordan has good aim, and it is for the best since we are going to eat the meat and share with Richard and Meghann who also need meat. I am not going to post pics here because I know some are sensitive to these things, so if you want to see a pic just email me and I'll send one along.
All in all, that was our trip. I convinced Jordan to come home Tuesday instead of Wednesday so we could process everything and clean everything up before we had to pick Sarah up from Nana. We then saw Jon off to the MTC yesterday and I had to hold everything inside while he gave me his quick goodbye with his nervous smile. I know Jonny will be a great missionary!! I will keep updates of him posted here as times goes on.
So, Jordan and I are preparing for the deer hunt right now. He is really excited, I am okay about it, but I am going to miss my little bug. Sarah is going to stay with Nana and Bompa for a few days and I am really going to miss my little wiggle worm. I am already sad just thinking about it.
But, I am excited to be taking off a few days of work and just letting stress wash off of me. It seems like everything inside builds up until I'm afraid I'm going to burst. But, I hear that I'm not the only one that happens to as well.
So, this weekend is the deer hunt, my brother Jon's mission farewell (he is going to Cebu, Philippines), and leaving Sarah in Nana's trusting hands for a few days. Wow, this is a big step letting someone else take care of your kid for a few days even though you know they will be fine.
I hope Nana is ready to keep up with Sarah...she's a pretty fast mover!
So, on Saturday night while all the men, minus Jordan, where at Priesthood session of General Conference for my church, Sarah walked! All by herself! She was playing with my cousin Niki's son, Colin (3), and was standing at the couch and I guess decided she could make it to the coffee table by herself and off she went! Naturally I freaked out! I was lying on the floor watching the two kids play and Sarah took one, then two, and then three steps! I yelled at Jordan to come and watch, scared Sarah when I freaked out and she sat on the floor looking around to see what was making mommy freak out!
So we stood her back up and Sarah walked all the way to Nana! 4 steps! Then back to mommy! And then we decided she could walk to daddy so off she went to walk to Jordan. Jordan, however, was being sneaky! He kept scooting back! Sarah took 15 steps before Jordan stopped and grabbed her into a bear hug. It was so cute!! Yeah for Sarah Marie! I'm so glad I was able to see her first steps because I was working when she started crawling.
First steps October 4th, 2008 at 7:30pm, Grandma Harris' house in Logan!!
