Seymour Ranch

4 days at the ranch with our precious friends, the McDonalds, is just what the doctor ordered. You remember Coleman and Kristen, right? That's who we visited in Germany last summer. They're living in Phoenix now, but came to Texas for the guys 10 year HS reunion, some dove hunting, and to see family. Here's the kids at the family dinner for the reunion--they charmed everyone...

After the reunion and our little hospital stint, we all headed out to the McDonald family ranch in Seymour, TX. Jackson made a complete recovery on our first day out there. Fresh air, dirt, and a lot of bugs is exactly what he needed.


I love when Jeff and Coleman are together. Coleman tells lots of good Jeff stories. These guys are brothers at heart for sure.

They cooked our dinner over a mesquite fire in the rain. Heavenly.  Absolutely delicious.

And I love Coleman's other half, Kristen. Get this...she hunts, too! We're not in our duds b/c it was raining this day, but most of the time we were in our hunting clothes along with the guys and kids.


We went for a long walk on Tuesday. It turned out to be a little ambitious for the kiddos so the guys carried them a lot.

We walked to this tall, tall tower so we could get a good view of the land. Here's Coleman and Kristen up top.

I took pics of the kids up there but they were not too happy about the winds so I won't be posting them. Kate liked it though. She scrambled right up the ladder (did I mention this was a super tall tower?) and we're not sure how she even made it up. We did know she couldn't make it down on her own without injury so Jeff gave her a hand. This is what firefighters do, after all.

The walk back to the house was long and primed the kids perfectly for a good nap. By the way, we did all get to catch up on our sleep out there. The kids woke up around 8:30 every day and took great naps. When the kids sleep well, I get extra sleep and everyone is happy. Here's the happy family now. Notice the hugely swollen belly...I'm in my 3rd trimester and feeling every bit of it.

We all went out dove hunting most evenings. Even the kids got in on the action. We brought plenty of snacks out to keep them occupied but the dirt and bugs were generally all that was needed. Plus, this sweet thang loved carrying around the dead birds.

Kate was very patient sitting beside Jeff just waiting on some birds to retrieve. Dove hunting is very passive.

Most of dove hunting is sitting, waiting for doves to fly over so you can shoot them. But sometimes those McDonalds would venture into the field in hopes of "walking some up."

When dusk fell, we'd all head back in for some dinner. Here are my men after one of our hunts.

Kate made a new friend this week. Its a working relationship. Poor Baylor wasn't too sure about the Durand family. Jackson was rough with her and Kate was a little too rambunctious for her tastes. But when the shooting started, the dogs put all differences aside and got to work.

Kate kept doing naughty things to the kids so we had to have an impromptu dominance lesson one afternoon. We made Kate lay down and had the kids lay on top of her to show her who's boss. It worked.

Evenings at the ranch were very interesting. There are lots of things I could blog about but I'll just hit a few high-lights.

At our house, we regularly have this conversation:

me: "Jackson, do not climb on me. I am not a jungle gym."
Jackson: "Daddy is a jungle gym though."

And here is proof that Jackson is right on with that statement:

Climb up daddy like a ladder...

...and jump!

It happens a lot. But not ever to me. I'm making a baby in my belly after all and a girl can only handle so much. Jeff can handle anything and I think he secretly likes it.

Another interesting evening activity was Addi begging for food/drink. And you'll be absolutely shocked to hear that sometimes she'll take a food or drink even when told no!  Can you even believe it?  She'll take it right off your plate, she will.  With our permission, Coleman allowed Addi to face the consequences of that little issue. See, the McDonalds might enjoy a beer or glass of wine with their dinner on occasion. This particular night was one of those occasions and Coleman had a glass of wine in front of him. Addi, being Addi, wanted a taste. And he let her. And she did not like it. I repeat, she did not like it.

But she got over it later when they sat together to share a s'more. I've never seen her happier.

For the record, Addi loves her Uncle Coleman. That guy sat and built domino houses with her for hours and read her lots of great stories. Kristen did, too, but Addi has a soft spot for Coleman. Jackson always chose Aunt Kristen for the domino house building projects because she could put a roof on so don't feel too sorry for her.

One afternoon, we did some skeet shooting. By we, I mean that I sat and watched Jeff, Coleman, and Kristen shoot while I put my hands in my pockets and shivered. It was cold! Here they all are:

Coleman first,

then Kristen (she's a heck of a shot, by the way),

and Jeff last.

We declared Coleman the best shot that day. They all hit about the same number of targets by Coleman's last target was one that he actually threw for Jeff. He threw the target, Jeff shot (and missed), Coleman shouldered his gun and nailed it before it hit the ground. Then, in celebration, he threw up an empty shotgun shell and shot it, too. That's why he won.

Our time at the ranch is reflected in this beautiful sunset picture that I took on our way home. It was awesome all around and we didn't want it to end. Ever.