Welcome to the year 32 A.S.S.

Welcome to the year 32 A.S.S. (After Scott Sprouted). I know I could have come up with something a little more creative than that, but I didn't, so deal with it. I'm actually 25 (but most of you knew that already), for the 8th year now. As I was opening my birthday cards yesterday I realized a valuable truth that I probably should have realized years ago but didn't. The older you get the less likely there is to be cash in your birthday card. That's kinda depressing, I know it made me feel old when I realized there was no cash, just warm birthday wishes.

I remember the first birthday present I received last year. It had a lot of negative energy associated with it and I would have normally loved it, but I didn't. This year my first birthday present was awesome. It was a collage my friend Leslie made for me. It is pictured above. It had pictures of us out having a good time and references to my trademarks, which if you know me you will understand. It also had a horoscope that I really liked: "You belong. This year, you are reminded that you contributions matter - you're vital in the lives of others. Projects seem stale and you don't want to stay put. Long ago you started running, and you're running still.

I have been thinking of this birthday as if it was New Year's Day. All the changes and adventures I have been seen over the last year. It has been a very busy year. I have a few new gray hairs, as my sister Robin likes to point out. That's ok, she will be 30 (25 for the 6th time) in January. I got to meet my youngest sister for the first time this year. I have made so many new friends that are always there to put a smile on my face or to laugh at my antics. Its been a real learning experience this year. I have learned more about life and myself this year than ever before. I have grown a lot, but not to much to irritate my siblings or play practical jokes on friends or random victims.

So far this year looks like it could be a good one. There will be some bumps in the road for our family I'm sure, but I know we are all strong enough to pull through it.

Enough of all that stuff.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to ME!

Quality time with the "Little" Brother

My sisters tell me that even though he is only 14 I can't technically call him my little brother since he is 3 inches taller than me, and growing. Because he is bigger he thinks he can take me. He may be bigger, but he is not wiser, so I still win. We actually got to spend some time together the first 2 days of hunting season. I'm not a very enthusiastic hunter anymore. Even the few years before Colton was able to hunt it was just a excuse for the old man and I to hang out and spend some time, just the 2 of us. Now it's my turn w/ Colton. Its very cool to be out in nature a be able to show Colton things that our dad taught me when I was his age. Another very exciting thing for me this hunting season is that my cousins Tim & Cody were also hunting with us. I remember when I was a little "Toad Stomper", as Tim likes to call the young ones. My dad & Tim's dad led the hunting party. Getting everyone set up where they needed to be and putting on drives so we would see some action. This year reminded me a lot of those days, except it was Tim & I that were running the show. We were just like our fathers, like generals preparing for war.

I love being out in nature, but I hate the cold and getting up way to early. Being up before the sun does have its advantages. My favorite thing is watching the world change from black & white to color. Slowly but surely the rods loose control to the cones and the world grows bright one color at a time. This war for control inside your eyeball can play tricks on your eyes. In the military they call it "Stand Two" because we would double the watch. Another thing I like is the peace and stillness. Later in the afternoon we went to the other side of the road for a while. I was extremely tired. We sat against a tree overlooking Sandy Creek. Despite Colton asking me every few minutes if I was still awake, the sound of the wind blowing through the tall grass got the best of me and I fell asleep. When I woke I was surprised that he hadn't disturbed me. I looked over, and there he was, with his head down, sleeping. When we finally went out to meet Tim and the others Colten asked them if they had seen anything. Cody said "no". Tim said "Its kinda hard to see anything when we were all sleeping". Apparently we all decided to take a nap at the same time.

It was a good week all around. I also got to spend a 1020 mile road trip with my mom. To North Carolina and back. With about a 3 hour nap in the middle. I talked her ear off whenever I wasn't letting her sleep. We left around 9pm on Tuesday night after hunting most of the day.
We returned Wednesday night about 11pm. I got up Thursday morning, not to early though, and drove to New York to spend the day with my grandparents. It was a very long week. I actually put up some of the details of the trip on ballofdirt.com. I will eventually put some photos & details up there, so check back later. Also the site list mileage as the crow flies. The actual miles I drove are around 1455 miles. It was a very long week, but I got to spend a lot of good quality time with my family. I also got to spend some quality time before I left and when I got back with very good friends, both old and new. Its now a week later and I still feel like I am not caught up on all my sleep.