After such a busy, event-filled day, 5:30 AM came a little too early the next morning. Every one of us slept through our alarms. They had to be out the door by 6:30. It was close to 6 AM when I jumped out of bed running. I made the coffee first, then put the bacon on to cook, fried the eggs, set the table, made them cups of coffee, sat at the table, ate breakfast and had them out the door by 6:30. I still don't know how we pulled that off. I'm sure our host was wondering though because as I raced into the kitchen to start everything, I did notice he was already outside waiting (maybe even wondering if we were ever going to get up). I didn't accompany them outside that morning, I was still tired. As they drove off into the early morning darkness lit by the full moon, Little Miss Muffet saw me turn off the lights and head back to the bedroom. She made the announcement in the pickup, "Mom's already finished the dishes and now she is going back to bed." She was really close. I just ran some soapy water in the sink and put the dishes in it and left the bacon grease to solidify some so it would make for an easier cleanup.
I went back and snuggled down in the warm bed. In fact, the whole house was warmer this second morning. I awoke at 8:15, sat straight up and thought, "Oh no! I left the water running!" I hadn't, but it got me off to my second running start of the day. There were no deer that morning to distract and entertain me as they had the previous morning. They may have been there earlier, or maybe they slept in as I had. I had the dishes done in no time then began cleaning the kitchen. I moved the kiddos backpacks and belongings to one of the beds in our bedroom and began cleaning the rest of the house, making beds and vacuuming. They were back by 9 AM. I went out and greeted them and asked if I could bring them coffee or anything else. Mocha Java seemed to be the choice of the day, I'm so glad I brought hot chocolate packets. Little Boy Blue was hungry (aren't all 13 year old boys) so I offered a bacon sandwich. That sounded great to him, so I made him one with the leftover bacon from breakfast.
It was funny to see him with his Mocha Java in one hand, bacon sandwich in the other, and standing back watching Dad and our host skin and quarter his deer for him. We laughed about him taking a snack break. Dear husband then told us about the night before in the deer blind. They were sitting there waiting for a deer when Little Boy Blue reached inside his jacket and brought out a granola bar and began eating it. Dear husband informed him they were deer hunting and not supposed to be eating, and in his nonchalant way, Little Boy Blue then offered his dad one.
Coffee for the kiddos isn't a regular beverage choice at our house, but early mornings seem to bring out the need for something hot and stout even though it is always decaf. The only other time Little Boy Blue has drank coffee was when he and his dad got up really early to help my cousin irrigate at the farm a couple of months before.
They were finished and had the ice chests packed full of the venison that will soon be gracing the shelves of our freezer and be our supply of meat for the coming year. Everyone wanted showers before the trip home. Everything was organized and those that weren't getting ready helped with the final clean up details and loading everything up in the suburban for the trip home. All at the same time, everyone was ready and the house was clean. The kiddos were looking forward to the two hour trip home so they could sleep. We stopped in a little town an hour away and ate at a little cafe. We had to wake the kids up.
The food at the cafe was good. It's almost always a challenge when we go out to eat somewhere and definitely when it is somewhere new due to our food allergies, two of us can't have gluten (wheat, rye, barley, etc. ) and one can't have corn (cornstarch, high fructose corn syrup, etc.). It means we have to study the menu and ask our server questions that we hope they know the answer to. It also means we have to avoid buffets due to the risk of cross contamination. We all made good choices, there was tons of food on each plate and it was reasonably priced. With full tummies, we continued on our journey home.
Forty-five minutes later we made an unscheduled stop. We decided to stop by my sister and brother in-law's and show them the pictures. Dear husband was happy because he got to brag about his children's first deer hunting trip some more. When we got to town, dear husband remembered the meat processor we use was open on Sunday. I gave them a quick call, and someone was there making some repairs and he said he would wait on us. That was really nice, it meant I didn't have to make that thirty-minute drive one way the next day or even the day after and we didn't have to buy more ice to keep the meat iced down.
So much was packed into this day and a half adventure that it seemed longer than what it actually was. I wished though it would have been longer. I would have loved to sit out on the porch swing with dear husband, drink some hot chocolate or coffee, talk and stare at the mountains. I also would have loved to have been able to play some checkers or dominoes with the family, but maybe those memories can be had with the next trip...
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