It's THAT time of year again!

Just imagine it. The trees are completely leafless, the fields are dead, the wind has recently started biting, and on your drive you suddenly spot blaze orange in a tree across the field.

And another and then another! Before you know it, the game has begun. Spot the hunter.

Today, Kyle will join my dad for another year of deer hunting.

 Rockin Kyle's new hat...

Lewis needs one this year.

Kyle calls this the before and after Jared's Subway diet.

Not only do we enjoy being home for hunting, but we enjoy the time we get to spend with family. We always have potato klub that my grandma makes. This year my aunt and I will make it and it's going to be an adventure!  That link to klub is the closest recipe I could find to my grandma's. I just wanted to give you an idea of what it was. One of the biggest differences is that we always have gravy and butter as toppings to klub. And yes...you will sink if you try to swim right after eating klub.

This time last year, we didn't know I was pregnant...and it's so fun to be sharing this year's hunting fun with Lewis too!

Happy hunting and be safe!

Tuesday Traditions: Tacos

I'm not sure about you, but our family loves tacos. I'm not just talking Kyle & myself. I mean, our family.

My mom's family has tacos for Christmas Eve. Every. Year. They've even discussed getting together every July 4th for tacos.

We. Love. Them.

Confession: I like tacos.

Notice I said "like". I'm not the aficionado that my husband and the rest of my family tend to be. I used to dread having tacos on Christmas Eve.

Can't we just have ham or turkey like everyone else? Gah.

But then I grew up. I love the tradition. I love the jovial nature that reverberates around the room as we're dishing up our tacos and getting ready to try Grandma's hot sauce and homemade tortilla shells.

I love sitting at a new table every year talking with my cousins or holding the newest baby while mom and dad eat.

I love seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter as we take bets on when Grandma will ask, "Is the hot sauce hot enough?" (It happens every year, folks.)

Mostly, I love the tradition and the sense of unity we have as we enjoy our tacos on Christmas Eve.

And the real reason I have tacos on the brain? It's Tuesday. Taco Tuesday. Every other Tuesday we go to the Krueger's house to eat tacos with them. Tonight is the night.

You may be thinking, "Why only every other week?" And that's because they're at our house on the opposite weeks. We make something and they make tacos. It's the best of both worlds, because Kyle would eat tacos every Tuesday if I made them. Granted, I probably could be convinced. But there's just something about sharing tacos with other people.

Just like Christmas Eve, it's the unity and friendship that you share over a meal that makes it special.

Enjoy your Taco Tuesday! I know I will.

 

Hunter or Hunted?

It's that time of year again. The time when the blaze orange and giant thermos bottles come back. If you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, I'm very sorry.

It's a tradition in our family to gather during one or both weekends of the deer hunting season holiday. This year we went home for deer opener and had a fabulous time. On Saturday we spent time with family, waited hunted some deer, ate potato klub, and were in bed and asleep by 10 pm. Then Sunday, we got up and did it all over again.

I don't know how you feel about family time, but weekends at my parents' house are some of my favorites. Even though I have my own home and it's nice to get back after a weekend away, I relax so much better out at the farm.

I'm so thankful for a husband who is willing to spend time with my family and even enjoys being there. I hope and pray that Hunting Holiday is a tradition our children will learn to love as much as I do.

I hope that my children will love visiting their grandparents as much as I love visiting mine. I pray that they will long to invest their time in their grandparents' lives as much as I do. I long for the day that my children will anxiously await the next season of Deer Hunting and potato klub. And above all else, I hope and pray that my children will find comfort in enjoying time with family.

What traditions do you hold every year? I'd love to hear about them.

There are these things called traditions...

Traditions are important to our family. There are traditions new and old. I'll start off with new traditions and finish off with old. Got it? :)

So, I have some family who eat ice cream sundaes for supper on the first day back to school! Great, right?! Last year, our first September being married, we (Kyle & I) decided that we wanted to have a fun tradition like that too! As a result, we settled on waffles with ice cream and/or whipped cream. Yum. The last two years we've had waffles with ice cream, whipped cream, and berries.

Kyle and I have also had to switch up our holiday traditions since we've been together. It tends to get a little complicated. How do we keep track where we were at last Christmas and Easter and Thanksgiving? I'm so glad you asked! The easiest way for me to keep track...even years=Easter & Thanksgiving with Kyle's family & Christmas with my family. And vice versa the next year.

It's confusing, but I can keep track of it. It's a little harder for Kyle to remember. So all I have to ask him is: "What meal did we have last year for Christmas Eve?" If he answers tacos, we are supposed to be with his family this year. If he answers Swedish meatballs, we are supposed to be with my family.

Which leads me to old family traditions. For as long as I can remember (and as long as my mom can remember) we've had tacos for Christmas Eve dinner with her family. There were a few years where I wasn't interested in eating tacos...but because that was our only option, we ate tacos.

And the tradition I saved for last is one of my favorites. In case you don't know, deer hunting season is a holiday up north. And it just so happens that it's right around the corner. Season opener is usually the first weekend of November and in our area it ends the second weekend. Grandma makes Potato Klub every year. The link to the recipe is not exactly how Grandma makes it, but it's pretty close. We always sit around Grandpa and Grandma's table in their cozy farm house talking about hunting stories, how cold it is/n't, how happy we are to be together, and eating potato klub. It's really a good time. In the past, my family has alternatively been some of my favorite people to be with and also been some of the hardest people to be with. When it comes to deer hunting and potato klub, we set differences aside and sit down to a home cooked meal to share in the joy and familiarity of family and traditions.

What kinds of traditions do you have?? I'd love to know! And follow the link-up to see more traditions stories!