We all headed to Juntion, TX last Thursday for a trapping convention. Since Ricky is on the Board of Directors as Secretary, we left on Thursday evening so he could help with set up on Friday. Mimi (Ricky's mom) surprised the kids by going with us. She had planned to go stay with Ricky's brother, Brad, but his wife came down with the flu! We made a quick stop in Llano then got checked into our motel once we got to Junction. Mimi and the kids shared a bed...it was interesting! Sheldon came down with a case of the giggles and took awhile to go to sleep.
Ricky was up early the next morning. He went to eat breakfast with a fellow trapper buddy and we all met up with them later in the morning. I set up my booth when we got to the convention center and they kids just played. It was great to see everyone after not seeing them since last year's rendezvous. An added bonus was having the Jenkins from our church in Rockdale join us! Paul has really gotten into trapping lately so Ricky invited them to the convention. Linda is one of the Sunday School teachers for Kalyn and Sheldon at church so they were really excited to see her as well. The convention finally kicked off at 1pm on Friday with a demo for trapping coyotes. Later in the afternoon a group went out to a nearby ranch to learn how to trap on line with three experienced trappers. Linda offered to take all of us girls plus Sheldon to the city park to let the kids play and just enjoy some scenery. Kalyn and Sheldon enjoyed playing on the playscape and throwing rocks into the river by the dam. Linda, Mimi, and I picked ALOT of pecans...and they tasted really good too! On our way back to the convention center we stopped for an ice cream treat which the kids loved. We had great hamburgers for supper and soon after we ate Mimi and I were ready to take the kids back to the motel to hopefully go to bed early. Sheldon was very hyper all day and wore us all out!! Ricky had to stay for the Board of Directors meeting so we said good night to him not knowing how late it would last. Luckily, he got out by 10pm and was able to get a decent night's sleep.
Saturday was much better. Sheldon was calmer and there were activities for the kids to enjoy. The kids spent a couple hours painting quilt blocks. Each child's block was put together to make a quilt for the auction for the afternoon...it turned out really cute! Kalyn and Sheldon especially enjoyed painting bird houses and they each ended up making three to bring home with us. Pat and I had our own arts and crafts session with the other ladies. We made really cute candy dishes with color stones glued all over them. My bowl was star shaped which fit in perfectly with our house decor. It was nice to visit with the ladies without any interruptions from all the kids. Around mid morning the skillet toss and speed trapping competitions started. It is always fun to watch and participate in. This was Pat's first year and my second year...I got second place in our age bracket (30's and up). There was also a "knapping" demo which Ricky got really interested in. Knapping is making arrowheads out of rock/flint...it was actually pretty interesting. Lunch finally came and we savored every bite...fried fish and frog legs! It was SO good!! Even the kids tried a bite of the frog legs and were surprised how they taste just like chicken. Aftrer lunch the auction began along with several awards. I got my special trophy for the skillet throw and I'm sad to say there wasn't a picture of me taken with it. Ricky was busy helping with the auction and I just didn't think to ask Pat to take pictures...oh well. I've included a picture of my trophy anyway!! People started to leave soon after the auction was over and we helped with clean up before heading back to the motel for the night. Ricky had another meeting which didn't last too long, thankfully.
Sunday finally came after a LONG night of a little boy kicking and moving around all night long. Ricky told Sheldon to sleep with us because he kept arguing with his sister and wouldn't settle down so she could go to sleep. It is funny how I can sleep soundly with Ricky, but if there is a kid in bed with me I wake up every single time I feel some kind of movement from them. I guess it is my instinct as a mother since I can't hear them...pretty interesting, but can be annoying! :o) We were really glad to get back home on Sunday afternoon and have been trying to catch up on our sleep all week (mainly me and Ricky). I guess the older we get the longer it takes to bounce back (never thought I would be saying this)!
Overall we had a great time in Junction and look forward to the next rendezvous in April. We are blessed to be able to do things togther as a family and I thank God everyday for that. Have a blessed week wth your families!!
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