Do the Safety Dance

It's shotgun season, so Hank walks with a safety vest! A dog got shot last week in Connecticut. At work I get to tag deer and coyote and yesterday a deer hunter gave me some of his fresh venison. I had it for dinner last night - yum, yum, yum!

Yummiest Yummy Stuff I've Ever Eaten

Thanksgiving

Mom and Jessie cooking away!

Miss Thea in her cute Thanksgiving dress!

Jay playing with fire while waiting patiently for the food .

Jessica and Chadd enjoying the fire as well.

Peter, Thea, and Jess.

Miss Thea just couldn't wait for dinner!The family ready to chow down!

Look at that delicious spread!

Then a bear came and licked all the food off of Thea!

Just kidding - Peter was playing around with my Dad's bear rug. Thea was petrified of it!Then we all had to play dress-up!
Here's Elmer Fudd! Complete with a gun!
Pilgrims Chadd and Jessica!
Happy Whitmore Family!

The End! ~Jay and Amy

Hank & Dusty

Got some great photos of Hank and Dusty playing in Mom & Dad's backyard.

I love this photo of Dusty leaping towards Hank!

They run like crazy dogs!

Must Love Dogs

I found this on another blog, and it made me think. Over the past 1.5 years, I have become a dog lover. I never knew that I could love my little Hank as much as I do. Or that a dog could be so full of love, compassion, and devotion aimed at ME! Hank is obsessed with me and I am obsessed with him.

But this post is about another dog. Laika. Laika was a Soviet space dog who became the first living mammal to orbit the earth and the first orbital casualty. She died a few hours after launch from stress and overheating, probably due to a malfunction in the thermal control system. The true cause of her death was not made public until decades after the flight. It was not until 1998, after the collapse of the Soviet regime, that one of the scientists responsible for sending Laika into space, expressed regret for allowing her to die: "Work with animals is a source of suffering to all of us. We treat them like babies who cannot speak. The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it. We shouldn't have done it... we did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog." On April 11, 2008, russian officials unveiled a monument to Laika.

Thea May's Winter Pictures

From Jess: OK...So after diaper changing, outfit changing, tears and Thea literally not wanting to let go of me we finally got some good shots! (The close up shot you can see tears welling up in her cute little eyes!) The woman working the camera has some amazing patience and we got through it!

Withdrawal Symptoms

It's official - I'm in withdrawal. It's about this time of year that I start experiencing withdrawal symptoms from not getting my fix of camp. If I'm already feeling this, I wonder how John is doing! All I want to do is get in a canoe and go turtle hunting with Becky, Jessie, and my dad. Or go blueberry picking. Or ride my bike on the bike trails. Or go swimming at Abners. Or lie in the hammock with a good book. Winter and I are becoming enemies.

Becky's Birthday Celebration

Last Saturday, Becky's husband Danny and I pulled off a surprise birthday party for Becky at our parent's house.

Cousins Maggie & Meghan
Here's the cake - so yummy!

Danny gave Becky a puppy for her birthday. Here's Grampie with the new grandchild!

Becky & Grampie Hugo

Becky & Grammie Emily

Auntie Becky & Miss Thea

Becky & Cousin Jessica

Mom & Becky

Becky & Grandma Dorothea

Enjoying the food

Talk, talk, chat, chat

Cousins James and Meghan

Nephew Giavani

Neice Jay-Lynne