Dove Hunting

Yesterday Daddy decided it was time to cash in an offer to go dove hunting.  Only this time, the whole family was going.  The boys were very excited and Hayden even more so because last time she got left home with me.  So after Cameron's football game (that he scored 2 touchdowns in... more to come on sports another day) we headed home and packed up to go.  I realized while getting ready that the Davis girls do not have proper hunting attire.  Even Hayden noticed, "Pink shoes!  They don't match my purple shirt!".  Well, at least she noticed they didn't match, as far as the "proper hunting attire" she had no clue.  We headed north about 45 minutes and stopped for ice cream on the way to celebrate 2 touchdowns!  Once we arrived, I was handed a shotgun (the "good one" I might add), about 15 rounds of ammunition (that I had to stick down my shirt because I had no pockets), and 2 kids.  Hunting was underway!  Let me interject briefly that I have never actually hunted dove.  I went to a one day class back in vet school with some other girls called Women In the Outdoors and we were taught how to handle a gun and allowed to shoot hand raised birds... not entirely realistic, but fun.  So, needless to say I was terrible!  After about an hour of shooting at birds too far away, jamming my gun, getting my finger stuck in the gun, and having an aching shoulder, I was done.  I do have to give kudos to my cheerleaders though.  Besides throwing a fit the first two minutes she was handed ear protection, Hayden did fantastic!  She just followed me around and played in the dirt and with the spent shell casings.  Cameron was my lookout.  He would help me find the birds and get excited.  He was ready to hand me more ammo as needed, retrieved the 1 bird I got, and watched out for his little sister.  Bryant was probably the luckier of the three.  He opted to go with Daddy and there was way more action with him.  After I resigned my post, I turned the "good gun" over to Daddy and Hayden and I made camp at the truck.  We probably sat there for an hour and she entertained herself with a dead bird daddy left for her.  Totally disgusting if you ask me but daddy assured me it didn't have parasites and there was no blood coming from it.  She didn't quite understand the whole hunting thing...

H: Mommy?  Why did you shoot him?
Me: Because Daddy likes to eat them.
H: No!  We eat fish.  We do not eat birds!

Then later...
Me: Oh, look!  Daddy got another one.
H: Yea!  Now he (the dead bird she is holding) can be with his family!

She and I ended the evening riding around in a Ranger courtesy of Mr. Tim.  Our job was to scare up the dove so daddy could shoot them.  The boys walked all over following daddy and retrieving birds.  Minus the cactus Bryant kept running into (it was everywhere), they had a blast and were super excited when they finally got finished.
Happy Meals on the way home made for a great day by kid standards and staying up until 10:00 was icing on the cake.  That is until the dreaded word "bath" was said ;)