Learning how to shoot and steal isn’t criminal when a basketball is involved. Or if it is, just call me a smooth criminal!

Watch out for our Mel-Min Mustang team… we’re comin’ in hot!

We found our Fraser Fir! It’s treemendous. Let the Christmas season begin!

When the aroma of oven-roasted turkey and freshly-baked pumpkin pie fills the air, you know it’s Thanksgiving! Other cues include Grandma’s hot, spiced apple cider, Grandpa’s Mogen David Hi-Fi spritzers, and (new this year) a cornucopia-themed dog! There is much to be thankful for.

Cirque Musica Holiday Wonderland is the perfect way to usher in the holiday season, or so I hear. Only Genesee and Mom got to experience the magic, since Dad and I had basketball practice. And while the 1.5 hours of blood, sweat, and tears can be pretty entertaining, too, depending on how many of my teammates are struggling with listening and following direction, I would have preferred to be amazed by the acrobats, aerialists, and daredevil athleticism instead.

I love our annual November gathering at the cabin; it signals the start of gun deer season! We eat food, we play games, we snuggle by the fire stove, and then we wake up early and hunt our little hearts out.

Of course, everyone hides in the woods, hoping to get a buck for their bang, but not me. I mean, we had big plans at first… Dad even left his weapons behind and only brought my gun so that I could experience the thrill of the hunt and harvest my first deer. However, when we purposely let some smaller bucks escape our crosshairs to run free another year, despite being the only activity we saw, I decided to branch out and explore a new recipe….

… Squirrel Soup!

Call me nuts, but hunting a bushy tail that darts through the woods without skipping a beat is quite a thrilling feat!

Welp, you win some and you lose some. Halloween 2023 got lost during our travels. Luckily, we’ve got the pumpkin-carving pics to prove we sort of celebrated—no costumes and no trick-or-treat buckets of future tooth cavities, just some jack-o’-lantern masterpieces! Besides, mom’s favorite part of the holiday is the roasted pumpkin seeds anyway, so not all was lost!