What a treat me and my sisters had a few weekends ago. We got to spend a night at the duck club with our dear old dad and take part in the pheasant hunt. We finally got to make good on our Christmas present we gave him last year. In true dad fashion, he outfitted us with Browning sweatshirts, hats, and new boots. He couldn't have his daughters up there looking like the rookie hunters we are! It's not very often we get our dad all to ourselves. I loved seeing him in his element at the club. He's sort of a big deal.
Don't we look like fearless hunters?
Let me rewind to the night before the hunt. We enjoyed a little cocktail hour and got to meet all of my dad's friends. Nothing says the duck club like some brisket and marinated duck with some potato salad. After dinner we got invited to an exclusive after party which happened to be at the swankiest place at the club.
Of course we had to have a little photo shoot on the deck over looking the marsh.
Yes, that's me the black sister...
\
My dad was too busy hob nobbing to join in on the photo fun. Don't my sisters look high society? Thanks for the party Swindle!
After some hilarious confessions from my dad we headed off to bed around midnight. Sarah and I bunked up together, Kate slept solo, and my dad and Dove cuddled on the couch all night. My cute dad was up before 6 a.m., slaving away at the stove, making his girls breakfast.
My dad melts my heart. I just love everything about him. From his partially attached suspenders and sloppily tucked in shirt, to the way he cleans a pan, he is absolute perfection in my eyes.
A girl could get used to this every morning. For some reason, being around my dad for a couple days makes me feel like I'm 10 years old again. I kind of forgot that I'm woman in my 30's with 3 kids for a minute.
The weather couldn't have been more perfect. My dad drove us to the best spot in the club for pheasant slaying and of course we beat everyone else out there.
At this point in the morning my dad was holding tight to his gun...he later gave us a turn since he shot his limit of pheasants in about 20 minutes. Three shots, three pheasants, done.
Thanks for the help Dove....oh wait, she didn't do anything.
I was the first one to take a turn. Oh dear, lets just say I'm not exactly a sharp shooter. It was definitely that pheasant's lucky day. In my defense, my dad's last words before I pulled the trigger were, "Don't shoot the dog". That rattled me a bit.
I mean, do I look like a hunter or what? I had the privilege of hanging on to this guy since my dad ran out of room in his vest. So sick.
Next up. Sarah had a chance to shoot a pheasant...lucky pheasant again!
She even attempted to shoot one on the ground and missed that one too.
Leave it to Sar to provide the comic relief for the trip!
Our big sis was up next, looking very serious.
I think she actually came the closest to hitting one.
She really enjoyed holding that gun.
My dad still had some wild pheasants he could shoot so we drove around scouting.
Classic dad pic, driving, sipping his coffee, and finding us the perfect playlist. I believe he was singing "I can't see me loving nobody but you for all my life". However, this never ending song called "Sky Pilot" was our lucky charm. We spotted two wild pheasants during the course of that tune.
Since Dove couldn't hold the camera to take a pic of all of us, this is the best we could do.
Dad decided to take a quick selfie to capture the moment.
Sarah and I returned to the trailer itching to take the mini truck out for a spin. We let my dad clean the birds while we remembered how to drive a stick.
Oh yeah, we totally dominated the mini truck!
When we got back my dad handed me a bowl of our freshly killed pheasant meat.
Tasty
He quickly grilled it up for a delicious little snack. It pared perfectly with his favorite food of the moment, edamame. I can honestly say I didn't lift a finger the entire time we were up there. He took care of his girls like he always does. I half-way expected him to pull out the curling iron so he could do our hair.
Speaking of his girls, Dove got to ride shotgun the entire way there and back, gazing into my dad's eyes. I've never seen him treat a hunting dog the way he treats her. It's really cute.
It was certainly a trip I'll never forget and I know one thing for certain. I need to spend more time with my dad. He is the best man I know and the absolute perfect dad for me. I just love him so much. Next year, I say we let him take us to Hawaii!
3 comments:
Sooooo many comments I don't even know where to begin.
Let's start with my hat hair...remember me running like Forest Gump? Pretty sure I thought that was funnier than anyone else. Still laughing now.
Sky Pilot made the post...I appreciate that. I also appreciated "thanks Swindle". Ha! You had such a crush! Dirty old bird.
But- on a serious note...
I too love everything about our dad (except maybe the dish washing- or lack thereof)...he is unbelievable.
So glad I could not only be with him...but with your two mugs as well.
It was a memory I'll never forget!
Oh...and...
Freaking Dove.
This was awesome. You're so funny! I don't even know your dad or sisters very well and laughed. 1. Don't shoot the dog. Yes, always good advice for a new arms man. 2. I had to laugh that the dog was sitting shot gun while you girls were getting a picture of it…from the back seat! 3. This made me want to go turkey hunting with my own dad. 4. You mean the dog is trained as a bird dog, knows it's seat is the co-pilot seat, but can't take a decent photo? Someone get that dog some proper training.
Post a Comment