200 Blips and Eventful Evening

So what is it about blip birthdays that make us go above and beyond? I had no idea what I was getting into this evening on my search for the perfect photo, but I'll tell you the adventure because I would really like to document it.

Today was supposed to be sunny. My husband was supposed to have the night off. I was going to head to the beach and record an amazing sunset. Ha! The fog rolled in and the wind started blowing. My husband got called to work to cover a sick employees shift. So no beach and no amazing sunset.

I know that the fog is only at my house so I headed inland to find some place warm and sunny. It was about 5:30 when the boys and I left the house to head toward Golden and Silver Falls (about a 45 min. drive). When we got there, the sky was blue, the air was warm and the sun was out. I was so excited. We started hiking to the falls, and as I rounded the bend, I noticed that the falls was perfect. There was no direct sunlight but enough sunlight to make it great. I hopped up on a rock with my new hand-me-down tripod and was in heaven.

My oldest stripped down to his birthday suit and started running about the water, but my youngest stood whimpering and sniveling. Honestly, it was really annoying. I was having the time of my life. After I got my shots, we started heading back to the truck. Just as we got there, my youngest started to heave. He was sick. Really sick. After vomiting, he turned white and pasty and obviously had a fever. So now I feel lousy that I wasn't more attentive to his whining.

So we started heading back home, and now this is where it all gets weird. As I'm driving, I notice a dead baby deer in the middle of my lane. I can't stop or swerve, so I straddle over it and then pull off to the side of the road. A couple of other trucks do the same maneuver to miss the body. I run back to the dead deer intending on pulling him off the road. It is sad, and I don't want his body to be smashed into the ground like so often happens.

Just as I walk up to him, he yanks his head up and looks me in the eye. He begins dragging his body towards me. His hind legs are non-functional. I notice a car is coming, so I grab him up and take him to the side of the road. I can't leave him because traffic begins to get heavy, and he keeps trying to follow me back into the road. A man drives by and rolls his window down. He asks if he can help. I ask him if he has a gun. He says no.

A women pulls up and comes over to me. She asks if the deer is alive, and I say yes. She wants to take the baby deer to her car. So I open her door as she brings the deer to her car and another man stops in the road. He tells us that the deer's back is broken and that is why it cannot walk. He asks if we want him to shoot it. The woman says yes. I tell him I must get back to my children immediately. As I'm running as fast as I can back to my truck to my little babies, I hear the crack of the gun. I instantly burst in to tears and cannot catch my breath. I hear my youngest wake and yell "Firework!" to the sound of the gun.

The rest of the ride home was quiet after I attempted to explain death to my almost 5 year old.

On a more chipper note, I do thank everyone for taking the time to peek into our life. I really enjoy this community and feel a deep bond with many here whom I would have never met otherwise. I really love it here and am not going to leave any time soon. On to 300!