A Family Outting :: The Greater Longview Delta Waterfowl Banquet

My husband and my eldest son are avid duck hunters, so when I discovered that our local chapter of the Delta Waterfowl Foundation was hosting a banquet this past Saturday, I just had to get tickets. Goodness, my guys were excited!

A national organization, Delta Waterfowl's mission includes sustaining habitats, supporting conservation, and promoting the sport of waterfowling. The group focuses on drawing youth into duck hunting through yearly programming and hands-on activities. In addition, Delta Waterfowl provides predator management, offers sustainability programs like Adopt-a-Pothole and Build a Hen House, and the Waterfowl Heritage Fund.

At the Greater Longview Waterfowl Banquet, attendees were greeted with logo camo ball caps and the opportunity to win several different types of prized packages, guns, live and silent auction items, as well as the general raffle items. Participants were encouraged to purchase raffle ticket packs and specialty drawings for duck hunter packages, deer hunter packages, mystery gun chances, and more. In addition, other games like Pluck-a-Duck were offered to further enhance the evening.

Youth in attendance were given a camo ball cap and an entry into the youth gun drawing. For any youth not winning one of twenty-five giveaway guns, they received a Buck Gardner duck call and a Hunter's Specialties camo bag. While my boys didn't win a gun, they were thrilled to have received all the of neat things presented to them by the chapter. My youngest especially loved his duck call!

 

After a catfish and chicken dinner, the silent auction wrapped up and the live auction began.  One of the cutest auction items happened to be a pedigree Labrador puppy with two months of training. He was adorable! We bid on a few items in the live auction, but they soon surpassed our budget. However, I did win a silent auction item and surprised my husband with it! All money raised from this event will go back out into the community to promote Delta Waterfowl's mission and help with the Wounded Warriors, as well as purchasing lifetime hunting licenses for future youth and college scholarships.

This was a well organized event and I highly recommend anyone looking for a great evening supporting a fabulous organization mark your calendars for next year! While you wait, be sure to become a member of Delta Waterfowl and enjoy all of the yearly programming and activities your chapter puts on. Our family is looking forward to becoming new members this year!

What I Did Wednesday :: Ellis Home & Garden

Yesterday, the boys and I went to Ellis Home & Garden to meet Cindy Best. A few days ago, she posted a contest on Facebook to win one of Ellis' stunning Deco Mesh wreaths. The rules of the contest were simple enough - write about one of your favorite 4th of July traditions and a winner would be randomly selected. Needless to say, I was ecstatic and eagerly chose a gorgeous patriotic wreath to hang on our front door.


While there, the boys and I perused the store and all of it's offerings. The Home & Garden center is filled with a variety of home decor: clocks, lamps, mirrors, rugs, wall art, vases, and even unique themed accents from the shabby chic to vintage western. Outside, the greenhouse holds a splendid array of flora, a large collection of terra cotta pottery, as well as decorative pieces, patio furniture, and water features. Ellis also offers floral supplies and one of the largest ribbon collections I've ever seen.

Ellis is a family owned company created in the late 1800's. Originally as a manufacturer of pottery in Marshall, the Ellis tradition has grown into 5 retail locations offering a variety of products, as well as specialized classes throughout the fall and spring seasons. Ellis' use of trendy displays to showcase their product line makes strolling through the center an enjoyable and creative experience.














At the Longview location, they periodically offer children's programming. This year, Ellis hosted a live concert by the acclaimed children's musician Andrew Best; planned a fairy tea party along their walking trail; and got the creative juices flowing with a pumpkin decorating workshop.



Ellis Home & Garden locations are in Bossier City, Longview, Texarkana, Beaumont, and Marshall. Center hours vary by location, so please visit the website for more information. You can also find Ellis on Facebook. The Fall and Christmas classes begin in September - make sure you get them on your calendar!

Thank you again Ellis for my beautiful wreath! I'm definitely going to have to take a class to learn how to make one.

Andrew Best :: Real Music for Children

This past weekend, the boys and I had the pleasure of being musically delighted. Andrew Best, an acclaimed songwriter from Longview, writes and sings unique children's songs. It's more than the usual barrage of sing-song, high pitched, somewhat cartoonish music causing most adults to roll their eyes and let out a slight moan every time a child asks for it to play.

Andrew's music makes you want to listen and sing along; even as an adult. He offers what I call "real music" for the children's auditory pleasure. He couples it with an amazing "real band" with guys who in no shape or form resemble the Wiggles.

From songs about your relatives including your Grandmusin (I giggle every time I hear this) to a Latin-feeling song about a chihuahua, you will enjoy Andrew's songs immensely, and so will your children. My youngest son is not one for lyrical music. In fact, he can't stand it. Yet, he loved Andrew's music so much he joined the children upfront in a dance; we also took home a CD, which migrates from the house to the car daily.

You'll love the characters involved in his music as well - Emerson the Moose, The Lizard, a Little Monkey, and more. While we were at the home-town performance at Ellis Pottery, my youngest son was given an adorable moose cookie cutter with a recipe for making Sugar Cookies. Needless to say, he was delighted.

Visit www.andrewbestmusic.com to see more about how Andrew got started in children's music - it is a great story! His songs are available to purchase on CD or through the ITunes store. My personal favorite is Teeny Little Super Girl!

Springtime Adventures :: A Wildflower Hunt

Springtime in Texas yields amazing blooms, especially after all the rain we have received. So, once the drizzle stopped and the blue sky returned, we headed outdoors for a wildflower hunt.

This year, I thought we would do a different type of flower collection in an effort to preserve nature’s beauty; and easily share our collection with others. Instead of the typical ‘pick the flower and press’ mantra, the boys and I are creating a digital flower journal - photographing living flowers and incorporating all the pertinent information about them to form a compendium.

We started out on the Paul G. Boorman Trail in Longview this afternoon. Along the way, we snapped a few splendid beauties. The neatest aspect of our hunt included finding birds’ nests, butterflies, a variety of feathered friends, and even a gentleman on a unicycle.

 

Our two mile trek, peppered with conversations about animals’ habitats, types of airplanes, and even waterfalls, was a nice break from the daily routine. There was even a reference or two made about the Hundred Acre Wood and the Lorax. It is often interesting what other learning takes place while on a simple walk observing flowers. The boys became Naturalists today.

 While we still have more flowers to discover, we are off to a great start. I can’t wait to share the finished collection with you.

Do you have a special wildflower hot-spot you visit each year? I’d love to hear about it!