Friday, June 1, 2012

The Story of Us

First, American Stuffers news....
We got the call today that American Stuffers will be airing on Destination America.  They have not ordered any new episodes yet, but this is a step in the right direction and we are excited to be included in their line up!!  We will keep you posted on any news as it comes in!

So someone asked about how Daniel and I met so today I will share that story.

 
I guess we actually met in 7th grade.  I moved to Rose Bud and since we had a total of 45 people in our entire class, we must have met then. 

These are our gorgeous yearbook pictures from that year!





Anyway, fastforward four years.....we started our junior year of high school and I was interested in Daniel.  He, however, was pretty much ignoring me.  I flirted shamelessly, and my bst friend and I helped plan a big party for Daniel and David's 17th birthday.  (Daniel is a twin)  So the big night came and I somehow got his attention.  He asked me to dance and we have been together ever since then.

We saw each other every day and were pretty much inseperable.  Of course, we went to Jr and Sr prom together.  We went to San Antonio for our Senior trip together.  We walked in graduation together.  All of my memories from high school are with Daniel. 




The last semester of our senior year, I transferred to home ec all day long.  I only needed my last semester of English but Daniel played basketball and had to stay at school all day, so he and I took all the home ec classes together.  We took child development, housing, cooking.  We had so much fun!  I even kept the books for the basketball team so that I could attend all of his games.  Good times at Rose Bud High!

After high school, Daniel went to work and I went to college.  I had a full ride scholarship and knew that if I wanted a degree, I had to get it while it was free.  I lived at home and commuted to the University of Central Arkansas.  Mostly because Daniel was in Rose Bud.  We got married during Christmas break of my freshman year. 
 It was a whirlwind time in life, we were so happy! We were young and poor, but we didn't need much. We were so ready to start our life together.  All I had ever wanted was to be a wife and mother.  We had Hunter the summer between my sophomore and Junior years.  I was 8 months pregnant with Mason when I graduated.   
It wasn't always easy or perfect.  We had ups and downs like everyone does.  But we always knew we belonged together.  When we stood before God and promised to love each other always, we meant it.  In today's society, it seems like marriage has lost it's meaning or value.  This makes me sad.  I know what it is to love and be loved and the happiness that can bring.  I wish more people knew the value of a good marriage. 




Here is a picture of Daniel with Hunter.  We were so young.....

He is such a good dad to my boys.  The way he loves them and spends time with them only makes me love him more.  I have often heard the best thing a father can do for his children is love their mother.  Daniel shows them everyday how to be a good husband.  He shows them how to be a man of honor, a man of God, a man that I am proud to call my husband!


Since it is summertime and I have a little more time on my hands, I will try to write again soon.  Please let me know what you would like to hear about.

Have a good day!

LaDawn

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Opportunities...

You never know what opportunities will present themselves in your life.  Five years ago Daniel and I would have laughed emphatically if you had suggested we would be on a reality television show.  Or that people would be stopping by the shop just to see us or have us sign something.  But here we are.  Daniel has had the opportunity this year to speak at several schools.  He really enjoys getting to see the kids and share our story with them.  Tomorrow he and I will be going to Lake Hammilton Middle School to speak with the kids.  I am excited to get to see Daniel in action.  Most people don't realize that Daniel is not much of an extrovert.  Daniel is pretty quiet by nature, except when he is telling hunting stories that is. Learning to be more outspoken and animated in his storytelling was definitely a challenge when we first started filming American Stuffers.  Learning not to take over every story was more of my challenge.  I am naturally very talkative! 

When we first decided to do pet preservation, it was mostly as a favor to a very distressed client.  We thought it would be an extra service we would offer, but did not expect it to be a huge percentage of our business.  Traditional mounts, especially whitetail deer, have been the mainstay of the business from the beginning.  But just that one small decision to offer a new service, opened the door to this crazy adventure in TV land.  School will be over next wee for the summer and I will find time to write a more complete description of how it all started for us. 

I have also been thinking about writing about all of our pets and trying to upload some video.  If you have any suggestions or thoughts on what would be interesting to include, feel free to leave a comment or send us an email.  I am hoping to improve and learn more about this whole blogging thing this summer!

Have a wonderful weekend!  Daniel and I will be enjoying Hot Springs!

LaDawn and the Xtreme Taxidermy Crew

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Decisions, Decisions

Well, we finally have Animal Planet's decision.  They opted not to order a second season of American Stuffers.  They said they liked the show, but there were just some other shows that had better ratings.   We appreciate the opportunity that Animal Planet gave us.  Our production company is working with another network in hopes that they will pick us up for Season 2.  We are hopeful that will work out.  Either way we are good.  The shop is really busy.  We continue to meet amazing people and hear about how a special pet has impacted their lives.  Daniel has had the opportunity this year to speak at several schools.  He really loves to get to see the kids and speak with them.  You never know what opportunities will arise in your life.  We are grateful for this one and leave the future to Heavenly Father. 

On other news, Dixie did kill her first hog last weekend.  She was so excited.  Daniel said they were belly-crawling through thickets, stalking these hogs.  He said there were spider webs and Dixie stayed right with him.  She was determined and was rewarded with this big hog!


Daniel and the boys went camping this weekend.  They are fishing and having a great time.  We are planning a canoe trip to the Buffalo River soon.  I am ready for a family camping trip.  We float the Buffalo almost every year, it is such a nice relaxing trip.  There's nothing like unplugging from all the distractions and just hanging out with your family. :)

In case anyone is wondering, Fred is still here.  Still working, and goofing things up regularly.  Fred Quote for this week "There is something wrong with you if you don't have a gun in your truck."  He is a total redneck, but he's harmless.

We have a new critter in our family.  I will try to add some video of him soon.  Cole is a baby silver fox.  Daniel came home with him a couple of weeks ago, and I was not too sure about this one. You know we already have a whole menagerie of crazy pets around here.   Cole looked like some weird combination of a kitten and puppy and smelled bad.  Daniel is smitten with him, though.  We have been bottle feeding him and he has grown on me. Still doesn't smell too good.  Not sure what we can do about that.  But he has gotten much cuter, and cute will get you a long way around here! 

 

Have a good week everyone! 

LaDawn and the Xtreme Taxidermy Crew

PS.  If there is anything we have learned from this adventure in television, it is that things can move very slowly for a long time, then everything move crazy quickly for a while.  We will update you if we get any more info about the show, but it may be a while;)

Friday, April 27, 2012

Dixie's Hog Hunt

Well, it's official, these boys have contaminated Dixie.  Tomorrow Daniel and Hunter are taking her on a hog hunt and she is SO excited!  She can't wait!    We shall see what she brings home.

The shop is really busy these days.  We are getting pets in from all over the country and meeting tons of interesting people.  Two ladies drove here from Colorado Springs yesterday to bring us their German Shepard, Pooh Bear.  He was such a pretty dog and definitely held a special place in Amy's heart.  She brought lots of pictures, and we really enjoyed seeing them and visiting with her. 

We got to send home a sweet Cocker Spaniel, Patrick to Maryland.  I know Lauren will be excited to see him! 

The guys are working on mounting a bear this week and Hunter has been mounting several turkey fans.  It is turkey season in Arkansas, and it has been fun hearing everyone's stories.  A young man came in yesterday to pick up his turkey fan.  It was his first turkey and he was so excited.  His grandpa came in with him and said he called him right after he shot the turkey.  Grandpa thought that was the most excited he had ever been!



Yours in Preserving Memories,                  
LaDawn and the Xtreme Taxidermy Crew

Monday, April 23, 2012

Patience is a Virtue.....

Everyday someone asks us when American Stuffers will be on again.  We would love to have an answer.  No one wants to know the answer to that question more than all of us at Xtreme Taxidermy!  Unfortunately, we just don't know yet. 

We have loved meeting so many fans of the show.  The show of support we have received has been amazing! It seems like even now, every day we get a letter in the mail or an email from someone just wanting to tell us that they enjoy the show.  We read them all and try to reply to each one.  It amazes me that so many people take the time to find a way to contact us.   So I decided to start this blog as a way for fans to keep up with what is going on with us when we are off the air.  You will get a little inside information about the crazy world of reality TV and be able to keep up with the Ross Family and the Xtreme Crew.  So please accept this little blog as our thank you for the many kind phone calls and emails we have received since American Stuffers began airing!


There will be stories of all of our crazy pets, antics at the shop, stories of the many interesting people we meet, and stories about what is going on with our family!  So check back often, sign up for alerts, tell your friends! 


Yours in reality TV,
LaDawn