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

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;)