Fishing

Little Man is budding fisherman.  His grandad just gave him a new rod and reel and of course, he was itching to try it out.  The other day was perfect for an outing to the lake.  The sky was overcast and temperatures were pleasant.  I told him to grab his gear and let him invite a friend to go fishing.  He was ecstatic.

We arrived at the lake around 10:30 am and the boys began fishing.  K-man caught the first few sun perch.  Then Little Man started to have success.  I was busy baiting hooks with red wiggler worms and taking small sun perch off hooks.

The boys went through 30 worms in two and a half hours.  I made a deal with them to load up in the car and I would take them to get some lunch and buy more worms.  The day was to pleasant to just go back home.  They happily agreed and off we went.

Within thirty minutes we were back at the lake and catching fish again.  Of course, all the fish they caught were too little to keep.  That didn't matter to them.  They were having a blast just reeling them in!

Next thing I knew, it was four o'clock and we had just ran out worms again!  Time to head home and tell fish stories to the family!

A Beautiful and Productive Weekend

I love this time of the year.  The temperatures are in the mid to upper seventies during the day, the sky is the most gorgeous blue with an occasional wispy cloud, and a slight breeze stirs the air.

I have a ton of things to get done inside the house (finish taking down wall paper, paint walls, declutter, etc.) and many outdoor projects call my name as well.  Outdoors won this weekend.

After a trip to Lowes on Saturday, Hubby began removing the rotted fascia board from our out building.  It came off effortlessly.  The entire length of the board was rotted and looked like cardboard.

As he worked on repairing the out building, I began cleaning the inside of it.  It is amazing how much dirt gets tracked in over the course of the summer.  I straightened and swept and threw away junk.  I placed two plastic shelving units we took out of our garage into the building.  I put kid toys back where they belonged and lugged in pool noodles to store over the fall and winter.  The lawn mower deck needed to be cleaned, although the lawn mower is not retired yet for the year.

After I finished, I had to get supper started.  The in-laws were coming over for supper and I had fix it. Normally after an afternoon of hot, grimy work, I would have just called in a pizza.  However, I managed to pull together oven fried chicken (it didn't turn out crisp though), mashed potatoes, and bake beans.  For dessert I whipped up pumpkin muffins and homemade ice cream (the ice cream never froze solid in the maker, so we will have it later!).

After the in-laws left, Hubby and I put the leaf cover on the pool and secured it.  We found a few holes in it, but I think it will do its job alright. 

On Sunday, I had planned to paint, but had a change of plans.  I began cleaning and organizing the media cabinet.  I removed all my horses from the glass hutch and cleaned the glass shelves.  I just couldn't bring myself to paint the wall behind the cabinet.  So I will have Hubby help move the cabinet today for me to paint behind it.

Another beautiful day outside, so I decided to plant my fall flowers.  After that task was done, I took a short break on the hammock.  Missy (our border collie) didn't let me relax completely.  She insisted I throw her ball a thousand times!  Little Man then interrupted and wanted to go fishing.

We all went down to our lake and enjoyed a couple of hours relaxing.  Sally B came along on the outing.  Little Man caught one large brim.  He has more fun just casting and reeling in the line over and over again.  Egee fished for a bit, but was more interested in goofing around.

Finally, I grilled smoked sausage and made mac and cheese for supper.  A great end to a wonderful weekend!

The Campout

The children could not wait to go camping in MeeMee and Grandad's motor-home.  My parents purchased a used motor-home three weeks ago and the kids have been so excited to try it out.  So on Friday, Grandad picked us up and the adventure began.

My parents had taken the RV to the campground the week prior, so that we could pull the boat out to the lake.  We started the trip going to my parents and the kids helped Grandad with the boat.  Oh, how they love the boat!  I think they would be content just having it towed around the yard while they rode in the boat.  They helped wash the boat and pack the fishing gear.

On the way to the lake, Egee read from the book "And the green grass grew all around: Folk poetry from everyone" by Alvin Schwartz.  It is a wonderful collection of poems children would sing as they played long ago.  Many were familiar, but others were not.  The book was entertaining during our hour drive.

Our campsite had a nice view of the marina and lake.  We quickly unloaded the Suburban and hooked up the motor-home to the water and power.  We were ready to camp!

Nightfall came and we bedded down.  I started out sleeping on the table converted bed, but the children could not settle.  So, Egee traded me and I climbed up to the bed above the cab to sleep with Little Man.  Let's just say the cushions need to be thicker!

The sun came up early and our day started at 6:30 a.m.  It was going to be a long day.  Little Man was ready to go fishing.  He asked a dozen times when will we launch the boat.  MeeMee started cooking breakfast, so I took the kids on a walk down to the lake.  I don't think Grandad could deal with more questions before he had his morning coffee.

We walked down to the docks.  The children searched for signs of fish on the boat slips.  They searched for ducks and geese.  They found geese feathers and used them to write in the clay along the bank.

Little Man found out how slippery clay becomes when wet.  He fell three times as he darted along the bank.  Carolina mud on a white t-shirt.  I wonder if it will come out.

We launched the boat mid-morning.  Little Man and Egee were ecstatic.  They climbed into the boat and rode down to the boat ramp.  They pulled on their life jackets and waited.  Grandad backed down the ramp and their eyes grew bigger.  Grandad climbed into the vessel and started it.  Little Man pumped his fist in the air.  They were going for a ride.  I drove back up to the campsite to pick up MeeMee.

The kids were full of excitement as we motored around on the lake.

We fished along the bank in the afternoon.  Egee was the first to catch a little brim.  Little Man didn't have a chance.  He likes to reel and cast, reel and cast.

Taking a break from fishing.

Hubby joined us later in the afternoon.  He fished along the bank with the children.  Grandad and I pulled the boat back to the campsite.  I was soaking wet, due to the fact that I had to jump into the lake and help a woman with her boat.  She had let it drift about thirty feet from shore and she was continuing to let it drift.  She was in the water trying to swim it back to shore and didn't know what she was doing.  Her husband was still trying to park their trailer.  I was able to pull it back to shore for her.  Some people don't need to be around boats.

Grandad went back down to the lake to pick everyone up.  When they arrived back at camp, Egee came running in the RV looking like she had seen a ghost.  She starting clamoring about Little Man and a fishing hook.  I went outside and heard Little Man wailing and everyone around him.

Little Man had caught a fish and himself.  A fishing hook was embedded in his right thumb.  He was not a happy camper.  Grandad was busy trying to find something to cut the hook.  MeeMee was trying to console him.  Hubby was trying to keep him from getting the hook deeper into the thumb.  I grabbed the alcohol and bandages, then held him.  Grandad removed the hook and Little Man screamed he would never fish again.

The traumatic event left him exhausted and he sleep the rest of the evening.  The next morning, he was all better and ready to fish.

Well, another adventure down.  We can't wait to go again.