Fishing...a Family Tradition


Does your family enjoy fishing?  We do!!  I don't know what it is about fishing - I don't like touching the slimy bait, nor do I relish taking the fish off the line.  It's all about the catching, I think.  The thrill of pulling in "the big one," and the bragging rights that follow.  And the camaraderie.  There's something just right about standing on the shore in the serenity of a perfect day.

This year, just before Father's Day, we went fishing with my dad at a local pond.

Can you see the fish she caught?  It's so cuuuuute!


We all had fun catching fish, and for some reason, I caught a whopper! 

There it is - I didn't really want to hold it or be too close to it, though.  My dad always made us kiss the "weenie fish" or hold the big ones for a picture.  Still does.  As you can tell, he's actually holding the fish and I'm gingerly putting my thumb inside its' mouth.  I like catching fish - I just don't like touching them.



As children, we spent countless hours every summer at a local fish and game club, whiling away the hours fishing and exploring around the lake.   It was one of dad's happy places.  Still is.

My 8-year-old daughter decided to have a fishing party to celebrate her birthday this spring.  I had always depended on my dad to find/buy bait, put the squirmy stuff on the hooks, and take the fish off when one was caught.

For the party, I put on my grown-up shoes and went to buy live bait at a local store with my girls.  Eew!  Worms and maggots.  Well, I got over it.


We had gloriously perfect weather and between 10-20 people fishing at any given time.  In all, we caught just 2 fish, but everyone still enjoyed themselves.

I put bait on hooks and took fish off all by myself.  I was so excited for the kids to catch something, I put my squeamishness aside and just did it.

We even made cute fish cupcakes and gummy worm-themed snacks.



And if you get bored, you can wade in the water with your friends. 


Fishing...it's good, clean fun!


Well...unless you count fish slime or squirmy bait.  

Incidentals.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Snow Day!!!

Image
Ah, the first snow day of the new year!  The kids are so excited - they can't wait to don their snow gear and plunge out into the snowy world for fun fun fun! I personally look forward to putting layer upon layer of shirts, hats, socks, mittens, and snow-proof outerwear on my children - 30 minutes of effort for an hour of fun. Yes, I have finally reached the point where the 30 minutes of snow-garbing is less than the time they spend outside.  Except for my 3-year-old.  It's his first year where snow is actually fun, but I don't see him lasting out there more than 10 minutes. When they were two or under, my children would reappear in the house within 5 minutes of their release into the winter wonderland to announce that they're cold and they're finished and can I please help them take all their soggy things off. So, if your children aren't quite old enough yet, or your children become cold easily and can't hack playing outside in the frigid temper...
Read more

Unexpected Item

Image
Do you remember when Walmart first installed the self-checkout lines?  They were so cool! Over a decade ago, I went with my future husband to pick up a few items at Walmart and had a funny surprise:  while I was waiting for him to check out his purchases, I leaned up against the checkout area.  When he placed his purchase there, the machine loudly declared, "UNEXPECTED ITEM!"  Josh looked at me with a funny grin on his face and said, "Yep - You're my unexpected item!"  He realized all the items had specific weights and my leaning on the scale (of which I was unaware) caused the alarm to go off. Neither one of us expected to find the perfect match, yet there we were! As married life has progressed, I've heard the mental shout of "UNEXPECTED ITEM" many times.  After two years of marriage, we decided it was time to try to have a baby.  When the baby came, it was an Unexpected Item.  I thought having a baby meant having a sweet little someone...
Read more

Let Dads Be Dads (Part Two)

Image
I recall my husband's first adventure with our daughter - he wanted to take her away for a few hours to give me a break and show her off to his best friend.  I packed up the diaper bag and prepared a bottle, clicked her snugly in her carseat, then kissed them both goodbye.  I cried.  I know, sappy - but it was the first time since the day she was born that we'd been separated.  I prayed for their safety - I couldn't have the two people I cared most about in the world getting in a car accident.  It just wouldn't do!  I spent the next few hours washing laundry, catching up on dishes, and resting on the couch.  Something I hadn't done in months.  When he returned, he was shell shocked.  He said the baby was fine on the ride up, but began crying after his arrival and refused to take a bottle.  After a half hour of crying, neither of the men could hear each other, so he gave up and came home.  Defeated.  Discouraged. But I ...
Read more