Our little fisher-boy!

The day finally came. I thought it was so far away. Wayne went on his first "opening day" fishing trip to Silver Lake today with my Dad and Tyler. There is a LONG standing family tradition in my family of going with Dad on opening day. Dad, my brothers and I would get up before the crack of dawn, and head up to the lake to go fishing (that way you didn't have to wait in line to put the boat in. Oddly enough, Dad told Tyler that last night as they were figuring out what time to leave!!!) We'd stop at the gas station in town and pick up donuts and Cheetos and other things we did not normally get, except with Dad, and we'd head to the lake. Every once in awhile the weather was nice, but most times it was cold, wet, and we didn't care. We scrambled the night before to find enough old, warm clothes, and enough boots for us all. Now, I was all excited about these annual trips, until I turned 15 and was still going. Not so much fun to hit a fish upside the head with a stick and get blood everywhere, at least not for me. Fortunately for me, by the next year, Tyler was "in the picture" and after a brief meeting between Dad and my brothers, Tyler was invited along to take my place on the boat. PRAISE THE LORD! And so, the tradition has continued without me for the last 10 years. Three years ago, when Wayne was born, Dad brought a fishing pole to the hospital for him, and said that when he was no longer wearing diapers, Grandpa would take him fishing on opening day. See the Spiderman pole? Three years later, Grandpa came through on his promise (although after the fact, I think he might believe that 3 might be a little "busy" to go fishing!) Tyler woke Wayne up around 4:15am, and Wayne knew right away, "I waked up, I go fishing!" He was bleary eyed, but SOOOO excited to get dressed, go potty, and go. Breakfast could wait, there were donuts and orange juice waiting for him at Grandpa's!

So cute... Tyler took a few pictures for me to document the occasion. Once they were settled and had poles in the water, Wayne reeled the first few fish in. After awhile though he was getting a little bored, at which point he told them, "I all done." He settled for his binky and blankie, snuggling with his Dad in between fish on the line. They caught their limit, and headed for home.

When they got back to Mom and Dad's, my Mom asked that since it was cold, maybe Wayne wanted to come to the house with her. "No, I go with FISH!" he told her. So he went out with Dad and Tyler and "helped" gut the fish.

Hard to believe, my baby went on a boat. Oh yeah, and in the middle of it all, told Tyler he had to go potty, so Tyler taught him how to do it, "fisherman" style. Boys will be boys! Wayne came home talking a mile a minute about his trip, and he was absolutely exhausted! Even after taking a nice nap, he still looked a little rummy this afternoon, and both boys will be down for bed by 7pm!

So, what did I do while the two oldest men were gone? Well, Weston hung with mom, and we did some "fishing" of our own! Plant fishing, that is. Weston was up at 5:30am, so by 7am we took off to pick up Aunt Tanya from Lynden, and head out. After a coffee pitstop, we hit Walmart for a return, then Target, Lowe's, Haggen's for a receipt adjustment, then to Lynden to VanderGiessen's, and we finally returned her to her family. Fun, fun! Weston was a good little boy, teasing her and playing hard to get for all he was worth. If she ignored him though, he was soon motioning for her to pick him up. What a turkey! I picked up a sidetable to go with our patio set (you have to have something to put your coffee down on!) and then a bunch of plants replace some struggling ones around here, as well as annuals for my patio pots and for the pots at the cemetary. Now I just need to get to planting everything! I got one flower bed done this afternoon, and the rest can wait. I have to pace myself! :-)