Fishing

While we were in Branson, we stayed at the condo that Jeff's parents get one week each summer. Behind the condo there is a creek that feeds into Lake Taneycomo. There is a dock that we can walk down to and people can fish off of it. One of the things the boys wanted to do this summer (and number 9 on our summer list) was to go fishing. So this was our chance.

Look at these two eager fishermen.

Once Jeff got their poles ready, they were off fishing!

This was Lily's first time fishing, so she got some extra help from Daddy. =)

She figured it out pretty quickly though!

Our plans were quickly dashed though when it started pouring down on us!

The kids hadn't caught anything either!

As we walked back to our condo, the rain began to let up a little and the boys thought they might try fishing from the bank right in front of our patio, but it started raining hard again. =(

We decided to give up and go to dinner.

By the time we got down to the Branson Landing, (it is a new water walk that is a really cool place for shopping and eating) the sun was shining and there was not a raindrop to be found!

After dinner, we walked to the fountains.

They have a fire and water show every evening.

Lily liked it until this started happening:

The boys however, loved the fire shooting high up in the air!

After we came back, it was still clear, so we decided to try fishing one more time.

They didn't catch any fish, but they had a lot of fun.

(Don't feel too sorry for them, they all caught fish later on in the week when we went to Table Rock Lake.)

More on our vacation to come soon!

Fishing

The other day on the news, I saw a story about a website called g2g outside (the address is http://g2goutside.wordpress.com/ ) They give parents ideas to get their kids outside and playing. Normally they have just had the website with ideas, but last night they held their first program. It was at the Great Plains Nature Center. Kids got to come and fish or hike for an hour.....and it was free! We chose the fishing, since I really didn't see hiking with Lily. They provided the poles and bait and had people out there helping. It was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed it.

After we got the hooks baited, thankfully not by me, we went to pick out our spot. Zach wanted to fish by himself....you know, because he's 6 and really old.......

Lily wanted to fish by herself, because you know, she's 2......

She did finally let Daddy help her though.

Riley was OK with help from the start.

One of the helpers came up to Zach to see how he was doing and he started asking her questions about the stuff in the water. I'm glad he asked her, because it looked like slime to me, but she got down there and was helping him pull stuff out and explaining what everything was. I loved how patient she was with him and how she answered question after question for him. She was great!

Finally, Riley caught a fish!!!

Look how excited he is! =)

Then we just had to wait until Zach caught one. I say only Zach, because by this time, Lily was all fished out. She had found the one spot of concrete and sat down on it...because really, why would she want to sit in the grass??? Definitely my girl. =)

Zach finally consented to letting Jeff help him.

Then he caught one!!! Yeah!

Then Lily tried to touch it......maybe she does have a little bit of her Daddy in her......

After we were done fishing we went back to the front where they had water and snacks for the kids. If you did the fishing clinic, you got a free kids tackle box! Then they had the drawing for the prizes and each of our kids got something!! On the way home I asked the kids what their favorite part was. Zach said catching the fish, which Lily quickly echoed, and then Riley said, "The snack!!" then thought, "Oh and catching the fish too..." What a silly guy. =)

The g2g people said that they will continue to have outdoor activity ideas on their site throughout the winter and they will try to have more fun free activities that they sponsor next summer. Yeah!!!