Wheelers Weekly: May 2009

Since we started having kids I have looked forward to the day that I would be able to share my love of the out doors with them. Since the time they were little they would go on campouts and we would fish lakes from the shore. They were just a little to small to do the fun and adventurous things. Last year during our father and sons outing we wanted to go fly fishing at a lake that has proven to provide some fun outing over the years. (This is actually one of the many times that Kristin had fallen in love with me because in all the times she had been fishing she never really experienced the joys of catching a plethora of fish in one day!) After some thought, I was able to find a way for Keane to fish right next to me on my pontoon boat. I rigged him up with some flies and a bobber and we ended up catching enough fish to keep him interested within a two hour span. Keep in mind he was two and a half years old at the time.

Over the last month I have been telling Lucy that I wanted to take her fly fishing and let her fish in her own float tube right beside me. This has been a day that I have looked forward to for six years and it was finally here. She was excited up to the time that we were actually getting into the truck to leave then the tears started and the nerves kicked in. Not knowing what to expect throughout the day I hoped for the best but expected the worse. On the ride up we got her excited and hopped up on sugar which proved to be successful.

On our last fishing trip to Colorado I got some kids waders and wading boots from my cousin, so Lucy was set up from head to toe (well from the neck down since I forgot to put sun screen and hat on

) she looked like she was ready to go pro! Even though I knew she was nervous she was a real trooper and stuck it out for three hours on the lake. From the time she got on the water to the time she got off she was catching fish even while eating fruit snacks and gold fish! She beat her mom’s record of nine fish and ended with eleven total. To top off a great day there were two times that she actually caught two fish at the same time. In all the years I have fished I have never done this.
Keane on the other hand acts like he is a pro since this wasn’t his first rodeo! He likes to tell us how it is done and rightly so the boy can catch fish! I put him with my dad since I was taking care of Lucy and from the beginning he was catching fish. One thing that everyone needs to know is Keane no matter what we are doing always falls asleep in the middle of our activities. A couple of weeks ago when we went quad riding all we could see is Keane’s head bobbing back and forth every time he would

fall asleep. On this trip he didn’t let us down, it was a good thing that the fishing continued to stay hot while he was asleep!
I can’t wait for our next adventure, I am thankful for kids who like the outdoors, a wife who will let us get away and a grandpa who loves to take his grandkids to do fun activities!

Lucy's First Catch of the Day!