Fishing Times

After school about a week and a half ago, Eric grabbed Connor and they took off for the new fishing hot spot!  
For the first hour or so, it was quite solemn, with no bites.  But, at Prime Time, the catch was "on"!
The boys caught their fill of walleye, plus a huge white bass, and happily returned home!

Now, I had been PLANNING to hold off on this post until the boys' second trip.  They were going to make it a "combo" trip with both fishing and hunting.  They would hunt on the way to the fishing spot, then get out the poles when it was just about dusk.

Their first once-over with the pheasant hunt proved to be only hens.  When they were getting back into the truck, they heard a "hisssssssssss".  Oh my, they had a flat tire.   They had to call a nearby town's tire store... at 4:58 PM (luckily, someone answered).  An hour later, the tire guy hadn't shown up yet, so Eric called me.  I called the local county police department, they hunted down the guy (they knew him - aaaah, love small towns!), and he was there in 15 minutes (the guy couldn't find them, out in the middle of nowhere, and they didn't have Eric's phone number!).  They didn't make it in time for the big catch and only got one bite before they threw in the towel (plus it was dark).

On their way home, they stopped in that small town to grab some gas and a bite to eat.  And guess what?  Yup, another flat tire!  They had the same crew help them fix it.  I will spare the colorful details on the boys' frustration, but they were NOT happy campers.  When they got home (around 10 PM last Monday night), they were ca-rabby!  And who can blame them?

Eric told his buddy about this (the one who knows the locals in the fishing area).   The friend concluded something that we too had suspected; the local farmer must have put tack strips down on the road to divert hunters and fishermen from the area.   

What should have been a very FUN and prosperous hunting/fishing and father-son trip turned out to be quite a catastrophe.  Oye.  :-(    But, they got the time together.  That was the up-side!   And... they have quite a story.   ;-)

Happy Learning by Little Gamers

Every kid loves the newest technology; learning games, strategy games, entertainment games, watching video clips on YouTube.  Our kids are no exception.    To say that learning how to use the technology starts at a young age and that mastered skills are the outcome is certainly no exaggeration.

Connor as a wee tot playing a computer game, using commands to pass through doors, down corridors, etc:

One of Ramsey's newest favorites is a strategy game called "Thinkrolls 2" that involves careful contemplation of moving blocks, popping balloons, putting out fires, etc, to maneuver through mazes.  Everything must be done in a precise sequence to finish the map and proceed to the next maze.   Here, he's having some "alone time" in our bedroom, playing his Kindle.

Together, Connor and Ramsey are bonding over Scribblenauts tactics (Connor is being a great Big Brubby and showing Ramsey some new ways to accomplish his mission):

Giggling at Scribblenauts (apparently the wizard is quite a hoot):

Sidenote: Yes, our kids do have "limits" for their usage of devices but it amazes us how much actual learning can be done while having fun.   

Prime Time Fishing... in October

Fishing in October?  ...sounds strange in our neck of the woods, doesn't it!?!?!

Eric had caught wind of a new fishing spot that was proving to be a major hot spot lately.  It turns out, Eric had been to this hot spot before (at least ten years ago), but he was there to ice fish.   The big bite, he was told, is at dusk, so Eric took off yesterday afternoon to check it out.

Fishing in his waders, his first bite was a big northern that chomped his jig.  Thereafter, it was smooth sailing with continuous bites of beautifully-sized walleye and perch.   He stayed longer than he needed to (caught his fill quite early on), but stayed to catch and release, as he was having a good time!  (Who wouldn't!?!)

I kept Ramsey up past his bed time so he could see the fish.  Eric was excited to show him his loot!
And, Ramsey was excited to see!

He caught his limit of walleye, plus a jumbo 14" perch.

Sidenote:  While cleaning the fish, we were a bit shocked to see the perch and the female walleye were full of eggs.  We'd never thought about it before (and hadn't cut into a Fall fish), so it was something new.  I'll be Googling more about fish gestation, egg production, etc.  I'm curious!

So excited!!

Eric has already planned to take Connor to the new hot spot this Friday, after school.  Hopefully they'll come home with a packed cooler of fish!

Our Trip to the Pumpkin Ranch

'Tis the Season... for pumpkins!   Fall is here!

Last Saturday, Eric, Ramsey, and I visited the local pumpkin patch, just a few miles away.   It was the last weekend for the patch and we had a nice sunny (but a little windy) day for the venture.

This lovely treasure patch has a plethora of various types of pumpkins, squash, and gourds to choose from.   They also have hay rides, cart rides for the kids, nicely-decorated photo opp areas, and friendly horses for the kiddos to pet.

At first, it might have been overwhelming for little Ramsey, as he looked around the acres of plant life in amazement.

He certainly didn't waste any time though and "got to work", finding squash, pumpkins, and gourds.

Ramsey was so busy looking around and gathering treasures that he wasn't interested in taking pictures where he had to "be still and just smile".  I tried!

He found this beautiful pumpkin which he thought he could pick up.  ...turns out, he needs a few more muscles to be able to grab it and go!

He found this fun green gourd too.... which he apparently adored, as he kept kissing it on his way back to the wagon.

 The search continued for the best pumpkins.

 There were weeds everywhere.  Ramsey contemplated for a long time, whether or not to tromp into them.  I'm happy he decided otherwise! 

Now that we have these wonderful pumpkins and gourds, we have "projects".  I will be painting a set of pumpkins to look like BB8 from the new Star Wars movie.  Eric plans to create a detailed carving of either Darth Vader or Kylo Ren from Star Wars.  Ramsey is pretty excited; Star Wars is his favorite!

Getting Some Air

For months, we've been waiting for Ramsey's speech therapist to bring a trampoline for Ramsey to try.  She thought that he'd benefit from it, from a sensory perspective, and they have a toy-lending program at Avera.

The trampolines are apparently tough to come by and are always in use by the physical and occupational therapists.  So, knowing Ramsey is a wild man and loves to jump on couch cushions (and figuring I could use as an exercise device if he hated it for whatever oddball reason), I bought one (that has a "safety handle" on it).  

It has quickly become one of Ramsey's new favorite toys.  This kid gets some serious air when he's jumping!   Eric says he needs a helmet.  :-)

Right after we put it together, NO ONE could come near it; it was Ramsey's and there was no sharing that was going to occur.  Since Day 2, I'm the only one who can jump on it with him.   I can't tell you how many times in a day I hear "Mama, UMP!" (he doesn't say his hard J's yet).   It's pretty darn fun.  

We do have to watch Ramsey, not only from a "safety" perspective but also because he laughs so much he gets the hiccups.  And, sometimes when he gets the hiccups... well, we'll leave the next  part unsaid.  :-)

Counting Kiddo

Here's just a quick little video of Ramsey counting fridge magnets.

He's usually enunciating more, but of course I don't have my camera on me when we're reading books and such, without distractions.

Still, not shabby for a 2-year-old.