JUMBO Perch Fishing

Well, we have another.... another freshwater fish to be stuffed and mounted on one of our fish walls!  I already gave  away what was supposed to be the climax of the story.  Oops.

Last Wednesday, Eric took a day off of work (it was 40 degrees and a beautiful day, so why not?!?) and went fishing with a few of his work compadres.  They didn't have to travel too far to a place that was [currently] hot for catching jumbo perch.

The slough they fished is man-made and stocked with perch and walleye.  There are plenty of freshwater shrimp to keep the fish fat and happy.  And, it does not have river or lake feeds to invade the area with other species (like white bass or bullheads) that would consume the tasty feeding population.

When Eric got home, there was an "unveiling".  He caught ten beautiful perch, all of which were considered "jumbos".

Ramsey was excited!  He wanted to touch all of the fish.  At one point, he gave one of them a kiss!

The "small ones" were over 12 1/2" long each (and male).

 The big ones (females, full of eggs) were 13 1/2" to 14 1/2" long.

But, the largest fish he caught was just a tick shy of 15".

 We don't have a proud angler perch on either of the "fish walls" currently.  The decision was made that she would be taken to the taxidermist to be preserved, then hung with the rest of the trophy fish.

In the video below, Ramsey didn't shy away from some fish affection:

Ramsey stayed with Eric to keep him company while he cleaned the fish.  They dissected the tummies of the fish to see what they'd been eating.  For the most part, their bellies were rather empty.  One of them had a small minnow inside, still intact, which Eric pulled out.

Ramsey was a bit saddened and disheartened by the small dead fish.  We explained the food chain to him, ya know, in "preschool terms".   And, we all told the fish "thank you for giving your life so that we can eat you" (not that they had much choice in the matter).

And, thank you DADDY for being such a good fisherman (and out-fishing all of his friends - hehe).

Winter Church Carnival

Our church has a winter carnival.  I'm not sure how many years they have been doing this, but this is the first one that we have attended.   Eric and I took Ramsey there after Ramsey's eye appointment.  Ramsey had been looking forward to this all week!

There was SO much to see and do that I didn't get a ton of [good] pictures.  Mainly it was trying to keep an eye on our 4-year-old, amidst the plethora of toddlers, tots, and grade school kids, all running around like mad in their fury of excitement!

Of course there were bouncy houses.... three huge bouncy houses.  Those are always Ramsey's favorite.  After we went into the first, he bolted to the second, which was HUGE and, as we found out just a bit later (after Ramsey had already bowled his way through), was restricted to Age 7 and up (whoops).  Nonetheless, he jumped in, up, through, and over each obstacle.

He did require assistance with the 8' ladder that leads to the giant slide.

 On to the next bouncy house we went, where Ramsey had to patiently wait his turn in line.  This trip was a good learning experience in waiting in line like a big kid.

There were a ton of other games too, which rewarded kids with candy, stickers, pencils, and other super fun prizes.

For example, basketball (which they allowed a little bit of "cheating")...

 Plinko....

 Bottle rings....

 Bowling....

 He fudged a little on this one too, stepping in front of the line a little further than he was supposed to!

 And there were cake and cupcake walks (which we didn't partake in, as the lines were very long and also.... us old folks are on diets), face-painting, balloon artists, etc.

And, there was food... yummy BBQ sandwiches, chips, and ice cream sundaes.  Ramsey's supper this evening consisted of a bun, a couple of chips, and a big honkin' bowl of ice cream.   Go parents!

 This is certainly an event that we will be making a yearly ritual.  So much fun!

Quite a "Spectacle"

Ramsey and I made a trip to the optometrist last Friday, after a recommendation by The Lions Club (they had performed eye screenings at preschool just before Ramsey's birthday). The initial exam showed that Ramsey needed a more in-depth examination, as he had potential myopia.

Ramsey was SUCH a big boy throughout the exam.  They blew air into his eyes, gave him "the letter test", and put the drops into his eyes in order to dilate them (he wasn't thrilled with that process, but he was brave!).

The tests confirmed that he was near-sighted with astigmatism and would require glasses, full time.  So, we worked with the lovely Miss Sarah and Miss Elizabeth at the vision care center and found the perfect pair of chic-looking glasses.

 Ramsey goofed around quite a bit, trying to put two and three pairs on at a time (probably trying to "impress the ladies"), but overall, he just seemed kind of excited.

 The glasses should be in later this week.  We are eagerly anticipating his reaction when he is able to see things more clearly!

And, I just stuck a big fat "THANK YOU" letter in the mail to the local Lions Club.  Without this screening, who knows how long he would have gone without us realizing that he had a true vision problem?!

Connor's 16th Birthday

"Sweet Sixteen and never been kissed".  Hmmmm... or HAS he?  :-)   *wink*

Yes, our fun and smiley-faced Connor turned 16!   The sixteenth birthday is a mini milestone in one's young life.   Connor is a very wonderful and sweet young man and we are blessed!

Birthday: February 1, 2002

STATS
Height: 5' 10"
Weight:  145 lbs
Current Job:  Lifeguard at the YMCA
Best Friend/s:  Tayden, Jared, Dylan, Jason, and Lindy (wink wink)

FAVORITES:
Color: Blue
Food:  Shrimp (but he was rather undecided - he likes just about everything!)
Games: WWII Zombies or Black Ops III Zombies (XBox One)
Toys (he might be a little too old to call it "toys"!):  iPhone or XBox
Music:  He shrugged.  Connor's not a huge music buff.
TV Shows:  Z Nation
Movie:  He shrugged again.  We watch a lot of movies!
Restaurant: McDonalds
Outdoor Activity:  Fishing
Animal:  Dog
Favorite Sport:  Tennis or football
Favorite Thing to Do With Ramsey: Light saber fighting!