Kids trout fishing and camping

We recently had one of our funnest weekends ever with the kids when we went camping and trout fishing at Roaring River state park in Missouri. We went with my friend from college, Brandy, and her family. We borrowed a travel trailer from a friend (thanks Emily) because our first tent-camp experience was horrendous. What a difference this made and the kids loved the fishing part of it. We actually caught three fish, Brandy's brood caught four, and we cooked them all up for dinner. I even cleaned my fish which I haven't done since I was 13 or so! I was surprised with Jeff playing Army for so many years that he LOVED it and it inspired us to buy our own camper so that we can continue going all summer long! We looked all over the place and Chico found us one on Monday while he was out doing a job. We bought it that night and are in the process of getting it loaded up with all the things we need for our next camping trip--hopefully at the end of June. I can't say it enough----GREAT family time! No TV, no computers and permission to be dirty! In other news, the kids and I are headed to California next week for ten days to see my sister graduate high school and just have some fun. Jeff will be TDY most of June, but in the end he will hopefully be sliding over to the job he has been waiting for since he joined the National Guard. A definate plus for us. The house is still moving slow, with frustration reaching a peak but I am trying to take deep breaths, count to ten, and make fists with my toes. Needless to say, I get a lot of toe cramps...I keep telling myself that it will all be worth the wait in the end. Right?!?

The kids not only enjoyed fishing but feeding the trout at the hatchery and walking the trails. This one was quite a hike up the side of a mountain---lots of steps and then a steep climb. The kids were pretty pooped after that!

Here is Jack reeling in his first trout. It was actually hooked by a fishing volunteer for him to reel in but no difference, he was super excited!

These are the two fish we (me) actually caught--Jack reeled them both in for me and I stepped on them to make sure they didn't jump back in the river! Ha, ha! Seriously, we did forget our net!




















Molly enjoyed casting her practice lure more than actual fishing but when she was doing that, she was happy!

One our first casts! Jack was determined to catch a fish!















Molly lost interest pretty quickly--here she is relaxing with my friend Brandy.

One more House picture

I wanted to add this one last picture for those who asked to see what the house was looking like. This is the top front (still framing the garage and ceiling/roof). There is a walk-out basement below that backs up close to the treeline.

Birthday Boy and House Pictures

Just last week I was able to head up to Michigan to visit my sister and her family. The occasion was Alec (the cutie above) turning one but really, we were just due for a visit. His birthday gave us a good reason to go. The kids really enjoyed seeing their cousins, and other than the 12 hour drive I had a nice visit too. When I got back I was pleased to find that a lot had changed at our "homestead." The framing is almost done and barring a ton of rain--we hope to have a roof by the end of the week. We are planning our first trout fishing/camping trip this weekend and are really looking forward to that. Fortunately we have a friend willing to lend us their camper and we are NOT doing the tent thing again. We are also closing on our lake property this Friday. It really breaks our heart to sell it but we all know it is for the best. That's it around here for now--stay tuned!














Here are the kids "posing" in the basement of the house. They really enjoyed this visit out to the property because they could actually see and stand in their own rooms. I was glad to see that they actually understood what was going on.

Michigan Pictures

While in Michigan we headed over to Kalamazoo for lunch and a visit with Aunt Amy (Jeff's sister) and Uncle Trin. We had a great time and I am CERTAIN Jack and Molly gave them a good dose of experiencing toddlers.














Here are the kids with Aidan and Abbey --I think Alec was napping???














We were lucky to get to see Grandpa and Grandma Gonzalez too. They had flown in from San Diego for Alec's first Birthday.