Family Fishing Day!

Eli LOVES fishing.

I mean, he absolutely loves to go out and fish all day long.  He watches fishing on TV, he talks about fishing with the boys, any gift that I have given to him in the last year has to do with fishing.  I've known this man for 13 years, and he has never woken up early to do anything, and a few days ago, he woke up at 5AM to meet my cousin and my uncle so that they could go out on the boat...to fish!

Well, what better way to spend a day as a family, then to have a (drumroll, please)...Family Fishing Day!  (I know what you are thinking...Wow, did Carmen actually go fishing with them?  I mean, she is a part of the family.  Did they leave her out?  Did she touch any fish?)

Yes, I am a part of the family, so I went fishing.  Someone has to think about packing snacks, packing hand sanitizer, making sure that Reese doesn't fall in, making sure that the boys actually use the hand sanitizer, packing the sunscreen, the bug spray, the water with lemon zest....and, did I mention the hand sanitizer?

It turned out to be a great day for fishing, and we even got to spend some rare one-on-one time with each child.  While Reese and Eli were fishing, Emmanuel and I explored the mill and went for a hike.  Both boys ended up catching one fish each, and Eli caught some, too!  The fish that Emmanuel caught was tiny, and I convinced him to throw the fish back in so that it could go on a playdate with his friends.  

Both boys had fun "fishing," but they mostly played in the water (I did think to myself...hmm...couldn't we play in the water at home), and hugging on their dad (another thing that we could do at home); but there is something about seeing their dad "in the fishing zone" that gets them all excited.  And, seeing the smiles on their excited, little, dirty fishing faces is more than good enough for me.