A Day 25 miles out on the Ice

We actually had a weekend with no hockey this winter and headed out fishing. Amazing day on the ice with my boys! We were up and out the door by 5 a.m. and to the lodge in Baudette a little after 7. We had zero issues getting those boys out of bed! Funny how that works when we take them hunting too.
Bear and I weren't sure we should even attempt this trip. We end up with this grand idea in our heads and think the boys will get a long the whole time and we'll have a happy day of fishing. We can't help but keep trying things like this but part of me was dreading that we may end up stuck in a house for hours on end, catching no fish and crabby and fighting. Thankfully that wasn't the case. Makes me believe that other fun trips can happen!

We hadn't been in the house more than five minutes and Parker had a bite. He managed to set the hook and real in a keeper. The excitement he had was unforgettable. He gets giddy and all jacked up and it's so fun to watch!


This little guy instantly starting pouting that he didn't catch a fish right away but his brother did. I just had to remind him that he would get his chance and that we were going to catch fish! We've taken them before and sat all day and been miserable. But not this day!
Sure enough the next fish went to Emmitt. His mood quickly turned into pure excitement. One after the next he just kept catching fish! Believe me, we did lose a few, or they were too small to keep, but we kept getting bites! Never in all my years of fishing have I ever gone and hit the fish like this.
Of course Bella got to come with! She wasn't too interested in the fish. She would lick them once in awhile. But mainly she would sleep with one eye open and keep an eye on that flopping bag in the corner of the fish house. 
Emmitt was by far the best "fish measurer." We read them the rules and regs and they were sure to measure the fish and keep or toss them back. 
I managed to catch the biggest perch I have ever seen! She was huge and tasted yummy when Bear cooked her up for supper!
My boys and their fish! And footie jammie's too. They basically live in those things! 
Bear got a 22 incher! He was huge and had to be thrown back, but so fun to see those giant fish!
We headed back on the 25 miles of ice to the mainland. The trip home was a little scarier than heading out. I don't love being on the ice, especially that far out, but the pressure ridges that had developed while we were out quickly freaked us all out. We had another vehicle pass us when we stopped to check out the new ridge and the kind fisherman decided to lead us back and make sure we were okay. The boys judged our reaction and were a little more scared, but we reminded them that good people are out there and after an hour and a half ride we were back on dry land. Until next year Lake of the Woods!

Happy 7th Birthday Emmitt!

There is a first time for everything! And I'm not talking eating cereal out of a bowl without using a spoon. I'm talking about a little brother picking the exact same birthday party theme as his big brother. That has never happened. And I'm not so sure it'll happen again. But hey, I'm not complaining. It was very easy, I had all the decor ready to go and the ideas for the cupcakes already planned. Oooh, and I'll get to scrapbook both boys' pages with similar layouts and paper. Mom win!

The morning of Emmitt's birthday he was served Cocoa Puffs as his Kibble in a dog dish. He pounded it.

It's crazy every year how much he really changes, but this year there is a big difference. More and more boy looking and less baby face.

We celebrated with family at our house on President's Day. The boys had back to back hockey games over the weekend in two different countries. We just couldn't hold his birthday on the 13th...Friday the 13th nonetheless.

Guests were served "Toilet Water" to wash down their pupcakes.

Bone Appetit everyone! Enjoy a dog biscuit on your pupcake.

Don't forget to Fetch your utensil and wipe your paws! Oh and be sure to enjoy some puppy chow along the way!

Auntie Tammy loves the puppy chow and these goofballs. Pretty sure Uncle Scott taught Parker the "hide your finger up your nose" trick. 

Here we go...really turning seven when you blow out all the candles and the family has sung, "Emmitt has a birthday, Emmitt has a birthday, one year older than he was before." 

Happy seventh birthday Emmitt.  

Sledding birthday in Ranier, MN

Oh Emmitt I knew this year you were going to beg for a "kid party." You are turning seven and because your brother had a friend party when he was seven you were never going to let me forget that it was your turn.

Now I will remind everyone that I don't do kid parties well. I do family/adult parties pretty well if I do say so myself. Not kid parties. Parker cried through most of his Mario Kart party. Everyone was touching his stuff and not sharing and he sat on the stairs and cried. He just didn't know how to handle it. That was the one and only time we had a kid party in our house. So when Emmitt reminded me that he wanted a kid party I started to think outside the box. Mid February is full of freezing temps and lots of snow so we went for a sledding party. We had been dodging late starts and no school days this winter and it's been down right cold. We managed to sneak in a day full of sun and fun on the Ranier sledding hill.
Parker testing out his snowboarding skills.

Kane
Connor
Brooks
Madalyn
Chelsea
Taylor
Bre
Madalyn and Bre
Abbie
Connor, Andrew, Pablo and Emmitt--the Fearless Foursome
The Class of 2026
  The did manage to eat THIRTY hot dogs. And I figured out fairly quickly that almost all seven year olds really like marshmallows but not S'mores. I had a lot of left over graham crackers and chocolate. 
Super thankful that this guy right here can build an amazing fire (even if we did need to use the provided blow torch). He helped me stick massive amounts of hot dogs on roasting sticks, keep the fire stoked, wipe noses, help put mittens on, squirt ketchup and he even made me my own hot dog. 
Abbie
Taylor
Bre
Brooks
Connor
Kyan
Pablo
Andrew
Madalyn, Brennen, Chelsea
Pablo
Connor, Madalyn, Andrew, Emmitt
Morgan
Emmitt
Morgan & Emmitt
The big brothers came and had a blast riding dual over the huge jump. Lots of giggles while they tried to find out just how high they could fly.