~DAY 8~

Joel had his friend, Shaun, sleep over last night. Yesterday they spent the entire day fishing, but this morning it was overcast and rainy and they were growing increasingly annoying with each passing hour that they were locked inside. Finally noon rolled around, the sun (sorta) came out, and mom decided to try to find a way to get them outside. After downloading a free geo caching app, we all piled in the car and ended up having the greatest afternoon. Joel and Shaun were immediately hooked, and both ended up having quite a knack for finding the things. After finishing up several that were located around town, we all stopped for ice cream cones before eventually taking Shaun home.

~DAY 4~DAY 5~

GIRL'S NIGHT OUT!

Mom, Ruth, Me, & Ellie <3
Wednesday - Thursday, May 11-12, 2011

~DAY 3~

I would like to say I spent my afternoon diligently helping my mom and aunt with gardening. But to be quite honest, the entire time I was playing with the goose. Let me explain.

So, a couple of weeks ago, Joel saw the movie Fly Away Home for the first time. Several days later he emerges from a hike in the woods with an egg, and informs mom that he is going to take care of it until it hatches... just like in the movie. As you have probably guessed, the thing actually did hatch, and now is 2 weeks old. Today we decided it was high time she learn that she is actually a water foul. It took a couple of tries, but...

~DAY 2~

Today was a perfectly magnificent! Only mom and I were home for most of the day, and since we were car-less, we spent time outside, reading, talking, planning a girls night out (stay tuned for day 4 or 5!), and took walk with Aunt Paige and Meaghan. When evening approached we celebrated the gorgeous 70 degree weather by firing up the grill for the first time of the summer!

Not to brag, but I am pretty skilled at flipping burgers...

And we're all pretty skilled at putting em away...

~DAY 1~

Just insert Andy Griffith theme song here:

After his persistent asking, I finally agreed to go fishing with Joel this afternoon. I quickly grabbed a bag a stuffed in my journal and a Max Lucado book, expecting to get some good reading time in. We set off down to the creek and before long Joel had spread out a blanket and cast his line. And then the unthinkable occurred. My hyperactive, energetic, turbocharged, 11 year old brother sat down with his pole and a comic book, and told me we had to be super quiet so we don't scare the fish. I giggled to myself as I attempted to nod seriously in agreement. This child can't even get through a bowl of cereal quietly. To my surprise, he did stay there for a while. When he would move, it was just to re-cast the line or move to a different section of the creek. We met a different couple fishing, Caroline and Ted. They were the sweetest, and stopped by to give Joel pointers on bait and inform him of the best fishing times. In the end, I did not get that much reading done. But I did learn:

• 6-7pm is the best time to catch fish in the creek
• Those rubbery colorful things are called spinner baits
  
• Joel apparently excels at knotting his hook
• Time flies out there, even when your not getting any bites ;-)