August 26, 2013 ~ Fish and Fair

Billy has been hoping to use his fishing rod to go fishing. We tried when camping, but it's hard to catch fish without bait. So, we were at Grandma's and I brought the fishing rod for Billy's first "real" fishing experience.

First, you need bait.

Mommy, to the rescue. I got a net and went hunting for grass shrimp. Billy, of course, wanted to join me, but I asked him to stay inside while I hunted for bait. I came away with a fair catch of grass shrimp for my efforts.

Then Billy, Daddy and myself went out onto the long dock to go fishing. I handed Daddy the net with the shrimp for him to bait the hook. When one jumped in a last ditch escape effort, Daddy freaked- only for a moment. He had never seen grass shrimp before.

That's okay. I'm used to baiting hooks with grass shrimp.

We got the two hooks on Billy's line baited. Then it was time to wait. Billy wanted to play with the rod- no go- can't feel the fish bite if you are playing with it. Then he wanted to hold the net- no go- there's bait in it. He did end up playing with the net and losing the rest of the bait.

BUT... not before we caught a, ahem, fish...

Okay, it's barely a fish. But we caught it together.

After fishing (and a much needed nap) we went to the State Fair.

We rode the ferris wheel in the background of this picture. Billy REALLY wanted to try the ferris wheel. He got scared for a bit when we first got on, since it's a big wheel, but liked it anyway. He really wanted to ride the Crazy Bus. He squealed with delight through the whole ride. Let's not forget the merry-go-round or flying elephants. Although, by far his favorite was the bus. He would have stayed all night to ride the rides, but we did have to go to bed at some point.

He also got to see lots of newborn farm animals- piglets, chicks, ducklings, calves. He opted not to pet them, although he could have if he wanted to. We tried out some fair food, played some fair games and won a light saber, and looked at the quilts and vegetables in the 4H pavilion.

We also got him honey sticks. He danced for joy after getting to have one. He wanted another, but he'd had enough sugar. And we did have to leave.

He cried on the way home. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay at the fair forever and ever. It was that much fun.