Chicks in the Nest

Fisherman in Biscayne Bay - that is Miami in the background

Fisherman arrived home today after a special thirteenth birthday trip to Fort Lauderdale with my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law (bless her heart) has spent the last week catering to my boy and his every whim. What are his whims, you ask? Let me back-up a bit and give you a little background info. The idea for this entire trip started in the spring when Fisherman did a report for school on the I.G.F.A. museum (International Game Fishing Association) and he might have said more than once how much he wanted to go there. (Yes, my eldest son even writes about fishing. It consumes him!) Anywho, his little comments about going to the museum are precisely the kind of comments that fall on a parent's deaf ears, but grandparents don't seem to miss. Yeah grandparents! So, off they went to Fort Lauderdale.

The eighty pound nurse shark that Fisherman caught.

Fisherman really put some thought into this trip. He scoped-out a hotel adjacent to the museum to stay in. The museum is right by a very large Bass Pro Shop. This is Fisherman's mothership. He lives to go to this place and can spend hours carefully combing through it. They went to Bass Pro everyday. They got to know the employees. This was not by accident. My boy is no dummy. Did I mention that they went to Bass Pro everyday? Fisherman got to meet Guy Harvey, one of his idols. (Who is Guy Harvey? He is a wildlife conservationist, fisherman and artist. You have probably seen his work and don't realize it.) They took an airboat through the Everglades and went fishing in Biscayne Bay. I don't know about my mother-in-law, but Fisherman had a ball. She has set the bar high for thirteenth birthday trips. (by-the-way: Sweet Pea is already talking of Paris - oh dear).

Guy Harvey artwork found here

All my chicks are in the nest, for now anyway. We celebrated by having a family dinner and Sweet Pea decorated a delicious cake with the mad-skills that she learned in cake decorating class at fine arts' camp last week. Sporty has been perfecting his dive. He learned how in lessons last week. We are together for a bit until camp and the rest of the summer madness hits again. Me? I am enjoying my chicks in the nest. Don't worry though, I will get over it and you can bet that I will be the first car in line for camp drop-off in a couple of weeks!

xoxo,

Krissy

Good things come to those who BAIT!

Sweet Pea and one from her catch

Capn' Bucky and Fisherman

The two oldest mini-pearls went with Mr. Pearl and Uncle G on a bay fishing excursion. This has become a tradition with Fisherman, but this was Sweet Pea's first time. We were all a little nervous about how she would fair. She is not a delicate little flower and loves to get down and dirty, but her mood tends to change with the wind and we weren't sure what would happen if she decided she was finished and they were miles from the dock and she couldn't have her way. (all of you with daughters I'm sure can relate) We worried for NOTHING! She was a trooper and had a blast and because of this, so did everyone else!

We have used the same Captain for years - Captain Bucky. He is a crusty, Southern man that grew-upon the coast and has taught Fisherman so much! Fisherman caught his biggest catch to date: a 20 pound Spanish Mackerel. The fish put-up an exciting fight for 20 minutes, and Fisherman was over the moon! They threw back the fish, as they are not great eating, but came home with plenty more and we enjoyed grilled fish for dinner!

I had to include Sport Cort in this post. He was not the least bit disappointed in not going on the fishing trip. He was perfectly content to take his spending money to the souvenier store and purchase his catch - a lively, neon orange jellyfish "lovey" that he christened "Stingy".

Cort and Stingy

Happy Fishing!

Krissy