Big Fish

On our fishing trip this month we saw more than we thought we would.

We tried getting closer.

And before we knew it, the BIG fish was beside the boat!  Very exhilerating to be so close.

But this wasn't the fish we were after.  And only serious fisherman were on this boat.

First catch of the day. . . .

Halibut 1 for the count.

Halibut 2 for the count.

And I think this was Halibut 2 that was hooked, just took a little more work to get it in the boat.

So the largest halibut award went to Eric and his estimated 45 lb halibut.

While all of this is going on, Tate is still working on getting his up off the ocean floor.

But the hard work paid off.  He had the second largest halibut.

But he won the prize for the largest silver.

And we all had alot of fun.  The freezer is full of fish, so if anybody wants some halibut, you know how to contact us or find us for a nice fish meal.

Visitor for Ellie

Ellie had a visitor the other day.

They said their hello's, chatted for a while. . . .

Played hide-and-seek. . . .

And then went on about thier days.

Helping Dad

With all the rain we have gotten in the last month, the grass has really grown.  And with growing grass comes mowing the lawn.

Tate decided he wanted to help out, so he gave the mower a test run.

A little bigger than he is but he got the hang of it.

It was much easier for him to mow under the trees than it was for dad.

Freezer Full

Well the chickens have finally found their final home in our freezer.  Here Tate and Eric are making sure the chickens are weighing enough before butchering time.

This is only one cooler full of chicken. Two and a half coolers full = 25 whole chickens.  They turned out really good.

On average they were 6 lbs each.

The whole house helped out with this late evening project.  But we finished it up and our freezer is full. 

Great Day for a Hike

So while we had company we went on a short hike.  It was a great day and the weather was perfect.  These falls are called Thunderbird Falls.

Tate found an interesting tree to sit in.

Then him and Grandpa hid in one, waiting for someone to come by to scare.

Then we all found a good place to take a group picture. 

Glaciers and Wildlife

So we took a day cruise this past weekend.  We were able to see some spectacular views and events that few get to experience, especially to up-close and in person.  Tate is standing in front of the catamaran that we took this cruise on. 

We were able to catch a large chunk of glacier calve.

And it really made a wave.

The weather was a little cool, but we were dressed appropriately and enjoyed our time.

One of the best things was being able see a humpback whale so up close.  We actually got to see two different ones, and it was very cool to be so close.

Not only were the glaciers and the wildlife amazing, but so were the views.

We also saw many icebergs floating around.  The closer to a glacier we got the more ice that appeared.

Gone Fishin

So the boys have been itching to get out and go fishing, it was just a matter of waiting for all the ice to melt. So this weekend we finally made it out to the lake.  The evening didn't start out too good, but it ended up being very exciting.  First catch was a tiny little rainbow, but after that it was a fight!

Tater helps land the first catch into the boat, a little weary of falling overboard, but he got it figured out soon enough.

The first Artic Char for 2011.

Tate didn't have to wait long and he was really fighting to hang onto his pole.  If you can see from his face, he is really putting his all into getting this fish to the boat.

And he finally landed it!

Was a really big fish, the biggest one Tate has caught, and he was super excited.

As the boys called it, we sure hit the honey hole.

Tate was getting the hang of the net while he wasn't catching his own fish.

Tate's last catch of the day.  This one was a just as big if not bigger, but he was alot more wiggly and hard to hang onto with all the fish slime.

But the evening ended good and we finally loaded up at 9 to head home.