Fishin'

Our Kansas summer hasn't been nearly as hot as usual. August in Kansas is typically marked by 100-degree days and a blazing sun in the sky. However, this summer has been a pleasant one, with temperatures rarely reaching three digits. It's been a nice surprise, although it does make me wonder about the winter ahead ...

With summer quickly winding down, we decided to spend last weekend at the lake. The weather was beautiful and the water was equally as nice. It was a great way to spend a lazy summer afternoon.

We met a pal at the lake who also has two little boys. His oldest just began kindergarten and his youngest is just a few months older than our little man. The three of them make great friends and they all enjoy the fun of the lake.

Because the weather has been cooler, that also means the fishing was a bit better. While I still wouldn't call fishing at our local lake good, it is still fun to load up a hook and cast a line with the little man. The pal we met at the lake happens to love to fish for fun and has a keen eye for where the fish are biting, so we followed him over to little cove.

It was just a matter of minutes before he snatched up his net and threw it into the water. Out came a net full of little Shads. The boys squealed with excitement. He emptied the net into an orange bucket he had on his boat. The boys quickly swarmed the bucket and began sticking their hands in.

"Mommy! Look!" Little man squealed as he held a fish up for me to see. "It's a fish!"

The adults looked on and giggled as the three boys dug their hands into the bucket, pulling out fish after fish and watching them squirm in their hands.

They insisted on showing us each and every fish they had "caught." The boat deck was full of little fish that had squirmed out of little hands and fish scales.

It was a little boy's dream.

As the Shad one by one quickly became less squirmy and eventually "sleepy" (through no fault of little hands squeezing them and throwing them about, of course) we finally found a shore where the little ones could throw some rocks, squeeze some mud and explore as far as the eye could see (that is, as far as mommy's eye could see). We finished the night off with some gooey, sticky, s'mores fresh from the fire.

Preceded, of course, by a thorough drenching in hand sanitizer.