More Fishing at the Park

On Friday evening, we picked Ben up from the train after work and drove over to the park with the fish. Eli was excited about the pliers that we needed to get one of the fish off the hook:

We caught a handful of fish:

And I even caught some fish :)

Eli's First Fish

Yesterday we went to a nearby park that has a pond with blue gill and ducks. Eli had his first fishing experience and loved it! I'm sad Ben was gone at work, but it was fun that Eli got to experience it with his grandparents, who instilled a love for fishing in Ben at a young age.

Larry had dug up 10 worms earlier in the morning from our back yard, and it was the perfect amount for Eli's quick attention span :) They caught three fish total and it was all pretty fast. The wind was blowing and it was pretty chilly... brrr!

Fish #1

Fish #2



Fish #3
We threw each one back in the pond, but I was a little worried about this last one. Eli had fun holding it (being as gentle as a one-year-old can be), and thankfully the fish swam off when he landed back in the water.
Done with fishing, running over to the playground!
It was a fun morning at the park!

Backpacking in Yosemite

Things that make my husband happy:

Being outside

Fishing

Swimming

Hiking around

Getting a break from stresses of life

I would say Ben's backpacking trip through the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne in Yosemite National Park provided all of that and more. Here are some pictures from his trip (I am SO glad he's home!!):

Ben's youngest brother, Paul with their dad, Larry

Ben sporting the lovely hiking backpack I used 11 years ago on a canoe trip through Minnesota's Boundary Waters. I am pretty sure his gear was the most ancient, but that's okay. I think his pack weighed 42 pounds.

Pretty scenery in Yosemite!

Larry with Ben's brother Joe and wife Cami. She was the only girl on the trip - brave woman!

Reeves (Ben's brother Matt's 10-yr-old nephew), Matt, Paul, J.D., Alan (JD and Alan are cousins' husbands), and Larry. There were 9 total in their group.

Ben and the others caught a lot of fish on this trip.

Ben's Fishing Trip

Ben LOVES to fish. I would say that and playing soccer are his favorite hobbies. Last night he went over to the harbor at Lake Michigan near our home and caught this brown trout. We grilled it for dinner!

And while Eli and I were in Utah last weekend, Ben decided to take advantage of the time to himself and went fishing in Michigan on Saturday. He got up at 3 a.m., drove four hours into NW Michigan, and caught lots of fish! Then he drove four hours back to Chicago and was home by 11 p.m. I think he was exhausted on Sunday. (Ben didn't bring home any of the fish this time - or the turtle)

He caught two steelhead, shown above and below:

That first steelhead was pretty big!

He caught a turtle (not with his fishing pole!):

He caught four small-mouth bass:
And about 20 trout: