Little Miss Engineer

Oh, I wish I were a Union Pacific Choo Choo,

That is what I'd really like to be...

For if I were a Union Pacific Choo Choo,

Everyone would fall in love with me!

CHOO! CHOO!

First place winner of the Dunsmuir, California's Annual Railroad Days Little Miss Engineer Contest in the 6-8 year old catageory! Our "Little Miss" was a passenger on the Union Pacific Railroad and even rode in her own little choo choo while throwing candy in the parade!

Happy Fourth of July!

(Wordless Wednesday)

Fishing Fun

One of the best parts of spending time with Grammy and Poppy is all the fishing trips! Whether it's ice-fishing during the winter on Castle lake or out on the boat at Lake Shastina, off the dock at Irongate Reservoir, and off the shore at a Mount Shast Fish Hatchery pond, my kids are getting to experience some of the enjoyment I had as a kid with my family. Not to mention that they are becoming quite proficient fishermen, too!

I have fond memories of fishing while growing up. I loved our camping trips we would take that always centered around good fishing lakes. I'd wake up with my dad just before the first light of the day would start and we would usually don our sweats (and garbage bags if it were raining) and quietly slip out onto the lake before the birds -or anyone other living being- had even started greeating the day. We'd spend hours out on the lake until we finally had our fill and usually couldn't wait to use a bathroom any longer. Then there were entire days spent on the lake or river, sometimes with never a bite and sometimes we'd be catching blue-gills so fast that I could drop my bare hook over the edge of the boat and have a fish in the boat before my dad ever had a chance to toss me a new worm! I have so many memories of fishing as a kid and they all come flooding back to me each time we take the kids now.

I love what fishing taught me: patience, perseverance, and to enjoy life as it was, especially with my dad. I miss those opportunities now as they seldom come living in the suburbs of Phoenix. But I'm glad that my kids will grow up knowing the joy of fishing. Thanks Mom and Dad!