Gone Fishin'

We are havin' fish and french fries tonight!

After a full day for fishing, we really hauled!  The boys and I went to a trout pond near Evansville in the morning and fished Lake Leota in the afternoon.

The trout fishing was really exciting! Nathan caught the largest fish with his spiderman fishing pole, a 12 inch brooke trout.  He also had a great fight from another brooke trout.  Unfortuately while mom was trying to remove the hook, the fish slipped out of my hands and flapped back into the lake.  We all just stood there in unbeleif for a moment. "Did that just happpen?" Nathan was a good sport about it and just said "oh well". 

Caleb went on to reel in a 10 inch and an 11 inch rainbow trout. Mom learned to hold onto all subsequent fish while digging out the hooks. :) Caleb is a natural at fishing, he is very patient and knows just when to start reeling.  He was the one who most enjoyed watching the guts get cleaned.

David caught two 11 inch rainbow trout. He was so independant doing all the baiting and netting himself.

After trout fishing we went to Lake Leota.  Our little town's lake was  drudged and cleaned 4 years ago. It was refilled 3 years ago and is mostly young catch and release only fishing. 

So in the Am we fished for supper. Afterword, we fished for sport. The picture of the bucket is the catch and release fish. Obviously we ate the trout. Yum.

New Paint for David and Nathan

So now that Caleb has moved out of the "boys' room", David and Caleb felt it was only fair to get new paint in their room too.  I agreed. 

Off to Ace hardware we went to gather paint samples.  David wanted the room green. Nathan wanted to paint it orange.  We gathered all orange and green samples and taped them to the wall.

I hoped they would both "come to their senses " and pick a nice calm color they both agreed on. Ha! Fat chance on that.

In the end we agreed to buy green for the bottom of the room and orange for the slanted ceilings.  David picked olive garden green. Nathan picked golden city orange. 

I clenched my teeth and said "ok it is your room." The Ace paint worker said: "well you cant be depressed with this color on the walls!"

We moved them into our bedroom for 2 days and nights. Their belongings were exploded all over the hallway.  My hair was punk orange streaked for 2 days. 

While painting, I almost cried. I will forever remember stenciling those airplanes in that room while David napped as a baby. Sigh. 

Then John said something that really picked me up. He said: "Those were good days, but these are good days too!" He is right. These really are good days. This was their room and if they wanted it orange and green, then why not. Be glad they didn't pick black!

I have to admit that I was irritated to paint 4 coats of punk orange in order to cover those beloved airplane stencils. But, in the end it turned out great.

The carpet "glows orange" with the reflected orange slanted ceiling walls when you turn on the light.  That happens to be their most favorite part about it.

They were all smiles to move back in their "new room".

Here is a picture of David with the millennium falcon. In the background you can see the old sky blue walls with one of the airplane stencils.  Then another picture of the same area, as it looks now.

Millennium Falcon Complete

The whole top of it unfolds to show the inside. Amazing what legos can do, isn't it? 

It was a fun project.

Caleb Moves Out

Caleb really likes to sleep with the light on.
Nathan and David don't.
Caleb doesn't like any decorations on the walls because their shadows freak him out at night.  David and Nathan want to hang everything up on the wall.

So we repainted the playroom and moved Caleb into his own room.  It was the easiest decoration job I have ever done. He wanted NOTHING, just plain walls, books and his dog.

He has been sleeping like a champ ever since.  Caleb is very much enjoying his "alone space". Maddie is enjoying Caleb's new room too. Since it has nothing for her to chew up she gets her nights with Caleb on his bed. A good match for them both. Why didn't I do this sooner?

Millennium Falcon Almost Done

David has just 10 steps to go to complete this project. He is on step 123. What a good summer break rainy day activity.

Baseball Ends

Halfway thru summer break already!

Baseball season ended last week and the Baierls are happy to have a few non rush out the door evening meals.

It was a good season. David's league switched to kid pitching this year. Most of the players experienced a bean ball or two when up to bat from an inexperienced opposing team pitcher. For the most part all the kids adjusted well to the new pitching style.

David pitched the second to the last game of his season. He had an all time baseball high experience that game.  He struck out 3 kids in one inning. I could see his smile from the bleachers. 

Caleb and Nathan's last 2 games were canceled due to extreme heat.  They were ready to be committment free for a few weeks.  They didn't seem to mind. Both of them really enjoyed their coach
this year. 

We have put the cleats away till next year. Now to the BEACH!

Cherry Pickin

Not the fruit, cherry picker; this one is the machine.

John rented this machine to do some work on the house and trim a willow tree.

The boys enjoyed a "ride".