Ice Fishing With The Whiffens

Gampa and the Whiffen men are big ice fishers.  Two weeks ago, they organized an ice fishing trip, and I crashed the party.  Hands down, it was one of the most fun excursions of my life.  We all gathered at Gampa's house around 9:00 in the morning.  Little did I know how much preparation went into this event.  Gampa has a huge box full of supplies, a huge sled to carry more supplies, a stove, card table, chairs, and even his own auger!  Very impressive.

The Whiffen boys (Connor and Sam) played hockey most of the morning.  They were so sweet with Gabe, who wanted to play "ice golf", too.  Uncle Doug drilled all of the ice holes, Gampa cooked all of the yummy sausages, and Uncle Jim, Uncle Bob, and Uncle Colin played cards and hockey throughout the morning. 

We didn't catch any fish that day.  I guess when they do catch fish, they let them go anyway.  It was amazing to me to watch them put forth all of this effort (getting the supplies together, getting them onto the ice, drilling the holes, setting the fish traps, etc.) all to just see if the fish would bite.  Fascinating.  And fun.

Our boys loved ice fishing.  They loved being with Gampa, their dad, their uncles, cousins, and Auntie Carole, who stopped by for a visit on the ice.  Gabe loved holding the hockey sticks and learning to hit the puck.  Zach loved taking rides in their sled and eating potato chips and other junk food.  When we had to leave, neither of the boys wanted to go.  Simply put, it was a magical day.  I won't forget it.

Uncle Colin dragging the supply sled

Connor & Sam lugging their gear to the ice

two little boys looking at the ice

here we go!

supply box sled ride

Uncle Bob & Uncle Jimmy

 

supply box

see the cribbage board?

getting skates on

Uncle Doug explaining how the fish traps work

Gampa's skates!

cribbage, of course

 

Connor & Gabe

getting the auger started

Uncle Doug drilling the holes!

here's one of our holes

setting the traps

oops! 

here's one of the traps

watching the trap

Uncle Jimmy

cousin Sam

eating chips

eating chips again

cooking the sausages

I love that shot - Connor is a love

gah!

thanks for the ride, Connor!

Auntie Carole's here!

Zach can't even see with that hat!

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

We decorated kites at Zoe's birthday party back in November, and we finally tried to fly them a couple of weeks ago.  It didn't go so well.  There wasn't enough wind, and I guess you need a lot of room to run?  I kind of forget how to fly a kite, actually.  Ooops.  Needless to say, Gabe found the activity quite frustrating (sorry, buddy!).  Zach, on the other hand, had a blast simply running and dragging the kite around the backyard. 

"I did it, Mom!"

can you see Gabe's look of concentration?

I love this one - he seems so into it

love this one, too

string around the neck - eek!

pa-toot!

Wenham Children's Museum

We took the boys to the Wenham Children's Museum a couple of weeks ago.  The boys and I'd been there once before.  It's a cute little museum in the center of Wenham, and they have a (very, very crowded) small train room exhibit.  Zach was in his glory!  Gabe enjoyed it, too. 

pushing the button to make the train go!

look at that face!

gah!

I love watching Thomas!

pointing out the train to Dada

gah!

so excited!

it was hard getting Zachie to leave....

No More Cribs At Chez Fredette :-(

It's official.  We now have two big boys; they're not little anymore.  Zach's sleeping in a "big boy bed" now.  Waaah! 

Jason had been pushing me to transition Zach into his toddler bed for a while now, but I was dragging my heels.  I mean, he hadn't even tried to get out of his crib, yet!  (By this age, Gabe had already climbed out a few times.)  And, Zach's my baby.  It's hard to let go. 

Jason was right, though.  Zach was ready.  He was so happy; so proud to have a big boy bed like "Dabe".  The funny thing is that he never seems to get out of it.  I feared that he'd never nap again, that he'd wake up and get out of bed in the middle of the night, etc.  Nope.  That little guy still waits in his bed for someone to come into his room.  Gah!  Love it! 

Oh, and he's still sleeping with his head under the pillow.  Auntie Auntie got to see him dive under his pillow one night (pre toddler bed), and she got a huge kick out of it.  She likened it to watching a porpoise dive under the ocean.  Too funny.  He's a love.

here I am in my big boy bed!

loving my Thomas the Train pillow

trying out my pillow

proud big brother - as soon as Zach climbed in, Gabe yelled, "Quick, Mom, get the camera!"

he looks so little in there!

and this is a photo of him sleeping under his pillow - those would be his legs sticking out from underneath

see his legs?  see the big white pillow covering his head and torso?

Talking About Titi

We were driving home from OT this afternoon, when out of nowhere Gabe starts talking about Auntie Titi.  This is how the conversation went:

Gabe:  I thought Titi lived with Momo.

Me:  She lived with Auntie Auntie for a while; then she lived with Momo for a while; and now she's going to stay with Tuppa Poppa for a while.

Gabe:  And then she's going to stay with us?

Me:  No.  We don't have an extra bedroom.

Gabe:  You could go visit with friends and see your friends and Titi could stay in your room.  How does that sound, Mom?

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Actually, after the morning that I had with my two boys today, that sounds just fine!!