The fish were biting at Holter!

What a great day to be on the ice! The weather was pretty mild, and when we got out there, we quickly found that the fish were biting. There were a few challenges… when Clint got out the auger, he realized the it was sitting wrong in the truck and most of the gas had leaked out. Once I got Dane dressed, he went out and joined Clint, and I made a quick trip to a little store nearby and got 30 cents worth of gas… Yes, that’s right, 30 cents… The augers have little tiny tanks!

When I got back Clint said, “well I have some good news and some bad news” I could see Dane was okay so I curiously asked what the good news was. Clint responded that he had caught one fish while I was gone… that’s awesome, so what’s the bad news? Well, Dane wanted to be helpful and took the ice scooper out of the bucket. Clint caught a fish and was momentarily distracted. All the sudden he hears “uh oh, uh oh” and realizes Dane had dropped the ice scooper through a hole in the ice!
Anyway, we got the tip-ups set and Clint was getting ready to fish with a pole when we had another small mishap. Clint had been scooping the ice out with his hands (because we didn’t have a scoop... have I mentioned my hubby is a stud). Dane had been watching closely. I was a few steps away getting the chairs out of the sled and Clint was baiting a hook when Dane decides to be helpful again, and scoop the ice out of the hole with his hand… Needless to say he didn’t do so well and ended up shoulder deep in the icy water.

After a few minutes of assuring him he was okay… (it kind of scared the little guy) I took him back to the truck to assess how wet he had really gotten. (the water dripping off his hand and arm wasn’t a good sign)

Well, a couple weeks ago there was a great sale and I was able to pick up some wonderful toddler mittens that are waterproof. They worked great and his hands were still dry and toasty. His arm was a little wet but we put his coat on the defroster, warmed up and before I knew it he was ready to head out again!
So, out we went and ended up catching 6 nice trout by the end of the day! (okay, 5 nice trout and one little guy that swallowed the hook so we couldn’t release him)  It was so much fun and Dane really enjoyed himself. There was a little peninsula near where we were fishing so we would walk over and he climbed around, played in the snow and just had a great time.

Here are a few pictures from the day!

This was a very nice trout! 

Bones always thinks his job is to fetch, regardless of what it is.  The only downfall is that Dane gets really mad when Bones takes "his fish".

Dane is learning...

A nice stay at the cabin!

Over the weekend we were able to go out to the cabin and enjoy the slower pace!  We had such a great time, saw a ton of fun critters, and got to watch the snow come down!

There are a bunch of deer wintering in the area around the cabin.  Here is a picture of a couple of the bucks that are hanging out.

While hanging out in the cabin Dane got to enjoy his pack and play as a fort! 

Brrr...  This was when the snow first started.  The deer were all out feeding and when the would take off running a big poof of white snow would come off their backs.  It looked pretty cool.

Dane checking out the deer as well...  (he actually has them turned the right way...  usually he looks through them backwards!)

A bighorn ram that was up on the bank above us eating... 

Some more sheep

Dane takes after his father...  But at least Clint doesn't physically plug his ears when I'm talking to much!!!

Okay...  So I totally feel like the next picture needs a disclaimer with it!

******  Dane wanted in the kennel with Bones and he wanted the gate shut!  We did not force him into the kennel and we did not make him sleep in there overnight! :)   (No matter how tempted we were!)******

Dane thought it was the best thing ever and would have stayed in there a long time...  Bones, not so much.  He was kind of like "the kid's okay but I'm kind of at his mercy in here!"

Beautiful scenery...

Visiting the old "stomping grounds"

Today we headed up to Lake Francis which is one of our favorite fishing places from when we lived in Conrad.  We always seem to catch something up there and have landed some of our biggest fish.  (I caught an 18 lb northern pike when I was pregnant with Dane and Clint has caught some really nice walleye!!!)

Anyway, the weather was supposed to be calm and clear with highs in the low 40's.  Perfect weather for a day out on the ice with the family.

About halfway there we got into some heavy fog that never lifted.  When we got to the lake it was nice and calm, but pretty chilly.  Clint headed out to start setting up tip-ups and I started the process of getting Dane ready.  (Lots of layers!!!)  He has learned that fighting me on this process does no good so we were able to get through it pretty quick and head out to "help" Clint.  By the way...  I highly recommend "toasty toes"(little foot warmers with adhesive backs to stick to your socks).  I was hesitant to use them on Dane in case they got too hot, but as long as his boots are on they don't get enough air to get really hot, they just stay the perfect temperature to keep his little "toes toasty"!  I always wear them too.

Here is Dane pulling his sled.  He lasted about 10 feet pulling it before I put him in it and pulled him.

When we got to the first tip-up Clint had set, the flag was up.  Clint was busy with the second one, so I took the opportunity to see what we had hooked.  Well, imagine our surprise when it was a nice walleye.  That is the only one we have ever caught through the ice up there, so it was quite the treat!!!

After that, we caught perch like crazy!  They were biting so great and Clint has figured out the magical combination that they like so much!  It was fun cause the tip-ups were always popping up.  Here is Dane and Clint with one of the perch. 

Here are the boys with a tip-up that has a bite...

It stayed pretty chilly the whole day.  I had a hard time getting a picture of it, but Bones had frost on his whiskers...

It was a great trip...  Dane lasted pretty well until about 1130, then he reached his threshold...  I thought maybe he would catch a quick nap and then we could head back out, but at about 1230 Clint came back to the truck as well and we decided to call it a day.  On the way back we stopped by some friends and visited  for a while.  It was so good to see them!

Tomorrow we are going to head up to the cabin for a night and enjoy the slower pace!  Should be a good time!

Ice fishing with the Dilley's!

Today we had the opportunity to sneak out to Wadsworth Pond to do a little ice fishing.  Both Clint and Ottis had to go to work in the afternoon, but we had a few hours of visiting and catching up.  It was a pretty nice day and although the wind was blowing and the catching wasn't that great, we still had a wonderful time.  Dane and Chaz had so much fun being pulled around in the sled.  At first Dane wouldn't do it until I rode around with him for a little while...  (thanks Clint for pulling us around!!!)  Then Dane realized how much fun it was and he was happy hanging out with Chaz who was really good with him...

On the way home, Dane was so tired but we thought it was pretty cute how he kicked back in the truck. 

What's new?!?!?!

Well, not too much around here!!!  We had a great New Year's Eve.  We got invited over to a friend/coworker of Clint's and had a wonderful time.  Dane went with us and was such a little ham.  He was the only little one there and had all the ladies wrapped around his little finger.  :)  He did really good until about 9:30 when he hit the wall and got really tired.  So, we decided to head out early. 

Clint thought he had the weekend off, but found out at the last minute he had to work.  He switched to afternoons so we have got to spend the last few mornings together.  Yesterday, that morning was spent processing meat.  Clint dropped off Dane at 8 am with Grandma, and I was already grinding.  Perry came over and jumped in and Clint helped until he had to go to work.  145 lbs of meat later were were done and cleaned up at about 7:30 pm...  Wow, it was a really long day but now we are set for a while!

I also went crazy and got my hair cut again.  We laughed when Marsha pointed out that I did the same thing when I was pregnant the last time.  Here is a picture of my new 'do!  It's obviously straight here, and I like it, but I'm still getting used to it. 

Today has been a little more quiet.  We just kind of hung out, I went for a run, we put away the meat processing stuff, Clint wrestled around with Dane and Bones!!! 

Well, I'm back to work tomorrow and Clint has the next few days off.  I'm sure the week should go quickly as they all do!  Besides that, not much is new around here.  I'm definintely going to be showing more quickly with this pregnancy.  My belly is starting to look more pregnant and less like I've just been really enjoying the Holidays!!!  :)  Maybe I'll get brave and share pictures sometime!!!  :) 

Have a great week everyone!