Three Day and Two Night Trip to Tiber Reservoir

Sorry about the last post...  I  had typed in all the text and all the sudden our laptop died.  Of course nothing had been saved, so it was all lost and I didn't have the time to retype in the text.  :)  Why didn't I have time?  Cause we were going ice fishing all weekend long!  The weather finally looked good, so we loaded up the dogs, kids, and pop up camper and headed up to Tiber.  Here is our camp spot!  It may not look like much, but it was actually perfect! :)

Why was our camp spot perfect?  Because this is the view out of the camper!  There wasn't much wind, it was sunny and fairly warm so we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to arrive and get set up.  

Getting the tip ups set up, we caught our first walleye!  Nice!  This picture makes me laugh...  look at that girl peeking out from behind me. :)  She's got something on her mind!

The first afternoon did prove to have some challenges.  We got set up, and while Clint was putting in tip-ups the clouds rolled in and it started to rain.  I know that the weather forecast called for rain, but I guess I didn't really think it would happen!  Whether rain or shine, the area there is beautiful in such a different way!

But even in the rain, it's great to have a nice camper to hang out in and eat a snack!

Home sweet home!

It was a full moon overnight and when we woke up in the morning it was just setting over the ridge.

We knew it was going to be a good day anyway, however it was even more clear when we started right away with catching beautiful walleye!  I know I've said it before, and I'm sure I will say it again, but I have an amazing hubby.  He takes such good care of us out there and is so passionate about the things that he does; including fishing.  For some reason I didn't take enough pictures of him on this trip, but he was always behind the scenes helping make the trip a success!

One of the huge successes of this trip was that Kimber finally got the "bug" and figured out what ice fishing was all about!  She discovered the joy of pulling in a fish and kept saying "I want to catch a fish!".  Up to this point she has been going and says she is having fun, but hadn't really put it together.  So, it was very rewarding to have her put it all together!  Here is our girl...  she is getting so big!  

During the first 24 hours, the fish were biting like crazy and we ended up landing a fair amount of beautiful fish!  We actually caught our limit of walleye, some perch, a nice ling, and a northern (a little guy, so we let him go!).  

Dane's favorite was the ling! He couldn't get enough of that fish and was constantly carrying it around (frequently in a bear hug).  I have had to come to terms with the fact that this boy is a fisherman...  and will always smell like fish.  It's a good thing, and we call it the "smell of success".  But, sometimes I have to remind myself that it is a positive thing and even with 3 days in the camper, it is okay that there is an overwhelming smell of fish every time he comes inside! :)  We are proud of that boy, and his passion is incredible and reminds me of someone!  (he is his Daddy's boy!)

After we took our family picture, Dane had to pile the fish "his way" and then wanted me to take a picture!  He did a very nice job...  don't you think?

One of our other favorite things about Tiber is the awesome fossils that are all over.  When we take a break from fishing, we like to walk along the beach to see all the cool stuff.  Here is Kimber posing with some of the clams that are in the rock/clay.

Right before we left, Clint caught this really nice perch!  Wonderful ending to a great trip!

Great kids, fun times!

Ice fishing

We love to ice fish.  Before we moved to Montana, I thought I would hate it...  in my mind it entailed sitting in a little hut, in the freezing cold with a miniature fishing pole, trying to catch a fish.  Did I mention that you literally are sitting on an iceberg?  Sounds crazy right?  Well, it's not at all like I imagined.

We don't sit in an ice house.  I start to question that decision when it is subzero, but we don't like to just sit there and don't usually fish with rods, we fish with tip ups.  They are genius little things that you set, then you can go sledding or do whatever while they wait for the bite.  When the fish bites a flag "tips up" and you go running over to set the hook.  You do miss a few more fish that way, but it allows us to move around, stay warm, and enjoy the other fun things a winter day has to offer.  

Of course our little man loves to ice fish.  In fact he got a "scooper" for Christmas and couldn't wait to use it. On a side note, it was almost 3 years ago that Dane dropped a scooper through the ice at the exact same spot.  Remember this?

Noah and Kaylee joined us for the trip and Amy was kind enough to watch Kimber for the day.  When I checked, it said that about the time we arrived the temperature was -10 (with the wind chill). Kimber would not have had a good time and I probably would have been stuck in the truck with her for most of the time, so it was really sweet of Amy to keep her.  Fortunately, the wind dropped after that and it warmed up into the teens!  Here are Kaylee and Noah with a really nice trout that they caught.  They are such a great family and really seems to share the same values as us.  We truly enjoy spending time with all of them!

Clint is amazing! It was so cold that my hands hurt if they were out of the gloves for a couple minutes.  But, he baits all of the hooks, take fish off the line, and does all kinds other things with bare hands.  Occasionally, he will comment on the fact that his fingers aren't working really well and will stick his hands in his pockets for a moment, but holy crap I'm whining after no time at all!  I am very lucky to have such a wonderful man who takes such good care of us out there, and helps make sure we are a success!  :) Here is Clint and Dane with another nice fish.

I even got to pull in a beautiful trout as well!  

Dane is four and I'm pretty sure he is tougher than I am.  (It must be a thing with the Houston guys!)  Here is a picture of his gloves with a solid layer of ice on them.  Despite the cold, the only time that Dane went back to the truck was when he wanted to eat his lunch.  Besides that he was out playing, fishing, and just having a wonderful time!  

Noah also caught this really beautiful trout!  Great job!  

Of course we can't wait to make it out again, and hopefully the weather will be a little warmer.

Fishing in the cold, and my elk!!!!

Well, we finally have enough ice to go ice fishing...  and we all had yesterday off...  but the wind was HOWLING.  So, Clint took us down to the River (about 5 minutes from the house), he and Dane caught a couple trout, we got cold, and we headed home!  Even though it was short, it was a good time!

Then we got my elk!  I love the unique mount and we found a spot in the house where he looks pretty good.

Over the New Year's Holiday we did these fun crafts!