The trout whisperers

A lot has changed in the past few years. Well that is putting it mildly! Even the stuff that has stayed the same has changed. Matt and Mike are still best fishing buddies. This is them today. 

This is them from 4 years ago. Matt was 6 and he was not fly fishing yet. He also never out fished his dad. 

 This is him today. He has become an incredible fly fisherman. And he can easily keep up with his dad and some days out fish him. 

 He too can see why fly fishing has had his dad's heart.

 This was a huge white sucker fish that he caught from atop that wooden structure. 

 Here is the cast...

 I always think some day we will have a more normal life and I will be able to let the boys go fishing without me. Then I remember how much I love to see my husband in his hip waders casting a fly line...and I think why would I miss this. 

 Another small brookie. Small and beautiful. The fall colors had nothing on this little guy. 

 Then I looked over to see my son becoming one with the stream as he stepped barefoot into the water(in late September) and his cast became as natural as breathing...and I thought Clair, you would be so amazed. Some families are all about football or other sports. Mike and I have invested in this. I can't think of any other sport that you can do up until forever.In fact, Clair fished until way late in his life and many say that was what broke him in the end. Not being able to do what he loved so much anymore. I can't think of any other sport that teaches you so much about the earth and true conservation. Yes, this is where I choose to invest. Maybe Matt can start a youth fly fishing team when he gets to high school. 

 His cast has really become pretty darn amazing. 

Despite the occasional snag...

On a side note, I have to tell you how thankful we are to Ray our adopted grandpa from our Hiawatha group. Matt had a parent day at his new to us middle school on Friday. Mike and I had a prior commitment that I could not get out of that I booked last December. Mike was able to go for a few hours but then Ray kindly stepped in. He made Matt's day very bright. He also gave me the peace of mind that I would never have had otherwise. Mike and I were deeply touched by his kindness. Some people come into your life at just the right time for a reason. Ray and his wife Suzie are those people to us. 

Thank you Ray. Matt was so proud to have you by his side on Friday.

The all inclusive fly fishing resort!

This past weekend we had the opportunity to be part of the Driftless Rendezvous. This is an annual "All Inclusive Fly Fishing Weekend" 

It was awesome! Matthew will never forget it, this is for sure. 

 Mike was able to come home and join us. 

 Spending the weekend fly fishing with your son in an area with absolutely no cell service...priceless!

 Not to mention being surrounded by lots of people who have been such an incredible influence on Matt.

 And the food...

AMAZING!!

 Yep! Matt was happy

 They had a casting contest to see who was the most accurate caster in the group. Matt ended up out scoring most of them. In fact I think he came in second. This is out of a lot of men who have been fly fishing for a long time and a few certified instructors. 

 Although Matthew did not win the group decided to give him a prize for his amazing skills at 10 years old. I still almost cry when I think about it. His face was priceless. 

 Then they gave him a standing ovation. That is when I melted.  

 His prize was a new pocket knife and matching leatherman. I just have to tell  you that he has pulled this out of the box and held it so many times since he won that the box is showing signs of wear. He won't let it out of his sight. Going to school was heartbreaking for him. 

 This is my favorite picture from this weekend. I love Marlene. She is such a good teacher(both winners of the casting contest were students of hers) 

 This is Alison. She is married to Seth another young fly fisherman that Matt has really taken to. They brought Penny for a little bit too. 

 Matt got to work with one of Minnesota's greatest casters too. 

 Matt and I went on a geology walk too. I learned a lot about the silica sand that they are using to in the drilling. It was really interesting. 

 Matt found a frog...or was it a toad?

 He also learned how to make a fire with a flint. I think he is at that age where fire is kind of irresistible. I remember my old boss who had 6 son's telling me that if you don't teach them how to use it and supervise them they go in a field and start a fire(she spoke from experience! Her son started a big neighborhood blaze once) 

 There were also aquatic bugs and critters!

 Then Matt and some other boys found this...The biggest spider I have ever seen. She was HUGE!! Yes it was a she...you see that brown stuff tucked under the leaf behind her??? Babies! Thousands of them. They were crawling around behind her. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that she was 4" across. Her eyes were as big as mine(Okay that is an exaggeration) But she was huge!One of the guys kept touching her too?!? I was secretly hoping she would run up his arm at him. 

 Matthew got to use his new vise and learn how to tie a few new flies.

This is him running back to me to tell me how good he was doing in the casting contest.

 This is the camp

This is the view from our cabin porch

Back to school

 I kind of like that my son looks so annoyed in this photo. He was not thrilled about getting his photo taken in front of the "ELEMENTARY" sign...after all he IS a middle schooler now! Too bad so sad, this photo is so I can see how much you have grown! Oh, and by the way we will be taking your wedding photos here too! The annoyed look is part of the year I think.

 hahaha! You can laugh out loud at this one. Everyone else is happy but my son.

 I guess he could smile for the jump shot

This was him coming out to the car on the first day of school. I was careful to stay in stealth mode as not to horrify him. 

On a side note, I have to say that dropping him off at Middle school seemed harder than kindergarten for me. I'm not sure if it was the fact that we had such a great summer, or that Mike was leaving too, or if it was just seeing him go off on his own...but it was hard. 

Sneaking in a pre Atlanta event

Some of you think I crawled up in a corner and just come out for food I am sure. Some of you probably think I have not been doing anything as my posting has been so slim this summer...and some of you probably don't care! Ha! 

But the truth is I am alive and well. I can't believe how much work it is to go on vacation, before and after! I have had so much to do since I have returned and on top of that I have been exhausted. Okay, getting up at 6:30 again does not help. I am however very much hanging in there. I spent the whole day today editing photos and it was very enjoyable. I will have to share a few soon,

Right now though I want to take a moment to post these photos from the day before we left for Atlanta.

Our trout peeps at Hiawatha host an annual Fly Fishing event for veterans and Mike and I very much wanted to be a part of it. Naturally it was of course the one day we had zero time. Mike had gotten into Rochester at 11 p.m. the night before and we flew out the next day pretty early. We both knew despite not having time we had to do this event. 

 Ray offered Matthew a few flies that he had tied. Mike and Matthew carefully picked them out together. 

 The turnout was pretty amazing

 This cute kid was a little younger than Matt. He was there with his dad who was a veteran. Mike worked with the both of them. 

 of course there was information about bugs! 

 This is the dad I was talking about. I hope they enjoyed it. We had to leave early so I never got a chance to ask them. I hope Mike helped start a life long love like he and Matthew have. 

 There is Ray. Clair would have loved him. 

 fly lines everywhere

 And of course Marlene was there. She always makes me smile. Next week I will be working really close with her for a weekend fly fishing campout called the Driftless Rendezvous. I promise lots of pictures. 

 This was one of the two WWII vets that attended. He was the sweetest man. He knew so much about the history of the area. A true treasure. 

 This was the other one and he was actually learning how to fly fish! Now that is a wonderful thing. 

 By the way...in the midst of the event Matthew who was fishing about where I was standing in this bottom picture managed to catch a duck! This was much to the horror of the other people at the event. I guess he thought the fly was popcorn?? Mike helped him free the duck as onlookers gasped. Mike assured them that it was just because Matthew was so good he could catch anything.