I have no doubt that this is going to be the best summer yet! We spent Memorial Day weekend in Cocodrie at Barry and Ashley's camp. Seth, Mason and Aunt Ashley actually left Friday evening after Mason's baseball game (which, by the way, I have to mention that Mason hit a DOUBLE!). PawPaw, Uncle Barry Abbie were already there. Since I wasn't sure how Hannah Kate would do (and have I mentioned that I was 32 weeks preggers?!), she, MawMaw and I left Sunday after church. By the time we got there, Mason already had two good days of fishing.
And we got there just in time to see the big lemon fish that PawPaw caught.
And here's the rest of the catch of the day . . .
Hannah Kate was so excited to finally be at "Abbie's camp." She was so funny though. A few days prior, she asked her MawMaw if there were trees with coconuts at the camp. Mrs. Judy answered her question . . . no . . . and asked her why she was asking that. Hannah Kate replied, "Well, they call it Coco-tree!"
They say that "boys will be boys" . . .
And girls will be . . . silly?!
One of the hottest foodie trends right now is "farm to table." Well, I guess this might be "ocean to table" . . . it's what's for supper!
Grilled corn-on-the-cob (from PawPaw's garden), grilled veggie skewers and shrimp and pineapple skewers. We also had fried soft shell crab and fried fish.
And the next morning we woke up and headed out. Again, I wasn't sure how Hannah Kate would do. She'd never been on a boat before. Well, she's been on dolphin cruises, but that doesn't really count. I knew we'd be out on the water for several hours, and I wasn't sure about that either. But she was excited. Abbie, the night before, had planned our riding arrangements. Uncle Barry got "stuck" with the girls . . . Aunt Ashley, Abbie, Hannah Kate and I. And PawPaw, MawMaw, Seth and Mason were in PawPaw's boat.
As soon as Hannah Kate stepped onto the boat and it started rocking, she turned around like she was ready to run. But Aunt Ashley grabbed her really quickly, I threw her life jacket on and Uncle Barry pulled away from the dock before she had time to realize exactly what was happening. I got a picture really quickly while she was smiling. Because I honestly wasn't sure how long that smile would last.
As we got farther away from land (yes, I was 32 weeks pregnant, and yes, I was on a boat headed offshore), I realized how much I miss being out on the water.
And after 30 minutes of riding, it was time to stop and fish. Hannah Kate is rocking her new Dora the Explorer life jacket and pink fishing rod that her Daddy bought for her. I was so proud of her! Once she got used to being on the water, she was quite the little fisherman.
And speaking of life jackets . . . there was a big conversation several days earlier regarding life jackets for Mason and Hannah Kate and whether or not there were enough life jackets for everyone in PawPaw and Uncle Barry's stash. Now, the girl is very particular regarding her clothing choices. So I knew the same would be said about a life jacket. There was thought of letting her use Mason's old life jacket, which is a red Cars life jacket. I knew that wouldn't fly. It would have to be pink. And then Seth started talking about the first life jacket he remembered wearing . . . the kind that has a ring around your neck. So his next comment was, "That's what Julie needs to wear because she isn't going to snap anything around that belly." And, if that's not bad enough, he didn't stop there. He then said, "Well, you probably don't need a life jacket anyway. With that belly, you have a built-in flotation device and would probably just bob in the water."
Anyway. Here's one of the first speckled trout we reeled in to the boat.
And you never know what you're going to catch. Hannah Kate snagged this sting ray. Uncle Barry managed to get it off the hook while it was still in the water.
We were out for 3-4 hours . . . and I was so proud of Hannah Kate for not complaining. She eventually grew tired of fishing so she took a little break.
And then she was ready again. Here's Uncle Barry helping her reel in the next catch.
I love this picture of Abbie and Hannah Kate as we were heading back to land.
I wish I could've been in the boat with Mason, too, but I wasn't able to do that; however, it seems that he had a lot of his own excitement. Look what he caught:
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is exactly what you think it is: a shark!
Mason was so excited about his shark!
We brought the shark home with the intention of mounting it . . . until we found out how much it is! So, as of right now, the shark is still in the freezer.
And here's some of our catch:
Although I spent a lot of time helping Hannah Kate, I snuck in a little fishing time of my own. I caught this flounder. It's a small one, but we kept it anyway. I also caught a larger one, but I lost it just as I was reeling it over the side of the boat.
It was a fun weekend. Mason is, of course, ready to go back. Hannah Kate said she wants to go back, too. As for me . . . that's probably my last trip to Coco-tree for awhile.
