Fish On

There are a few things that can make or break an Alaskan summer - the amount of rain vs sun that we get and the number of salmon in the rivers.  This summer has been a good on the rain/sun ratio and GREAT on the fish.  The red (sockeye) run in the Kenai river was on of the best...and reds are the tastiest salmon, so we are in luck!

We spent one sunny Saturday recently fishing at one of Aaron's favorite places growing up - the Little Susitna River north of Anchorage.  Aaron has a lot of great memories fishing this bend in the river with his brothers and dad, so it was fun going back with him.  

As soon as we anchored, Aaron hopped out of the boat, waders on, and walked out to his old spot on the river and fished away.

Ethan watched, thought that looked like fun and tried to follow...but got a little confused when he felt his feet and legs getting wet.  I think he might of figured out what Dad's funny pants were for - Daddy's legs didn't get wet!  If only they made toddler waders...  :)

After we took off the soggy clothes, he and Malley enjoyed the day playing in the water, the rocks and the dirt.

And this little man got DIRTY!

In between rock throwing, Ethan pulled out a rod and did some 'fishing' of his own.  It was a sweet moment to see Ethan fishing in the same spot his daddy learned to fish.  Although, I think we could have used a few tips on technique from Grandpa Kris... 

Aaron enjoyed getting back to his childhood fishing hole and was excited to see that nothing had changed in the last ten years - he recognized the bend in the river instantly.  All we were missing were Grandpa Kris, Uncle Nick and Curtis, and a can of Pringles.  

We have also spent some time fishing the Russian and the Kenai rivers this summer.  Ethan doesn't seem to care where we go because all the rivers have unlimited rocks to throw.  And each rock thrown is just as exciting as the last - EVERY rock thrown gets the excited face!  I hope he always celebrates the little successes in life.  :)

We even did a little kamikaze fishing at the mouth of the Russian.  It was a fun experience to join the line of fishermen for the day, but we prefer a little more space when we fish.  :)  Ethan was the smart one and did his fishing off to the side away from everyone. 

While fishing this summer I realized that I have turned into a true Alaskan mama - at one point I was standing thigh deep in the Kenai River, carrying my sleeping toddler on my back, pregnant with my second child and reeling in a gorgeous red salmon.  Not sure when this happened to me, but it's been fun getting there.  

Aaron has always been a true Alaskan fisherman and has had a lot of fun sharing this with Ethan and I.  

Fireweed is one of the prettiest wild flowers that grows all over the state.  At the beginning of the summer they start blooming at the bottom and gradually bloom up the stem.  They say summer is over when the blooms reach the top.  At the end of July, this flower said we still had weeks left of summer!  I'm choosing to believe the fireweed rather than the termination dust of snow we can already see on the mountains...because they also say the first dusting of snow on the mountains means the termination of summer...yikes, seems way to early.

Ethan tried to help me type this week's post and here are his thoughts for the day:  fg hncthbjn5tg