ICE FISHING!!

Prepare to be amazed, you are going on an ice fishing trip, to the great Lake Champlain!! Make sure you dress warm, that wind really whips, and we don't have a shanty!
The Pastor from town took Cody, and a bunch of neighbor kids that go to Clubhouse at church, to Lake Champlain Saturday afternoon, to do a bit of ice fishing. Some of the parents decided to tag along, too--I know, I KNOW!! I went outside! I came out of hibernation just long enough to soak in some of that not so warm but delightful sunshine!
This is a picture of the bait. Giant maggots! NICE!! One of the boys actually ate one on the way down, but it wasn't Cody!! YUCK!! The perch love them, though!

Here is Peter with the ice auger. A much quicker way to drill a hole than a hand cranked auger! I caught this photo just as he hit water. The ice was over 2 feet thick!

Here it is, in all it's glory. Everyone grabs a bucket or chair, and sits over their hole. And waits....Not my kind of fun. Unless someone is sitting down below constantly hooking fish on my line, this takes too long!!

Here's Pete and Cody grubbing their hooks. Look how tall Cody is getting! Peter and I are both 5'11" so Cody is catching up quick! He is taller than both of his Grandmothers now!

This is my best friend Judy. We live down the road from each other. She also is my hairdresser. Our boys have grown up together, and go to school together. Cody and her oldest are in the same class at school! She is such a blessing, and a picture taking freak just like me! She, unlike me, loves to be outside! I think she is ready for spring, though. Even SHE has had enough of winter!!

Here is Richard, our neighbor. He caught the most perch on this trip. This hole was magic!

Here, you can see the breakwater in the foreground, and WAAYYY back in the distance is Mount Mansfield in Vermont. The mountains were just beautiful with all the snow. Some of them, like this large one, have snow all year round sometimes!

This is the village of Rouses Point, with ice shanties in the foreground. You can see the roads out on the ice where people drive out and drop of their shanties, or park and fish. There weren't many out today, sometimes it looks like a small village out on the ice!

Here you can see the bridge that joins Rouses Point, NY and Alburg, VT. There is one more bridge down toward the South, and there are ferries that go across the Lake. We usually take the bridge across.

Cody trying to stay warm on his makeshift seat! He does have a seat heater to help!!

A very rare pic of Peter and I!! That is me under there!! Judy is always good about getting photos of everyone!!

Judy and I took MANY walks around the area to stay warm and get some exercise. We were carrying around an extra 20 pounds in clothes and boots, so we really had to work! We walked around the ice roads, and out to the end of the breakwater. This is a pic of all the boys in one spot on the end of the breakwater!

Peter and Judy's hubby Timmy (my cousin!) thinking that it was time to go. They had had enough!

This is the gorgeous sunset that I caught, just before we packed up to go home. It is perfect!

Cody did catch one fish. And NO he didn't eat it. Contrary to what he would like you all to believe!!

Me and the Codester!

Walking back across the ice to land!!

As you can see, if you don't like the cold, this is not for you. It probably hit 20 degrees out there. But it was windy, so I put it around 15 degrees. Staying active it the key! You can't sit still! I didn't actually fish, but I am glad I went, it was a fun experience! I hope you enjoyed your ice fishing trip!
Today I am back to work and Cody is back to school after a week off. I gotta say, it was a 95% terrible week. We were both sick most of the time, and we missed out on so much! We also got some really bad news regarding Cody and his orthodonics. I ask you all to please keep our family in prayer while we wade through this mess and make some pretty heavy decisions. I will be getting on the phone this morning to start making calls to oral surgeons.
Have a great Monday, and thanks for visiting!!
**Keri**