Saturday, March 31, 2012

The 2012 Fishing Derby

Today was Allison's Fishing Derby. It was held at a local park with 2 little lakes. It was cold, but we were prepared so that made it fun. I much prefer cold to hot! (You know, that's why we live in Southern California! ;)
Allison used her very own pole for the first time.

Not sure what the face was for, but I'm guessing she wanted to give me a kiss.

Seeser Beeser Boo...

As we all know, the only exercise you get from fishing is an exercise in patience! Of course, being an avid reader is helpful. But, in case she got tired of reading, I created a little fishing activity book for Allison. I actually sewed a ziplock baggy to the inside of the paper cover and added Swedish fish and nerds to make it look like a fish bowl.


Sweet girl... after I took a picture of her, she said, "Let me take a picture of you and Malachi!"


Indeed, the day required a lot of patience. We were there for 5 hours! Luckily there was a really fun playground with a real merry-go-round. I haven't seen one of those since I was a kid! Allison only visited the playground once. She was very determined to catch a fish.




Sweet, sweet baby boy He was SO good!







We visited the playground multiple times... ate snacks... watched birds... chased ducks... But alas, we didn't catch a single fish. What made it a little harder, I think was that the people next to us caught six! Once we tried their bait, we got some nibbles, but weren't able to reel anything in.

At 1:00 the bell rang and the derby was over. Allison was crushed -- devastated. We're talking major tears and a desire to throw her fishing pole away and never see it again. And guess what... you're going to think I am awful, but I was glad. Life is full of disappointments. I really don't want my kids to grow-up feeling entitled. Part of our reason for homeschooling was to have the flexibility to do missions and things where our kids can learn it's not all about them. This is a start, and I'm ok with it.

Overall, I thought it was a fantastic day. And, a lesson-learning one, as well! I must say, I was quite proud of Allison's patience and endurance. Not sure I would have been so determined at her age! Good job, Allison.

2 comments:

  1. Way to go Allison (and Mom) on the patience! And I'm with you... sometimes it's good to fail. As my dad would say "it puts hair on your chest". ;) Or at least makes you grow up better. :)

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  2. I completely agree on the learning to fail and live through it. So many good things about homeschool, but sometimes I worry that everything will go too much their way! :)

    Adorable pictures as always!

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