Carson the Fisherman

Date October 21, 2012

Carson has been a pretty avid fisherman for the past year or so, and that interest continued through the summer and into the fall:

Fishing below the dam near our house

O'Shaugnessy Dam, Dublin, Ohio

Hook 'em Horns at the O'Shaugnessy Dam

Fishing during our family trip to Geneva-on-the-Lake on Lake Erie

Carson prepping his pole

Carson fishing at the marina

The monstrous walleye haul when he went across the Canadian border in Lake Erie with Boppa and Tim:

Walleye Haul

Benton’s Fall Sports

Date October 20, 2012

Benton bounced between soccer and cross country through the fall (apparently, he’s been too busy to get a decent haircut!):

Benton runs cross country

Benton runs cross country

Benton plays soccer

Benton goes for the ball

Alana Played Football this Fall

Date October 19, 2012

Well, she played a little American football:

Alana takes a run at quarterback

Mostly, she played what the rest of the world calls football (and this IS a tiny fraction of the pictures I actually took)!

Alana plays soccer

Alana plays soccer

Alana plays soccer

Alana plays soccer

Alana plays soccer

Alana plays soccer

Alana plays soccer

At the Beach

Date October 18, 2012

More pictures from our four-day camping trip to the shores of Lake Erie. We camped a half-mile from the beach, which made for an easy bike ride there and back (all told, between rides to the beach, rides into town, and rides to the marina, we logged ~24 miles each — including Alana!). Onto the beach pictures:

Not exactly rock-skipping conditions, but rock-tossing was good enough for Benton:

Benton tosses rocks into Lake Erie

Carson and Julie scavenged for interesting stones:

Carson and Julie look for interesting rocks

Sand play collaboration occurred in fits and spurts:

Alana and Carson

And the sunsets weren’t bad, either (that’s Julie in the middle-right of the picture):

Sunset over Lake Erie

Julie and Benton

Sunset over Lake Erie

More Family Fun with Games at Geneva-on-the-Lake

Date October 17, 2012

A few pictures of the various amusements at Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio.

Alana putts at the (allegedly) oldest putt-putt course in the country:

Alana putts

Not far from the (allegedly) oldest putt-putt course was a nice putt-putt course, which Benton and Tim played (Benton won by 2 strokes):

Benton and Tim on the Putt-Putt Course

Nothing brings out Julie’s determination than returning her to her childhood love: Ms. Pac Man:

Julie demonstrates her Ms. Pac-Man prowess

“I’ve still got it!!!”

Julie demonstrates her Ms. Pac-Man prowess

If there are guns or gun facsimiles involved, you know Carson won’t be far away… wait… Alana?!!

Not normal: Alana wielding a gun

Bumper boats — Carson wasn’t going to miss THAT!

Carson in a Bumper Boat

Bungee Bouncing

Date October 15, 2012

It’s been a busy year, and this blog has definitely take a hit for it. And, while we’ve been busy, we somehow haven’t been as busy with Wilson Family Excursions as we have in the past (Julie’s return to the income-generating workforce has something to do with that, but there are other factors as well… not the subject of this post).

Our one just-the-family-the-whole-family trip this year was up to Geneva-on-the-Lake on Lake Erie in northern Ohio. Among other things, Alana and Carson both took turns bungee bouncing:

Bungee Bouncing

Bungee Bouncing

Bungee Bouncing

Bungee Bouncing

A Drizzly Walk

Date April 19, 2012

Carson and I headed to a local metro park last Saturday for a hike. The weather alternated between a light drizzle and a steady drip, and we got a little too ambitious with the path we’d chosen, but it all worked out in the end.

Carson went through three different walking sticks — hamming it up a bit when the camera was pointed in his direction:

Carson hamming it up with his hiking stick

I really should pick up a book on the local flora, as I have absolutely no idea what this flower is:

Yellow flowers

While crossing a bridge on the trail, Carson spotted this little guy hanging out half-submerged.

Semi-submerged frog

And, being a 10-year-old in possession of both X and Y chromosomes, he plopped down on his stomach to try to grab the frog for a closer inspection (he failed):

Going for the frog...

Halfway through the hike, Carson was pooped and cold (lying on his stomach on wet ground while plunging his hands into cold water didn’t help!), but, since it was a metro park, we found a shelter for him to hang out in while I completed the hike and then drove back up to retrieve him. At the observation deck towards the end of that last leg of the hike, I came across this guy bedded down:

Spike buck at the overlook

Following the hike, we stopped for gas, and the gas station had a Dairy Queen, so Carson scored a Peanut Buster Parfait. Following that, we passed a Michael’s, which prompted a stop for some blue powdered dye as an ingredient for the homemade smoke bomb we made the next day. Needless to say, Carson’s memories of the day might not include anything related to trails, hiking sticks, flora, or fauna.

Spring = Soccer

Date April 18, 2012

It’s spring, so spring sports are in full swing. For Benton, that means track (through school), soccer, and baseball (practice…the season doesn’t start for a while). For the next few months, our Saturdays will have a lot of this:

Benton makes a pass

And this:

Alana dribbles

When the Wives Are Away, the Husbands Plant Trees

Date April 17, 2012

Catching up, as this was several weeks ago, but better late than never!

The week after Julie and the kids returned from spring break, and thinking it was Julie’s last weekend before heading back to work, a hastily-planned “girls’ weekend” up at Lake Erie was planned. That left a neighborhood full of fathers with their offspring. Conveniently, one of the neighborhood dads (who’s wife did not head to the lake, as she was almost 9 months pregnant) received a shipment of 1,000 tree seedlings on Friday afternoon for some property he has north of town.

Combining the opportunity to help a neighbor out, spend some time outdoors, and have the kids entertained by fresh air and sticks, Pat and I spent Saturday afternoon planting ~3/4 of those seedlings.

Alana, Marty, and Pat haul the seedlings back to where they are to be planted (yes, that box holds a thousand little trees):

Alana, Mary, and Pat haul the seedlings to the planting grounds

Taking a break to give the kids a ride. Jack and Alana on the front…

Jack and Alana catch a ride with Marty

…and Carson and Andrew on the back.

Carson and Andrew on the 4-wheeler

Because they were outside in the woods for more than 12 minutes, Josh and Benton, predictably, built a fire and a makeshift bench:

Benton and Josh build a fire

Spring Break 2012: Day No. 2 — Adventure Courses

Date March 21, 2012

The final activity at the U.S. National Whitewater Center on St. Patrick’s Day were a couple of adventure/ropes courses.

All geared up:

Carson is geared up for the Climb 2 Zip

Benton and Julie wait for the Climb 2 Zip

Up the ropes to the zip line:

Carson climbs up Climb 2 Zip

Benton climbs up Climb 2 Zip

Julie climbs up Climb 2 Zip

And zipping down:

Carson on the Climb 2 Zip platform

Benton heads down the zip line

Julie heads down the zip line

Then, onto the ropes course:

Carson hams it up for the camera on the ropes course

Carson descends from the ropes course

Benton on the ropes course

Benton descends from the ropes course