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Friday, June 19, 2009

Fishing Firsts!

Max is ten. He is the epitome of ten year olds, can evolve a chimchar to a monferno, can build a killer shark out of lego's, and can follow his dad around like a shadow.

Since school's out, Camp Sisualik and Camp Sivuniigvik haven't started. The five day forecast calls for wind, and overcast, like every great spring day in Kotzebue. Before your kids go bonkers, just send them out fishing!

Since Dean moved to Kotzebue five years ago, Max has wanted to catch a fish. He wanted to come at spring, to go ice fishing, but his crazy mom wouldn't allow him to. There was no excuse, just that he wasn't coming for a weekend.

kids on docks
Yes, that's my son wearing a pink jacket...he has NO shame!

For the past few days, the herring AND the shiifish have been hanging around the docks on front street. The kids have walked over, or biked over with their fishing rods in tow every day. Two days ago, Max finally caught a fish.

Max first fish
Yay Max!

HE. WAS. EXCITED! He sounded a little like he was too excited to actually say English words, trying to pull it up. "Ohm ick eesh, i mea uugh, oooly..."

It was very cool.

After he brought the fish home (they caught seven), he declared that his was biggest...EVER. We tried to tell him about Kaisa's fish and that they can grow to be MUCH bigger than that, but he just didn't grasp it. So...its the biggest fish!

After bringing them home in a plastic bag, the boys had some work to do. Max asked, "why don't you clean them!?"

Max gutting

"Uhm, because you caught it..." (I forget sometimes, that they didn't grow up here...)

"Can't you just do it?"

big fish, little fish

"No, but I'll show you how..."

boys gutting

So...he managed to gut and behead one, and Koy did the rest. Even though they were the teeniest shiifish I had ever seen, I TRIED to fillet two and get as much meat as possible, so Max could have some deep fried shiifish, and everyone LOVES that. So, I was able to salvage enough of the flesh for that. Then I took the white King I caught and used that for the rest!

eating his fish
He LOVES deep fried Shiifish

On another note...Kaisa made it to Anchorage JUST FINE. I stalked Alaska Airlines because their "track flight" wasn't working online. I facebooked everyone who was in Anchorage...it was very, very sad. But. She made it, and I feel better! :) Thanks for the warm prayers and fuzzy thoughts.

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