"Dead Fish Don't Count!"

We have just come in from a rousing game of volleyball with our homemade net and beach ball. The guys against the girls. Dave and Blake took one side of the court while Allie, Ashley(who sat at the back on Graypa's lap), and I on the other. The winner earned the right to finally put to rest an ongoing dispute in our family. "Who rules?Who Drools?" We have been going back in forth with this one since Allison was only 3. One night at the game table Dad and Blake began to sing a little chant, "Boys rule, girls drool" as they systmatically whipped up on Allie and I in a game of checkers. Allie was so offended she crossed her little three year old arms and cried, "I am NOT a Drool!" and the dispute began followed with a roar of laughter. I refuse to tell you who won in the game of volley ball. I just don't think its important, but I will tell you that Ash, Al, and I are not going to be labeled as DROOLS! There will be a rematch. The important thing is that we were all outside playing together. Isn't that wonderful? Together. I love that word and I loved watching Ash wave and smile each time Allie and I would do our little victory dance. She was having so much fun.

I don't know if I have ever shared with you our family's love of competition. We can make a match out of anything. So today before our volleyball game we were having a little tournament down at the pond. A fishing tournament. The prize? A foot massage by the losers. It doesn't get any more serious than that in this family. We would all fight to the death to win a prize such as that(especially after working in the bathrooms for hours and hours this weekend). In order to win you had to catch the biggest fish. Not the most. The biggest. That was the rule when the tournament started. Somewhere in the middle of the game Al was winning with a rather large catfish. Blake had caught two small ones, but was systmatically working on a large one who had been nibbling at his line for about 20 minutes. All of a sudden Allie snuck up behind him and unhooked the floating dock that Blake was sitting in the middle of. Before he knew it he was floating in the middle of the pond with no way to get back. The worst part of it all was that he was stranded with no bait. He was not a happy camper. Allie and I giggled like girls do as he ran from side to side trying to get the dock to float back over to shore. After a while Dad rescued him and the game was back on. We fished for a while longer and I enjoyed listening to the back and forth bantor between the two of them. Blake wanted to change the rules to state that the one who caught the most fish would be crowned the winner, but Allie was not having any of it. It was such a pleasant afternoon, the temperature was perfect, the reflection of the woods on the surface of the water was breathtaking, the patterns of the dragonflys made me wish I too had wings, and the knowledge deep inside of my heart that Ash and I were back where we belonged just felt so good to me. She napped as the rest of us fished. As the evening was winding up we heard a splash over on Picnic Island(this is a story for another day). We all began to walk across the bridge to investigate what could be making such a splash when Blake grapped the fishing net and ran ahead of the rest of us. He had a plan in mind. It was a fish. A fish that he planned to catch and that he hoped would outsize his sisters declaring him the winner of our tournament. As he scooped up the near dead fish who had found itself marooned on Picnic Island Allie yelled from behind,"Dead Fish Don't Count! Dead fish don't count!"

I tell you this is a great life I am living. A lazy day with my three kids outside enjoying what the Creator placed all around us. It doesn't get any better than this. Who needs bathrooms anyways?