Fishin' with Papa

My dad (Papa) loves to fish. It's always been the one thing you can count on Dad really enjoying 

and always willing to go do. He was eager to get Ella her first fishing pole and take her out. A week or so ago he took her to Cabela's and purchased her a beautiful pink and purple Disney Princesses rod and reel. Ella can't seem to say "rod and reel" and it usually comes out "grod and greel." Anywho, he got her set up to practice casting in the backyard shortly after the purchase. 

However, she was more interested in trying to catch the crown casted out rather than casting or reeling.

On Sunday after church we headed to Riverfront Park which has a small lake loaded with little fish. Unfortunately, during the many rains last week I discovered Ella is petrified of earthworms which I knew would make fishing interesting. And it did! 

Dad was seated on the bank and when he opened that little container of worms Ella practically climbed all the way up his back and on top of his hat squealing like only a 3 year old can. HYSTERICAL to all of us. Then her Disney Princesses decided to malfunction and rendered itself useless. She didn't seem too terribly upset but Dad and I were. There were literally hundreds of small blue gills just sitting at the bank ready to bite any and everything.  It was ideal for her first fishing trip but needless to say the worms were a turn off. Then when she caught the first fish and I tried to get a picture of her and Papa with it, she ran all the way up the bank squealing and cowering. I couldn't get the picture quick enough.  And when Papa took him off the hook to release him she squealed louder with her arms up in the air and said "No, no, aren't we taking him home?"  I really think she thought we were gonna take the blue gill home and put him in a fish bowl like her goldfish Murphy.

All the fun isn't on Ella I suppose. I love to fish and I can handle an earthworm no problem, except when Dad informed me in order to conserve worms I needed to "pinch" them in two. UH! NO!  I said, "Dad, I'll hook my worm all day long but I don't squish worms in two prior to hooking them." He laughed as you might imagine. Now it's with that story that my dear sweet husband (who in the 10 plus years we've been together has NEVER gone fishing) said while laughing at me "that is why you don't take a girl fishing!" I beg to differ, of course. Then when I informed him that Dad hardly got to fish between me asking him to half the worms and me having to get him to take the little boogers off the hook to release, he just dropped his head and shook it.  Nope, I don't take them off the hooks either. I am a girl! I can hook a worm and I can cast a rod with the best of them but I don't squish worms in two nor do I grab'em and unhook 'em. I just don't!

I apologized to dad repeatedly but he just laughed and assured me he loved it, he didn't care at all. He loved it so much he took me back out today! And he took Ella's Princess "grod and greel" back and replaced it with a Lighting McQueen instead. Perhaps McQueen will be able to cast better than the Princesses and perhaps Ella will be more open to the use of artificial bait than the real worms. We'll find out later in the week!