Finally over the Strawberry Slot by Terry

Terry often writes on the fishing forums about our fishing events. I thought this would be fun to have in our journal so you can see the things he notices... It only took him 1 hour to write this entry. Yes his user name is The Green Hornet. He is kinda cute I have to admit he catches my attention!

Finally over the slot at Strawberry. 4/15/2012
by TheGreenHornet » Apr 15, '12, 9:09

I finally caught a cut over the slot this afternoon and I was super excited. I told my wife that catching this fish is why I'm ok with the drive to Strawberry and getting skunked quit often just to have a chance at fish like this. Then, I might have said something that equated catching this fish with harvesting a deer during the hunts and she might have said that maybe its because the deer I get are about the same size as my fish. Ouch. I might have cried a bit.

Anyway, last weekend we fished Soldier Creek Dam and didn't even get a bite. Today, Sunday the 15th of April, we fished Strawberry's Portal bay. We fished from 11:30 to 3:30. The weather was a little cold with a little on and off snow flurries. The ice was about 100 yards off shore in that area and we the ice sheet in front of us shrunk about half its size while we were there. The ice still touched the shoreline in a lot of areas but there was plenty of spots of open water around the shores also. We had three in our fishing party and only landed 8 fish. We had about 8 additional bites that we were unsuccessful in landing. Fishing around us was about the same. Most of our success was achieved with peach colored salmon scented power bait and our biggest cutthroat being caught on a minow with a white jig. We were able to take three fish home with us so we invited the inlaws over for a fresh trout dinner cooked over the grill.

April 1-15 Spring Break

Sunday the 1st Terry and I woke up and set some April Fools tricks out. But the best one that I did was when I made the kids some perfectly good waffles with some special Pinterest Carmel Syrup with a little evil in my eye... Nobody dared to try them, they almost ended in the trash because of all the tricks the morning had shared with them already.

Terry got some special cigarettes that really smoke and have tinfoil ends that light up to trick the kids. He lite-up right in the kitchen and immediately all the kids said "that's not real you would never smoke dad..." So his trick didn't really work that well. Which I must say I am glad they knew him well enough.

Treg covered the toilet in toilet paper then put on some fake tp on the dispenser. That got Tia really good! Then he hid some bugs around the house that silly little trickster. He even taped some hidden string across our doorway so we felt like we just walked through a spiderweb.

What a fun day to do tricks on each other. Then the kids spent the day playing legos together and listening to General Conference. I was in the kitchen cutting up my kids favorite childhood clothes to make into blankets someday. This was a project I have been wanting to do for years. And Terry was in the garage fixing the kids four wheeler so we can sell it since they are just getting to big for it. Love General Conference and all the great messages to be remembered.

Then we had the traditional April Fools Dinner. The kids look forward to this dinner all year long so when I pulled out the bowls for them to pick their 3 dinner choices they all got delighted except Terry... He just wanted his food and he didn't want to choose for which 3 he got... He wanted it all. Bowdee wasn't too excited for his spinach, cookies and carrots. I told him he could have as much spinach and carrots as he wanted and that still didn't help much.

Tuesday the 3rd I got to go play Bunco at my sister-in-laws house. Tara is such a cutie when she asked me I just knew I had to go because she never asks me anything and she is so sweet how could anyone say no... That was the excuse I fed Terry when deep down inside I was so excited to go. I told her she could just claim "her brother married this crazy lady not her". So I went and had a great time I guess I was having too much fun because one of the ladies there actually asked me if I was drunk... Oops I guess I should have just laid off on the fun and no I was not drunk just drunk on fun. I told her that is how some mothers just act when they finally get away from life.

Wed the 4th Bowdee and Iz went snowboarding for their last time of the season to Sundance with the little amount of snow that fell this year they decided to close on the 8th which is pretty early. So I drove them to Macy's and let them go have their day of fun. What a fun thing for 2 cousins to experience together. Of course they had to hustle home for soccer practice, then straight to baseball practice but no complaints was our deal if they got to go snowboarding all day. After all he did get to chill and watch a good Jazz game which is another favorite activity of his.

Finally the weekend got here and Terry took me on a real date. We went to a Wings place in Saratoga Springs to play some pool with his friend Rusty. I had such a good time just being with Terry and out in a casual environment it was kinda like we were dating again. Not to mention Rusty is such a fun guy to be around always up for a good time.

Saturday was filled with Soccer games which were some rough games with it being Easter weekend we didn't have many substitutes so the kids that were there were playing their guts out. Bowdee was most excited about his game winning goal scored in the last minute of the game. After our games we came home and colored eggs and made some cotton candy and did some chores in the garage. Busy but fun and productive!

Easter morning was great the bunny came and filled our yard with hidden eggs. Its always the same Blue and Green Eggs are for Treg, Yellow and Orange eggs are for Bowdee, Pink and Purple for Tia. They find their eggs then come inside to find their baskets. I made the kids cinnamon rolls for breakfast with a smoothie and a fun Peeps sunflower cake (thanks to Pinterest) for desert.

After we were all finished with Easter surprises Terry and I decided it was a perfect day to go for a drive. So we loaded up the kids and headed to Strawberry to check out the amazing ice off fishing... Well it turned out to be not so amazing at the spot we were at or the fish just didn't like what we had to offer. So after a few hours we packed her up came home got in our "to stays (a.k.a. pj's) and watched the Jazz :)

OOOHHHH I just can't tell you how much I just love Spring Break. Yes it is always hard to go back to school and finish up a year after having so much fun but it's worth it. Terry didn't have the time to take off work so we just stayed close and took it easy, but we still made a point to have some fun... This is what our week looked like. Monday we woke up and the kids went horseback riding at Grandpa's house...

While I took Annie out for her 12 year old photo shoot. This girl is so amazing she is very photogenic and one of the easiest girls to take photos of. She is creative and adventurous and just made the morning fun to capture some great photos for her. She did a formal wear, soccer action shots, and then hunger games themed setting. I can't decide my favorites so I guess that is where her mom comes into play.

Tuesday we hiked with Battle Creek Falls with our good Callaway friends. It was a nice fun hike to start the year off. Just a little over a mile not to steep but not a walk either. Got to the falls had a little lunch then we turned around and headed back to a little pond where the kids all had the most fun skipping rocks! I love going with the Callaways because everyone has a friend and we all get along so well! That night Terry and I still had enough energy to trim our trees and work on sprinklers.

Wednesday we went swimming with our Garrick Friends then played afterward until Bowdee had baseball practice. But by night time we were just beat so we all climbed into bed and watched the Pirates of Caribbean 4 and the Jazz game. What a fun relaxing night. I remember doing this with my family growing up and I still cherish those moments.

Thursday we spent the day at Trafalga then a movie with the Adamson boys. Easton and Dawson are such good boys they are fun to have around so after begging their mom who had been up since 3 we went and spent the day having fun. The most funny thing we did was went to Maceys and most the kids ordered small or med. Bowdee ordered a large called a "Kong" and boy oh boy was it large we are talking like 11" tall! So big we had to cup that thing before it fell over.

Friday morning I took my 3 kids boarding up to Brighton all by myself. I couldn't believe they were big enough to take this on. It was perfect to start out blue skies, smiling faces, good discounts (only $63 for all 4 of us), perfect powder (not too much not to little). We were all loving it. We went several times and enjoyed everything. Matia even got off the lift without falling. Then we went for lunch in the car....

Then while we were in the car Treg begged and begged us to take him on the little kid boarding park. Bowdee warned us it was not a good idea because it was so slow today because of the powder... But Treg wouldn't let up and I wanted him to understand what Bowdee was talking about. So we headed out into the great disaster of the day. We made it to the park without much walking but it was to slow to hit the rails.

Then we headed away from the park to the bottom and I ended up hiking for the next 1&1/2 hours pulling Tia and Treg out of the powder and pushing them up hills and sweating my guts out... It was not a pretty sight... I tried to keep my cool and I think I did really well... By the time we got to the bottom all of our legs were mush and Treg caught his front edge and slammed his face into the snow. With him bawling and crying, the storm front hit us like a brick wall the wind kicked up and snow was falling like crazy. I sent Bowdee up for one last run and even he said it was too bad to go again and we were calling it a day.

Way back in the day when Kami and I would spend alot of time boarding we had this crazy tradition... After snowboarding we would always go to Training Table for cheese fries and a DP. So we meet Terry for dinner and enjoyed some yummy not so good for us food. But it tasted good and there were no complaints. We were all so hungry and beat it was PERFECT!

This year the weather for spring break was very springy. It was very unpredictable cold, snowy, and just not fun. So we stayed home over the weekend and cleaned the barn, garage, stained the countertops and watched the Jazz play a few games on the good ole TV. But Sunday we just couldn't take it any longer. So Bowdee, Terry and I went on a little date up to Strawberry to do a little fishing. Bowdee is reading the Storm Testament series and he was just as excited to read his book as catch a fish.

He did catch 2 nice ones then mom caught 5 more on top of that one. Then I was giving Terry some crap about sitting in the car and watching his pole or reading his book as I was out getting snowed on catching all the fish. When at the very last minute the finally caught a cutthroat over the 22" slot it weighed 3 lbs and was a monster.

So with Terrys one really nice fish and Bowdee's and all of mine we decided to have mom and dad over for dinner that night and a little Jazz game time watchin. I will never tire of watching the Jazz with my mom. She is just like her mom she gets very into it and has so much passion for this young team. I LOVE IT!

March 18-31

Sunday, I know it is suppose to be a day of rest but today Terry and I just couldn't rest until we had those counter tops poured. You see Tregs baptism is this weekend and we just really wanted to have them poured so that the basement looked just that much more finished when all our family came over. So we had fun mixing the concrete and pouring it into the molds then while Terry stayed home and babysat them I took the kids to church. Tregs teacher had asked us parents to come and talk about mission work.

So I went and talked about my dad and how thankful I am that he had friends that asked him to go to church with him every Sunday, and how those kids made him feel so completely special when he was there. Without them I am sure my dad would have eventually led down the same path his brothers did and his parents a life without the special teachings of the Church. I am also so thankful that my dad was a good enough man to listen to them and believe in God and chose to be baptized at the age of 16. No you don't have to be 19 and called on a mission to be a missionary. We can be missionaries every day of our lives just by showing people you care for them. Just like Jesus asks us to do "Love thy neighbor".

Tuesday the 20th was Bowdee's baseball tryouts he is trying out for the Majors this year. Baseball is not his favorite sport but I talked him into doing it one more year. So he was throwing with Izak at tryouts and he leaned to catch a ball and another kid missed his throw and hit  Bowdee in the ear with the ball REALLY hard. It was cold and you know how those ears get. Well he dropped to the ground like a sack of flour about 5 men went running to make sure he was ok. He slowly got up but he had quite the goose egg on his head behind his ear and it hurt to run for a few days after that.

Wednesday the 21st I got to go to Bunco with some good friends of mine. Well Kim is actually my neighbor and visit teacher so I am not so sure she feels obligated to invite me or if she enjoys my company but I sure enjoy going and chillin with her and Deena. Terry stayed home and helped Treg build his first official Pinewood Derby car. Of course he is painting it Gold with a million dollar bill on top and calling it the "Money Machine" I am sure it is going to look really cool! He just is loving scouts and is so excited to be old enough to do all this fun stuff!

Friday was spent cleaning, decorating cupcakes, going to lunch w/ Holly, cleaning some more, and then finally at night we got to go see the AF Childrens Play of Aladdin. Our friends the Callaways were in it with Daisy being a DARLING townsfolk and Annie being Aladdin. Annies personality definitely fits Aladdin and they both did an amazing job. Afterward Matia was begging me to put her back into it this summer so maybe we will try it again. Good job Callaways!

Saturday March 24th what a day, today was the day that Treg was baptized. What a special day in his life. Today is the day that Grandpa Covington will take Treg and wash away his sins. What a fun day for him and then for Grandpa Townsend to bless him with the gift of the Holy Ghost. Afterward we had all our friends and family come back to the house for a spaghetti lunch and dessert.

Grandparents, Glads, Kami's, Kyles, Talesha's, Tara R., Callaways, Christina & Caden, Holly & Peyton, Tonja's, Treg's Teachers the Denney's all came to help Treg celebrate his great decision. We love you Treg and we are so proud of you for Choosing the Right.

This morning Terry and I were going stir crazy so we jumped in the truck to go fishing at Deer Creek when the truck was dead. So we had to go buy new batteries then off we went. The fishing was very very bad without one single bite so we marked it off as a drive up the canyon and a sit down by the lake then headed back to the city. Then we picked up mom and dad Covington and went to see the Hunger Games. When we were on vacation last year we listened to mom read them to us so it only seemed fit to watch them together and it was a GREAT time we all agreed it was done very well.

Today was a busy day but the most memorable thing was when I sent Treg off to his first Cub Scouts Meeting. I remember sending Bowdee and he seemed so old and ready for that. But with Treg he just seems so young and small to be that old... Maybe I am just realizing he is getting older and I don't like it. I am sure your going to make a great scout Treg have fun!

So for Christmas both Bowdee and Izak got passes to Sundance Ski Resort. They have been able to go about once a week since Christmas and has just loved every minute of it. It is funny though because his teacher is starting to tease him about it by saying "Oh Bowdee when I was watching the news 2 nights ago I knew you would be to school yesterday because of the snowstorm we got." Kinda funny but I am so thankful they have each other and they both enjoy it so much.

Treg loves me being involved in his schooling as much as possible. Which I really don't mind because I know that all changes when they get into about 6th grade. So when he begged me and begged me to be a secret reader to his class I just couldn't resist. He helped me pick out the book then I surprised him by dressing up to go read to his class. It was a fun experience and I am glad I let him talk me into it. Love you Treg!

The last day of March we gathered around the Garricks fire pit in their backyard to enjoy some family time. We get along so well with this family it's amazing that it all started with 2 kindergartners deciding to be friends just 7 years ago. Thanks to Adi and Bowdee we are still friends with this amazing family. Love them all thanks for the yummy smores!

March 1-15 2012

Wow I can't even begin to tell you how busy this month has been already. First of all with buying a new car there is all the hasle of getting it inspected and registered and plates for it. Then we are trying to pour concrete counter tops so there is tons of research to find out how to do it and where to buy all the right products to make it a success. Then my niece Karrilyn is getting married so there was bridal shower gifts and wedding gifts to plan out then a full day of fun attending everything I possibly could to show her how much I love her and how proud I am of her for choosing to be married in the temple. With that my 2 brothers from out of state came in and so of course I wanted to spend as much time as possible with them because I just love their guts! Then of course it is March so Matia had her birthday. Treg is turning 8 so he will be getting baptized this next weekend and he had a fabulous birthday party at Trafalga. Bowdee got braces which was a big hurry because of the way his eye teeth were coming in. He also had his Jr. High registration which where they let you go to the Jr. High and walk around and get signed up for things. This all in itself freaked me out because he can't really be going to Jr. High that means he is really growing up. Then St. Patricks day always stresses me out just thinking of those tricky leprechauns messing up my house 4 times for the preschool then for my kids. I won't lie there were days I felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown. But I made it through and now I feel like I can almost breath. When I get this way it stresses Terry out because he can see all I am doing to keep my head above water so that always causes contention because he tells me to chill when sometimes I just can't until it is all behind me. So I am trying, I am trying to remember to slow down and breath. So here it goes we will start from the very beginning and hit all the highlights!

March 3rd was Bowdee's last basketball game he played a good season and I am so glad he is on the rec league it just makes it more fun then stressful. Bowdee is a very competative player when he joins a team he gives it his all and he hates to loose. So it was hard for him because they didn't win very many games but I can truly say when Bowdee played he played 100% and in my eyes that is what makes a winner not the end score. Thank you Bowdee for playing so hard and Terry for being willing to coach these fabulous boys! Then I went to Karrilyns wedding shower and of course me being the terrible aunt that I am convinced the other aunts we just had to get something to embarrass her... So we did and well she didn't appreciate it like we thought she would. Maybe someday she will forgive me.

On Sunday the 4th I missed being with my family so we went to Strawberry to go ice fishing with Troys family. We took the snowmobile and that was cool then we just stayed close so the kids could sled on the hill while we fished. The weather was perfect and they had fun building a ice fort but we didn't catch any fish. I tell you what I sure love being outside and being busy! Makes me feel like I am really living life!

March 10th was the day my Karrilyn got married. I can't believe she is really married I feel like such an old woman. She was just born last year (so it seems) can it really be true that she is really 24 and old enough to be married. She really seems happy too. I am so happy for her but I just still can't believe it. So I drove my 3 brothers, Kami and Lakota to Manti to be at the temple at 9:15. Then after photos and all the hooray we went enjoyed the day being together.

I wish we could have stole Kathy and Mike to spend some time with us but they had other obligations so we ate at a little diner there in Manti and took a quick scenic drive to Palisades before we headed to the luncheon in Santaquin. Enjoyed getting to know Gavins family, which he is really sweet and will fit in our crazy family just fine. Then went home to grab our families for the reception.

They would have been to the all day affair but Matia had her last basketball game and horse lessons she just didn't want to miss. Which I have to say I have just loved her basketball team as well they are so much fun. It has been the same team (mostly) for 2 years now so it is fun to watch them improving! Matia was awarded the Ms. Punch Out award for not being shy to jump in there and knock the other team out. Matia does play with some aggression which the coach wishes he could install into all the other players. Thanks for playing Tia we love to watch you!

So the reception was fabulous we showed up at the end where there was music and dancing and cake eating you know all the good stuff. I had fun swinging with my nephew AJ who I have not seen in over 2 years due to a mission. That was great and then just watching my crazy family just be crazy and enjoying each others company. Yes my sister cried alot of it but I have a feeling I will too when Tia gets hitched. Then they were gone just like that so we stayed and helped clean up and the kids loaded up on the extra cake!

I forgot to mention late last night Matia invited her long lost uncles over for a birthday breakfast... So Terry threw together a fabulous breakfast while I cleaned the house and wrapped all her gifts. Again it was great to spend more time with them the more time the better. But a little notice would have been nice, Tia...

Then it was off to celebrating the birth of my baby girl. Wow she is already 10 years old and wanting glasses so she looks older... What is that about? Oh well we took her to the mall we went to eat at the Chuckarama for her and Tregs birthday dinners. We have never eaten there as a family and they loved every minute of it! I just of course loved being with my darling family.

Matia's celebration so Matia turning 10 is crazy yes. But it is so fun to watch her learn and grow. Lately I have been a little nervous because she seems to be distancing herself from her friends at school. Just wanting to be home and not playing w/ friends. I guess everyone is different I just hope she doesn't lose all her close friends because I know how much joy my friends bring me. So I had her invite a few friends to go swimming and have some cake and ice cream. They seemed to have a fabulous time and I enjoyed watching her interact with her friends.

But most of all I loved taking her to lunch and spending one on one time with her. She wanted to go to Subway for a quick bite so we would have time to go to Justice for Girls before we headed back to School. I sure love my one on one time with this cutie. She always makes me so happy, with her cute smile and sweet lovie personality!

Wednesday the 14th was another BIG day in our lives. I dropped the kids off to school and then took Bowdee to the Orthodontist to get braces. Ya his teeth look so straight but there wasn't room for his eye teeth so they are coming straight out pointing to his lips. So Dr. Carter thought it was best if we got his braces as soon as possible so we could make some room. I can't believe how fast the process was. These Drs. are amazingly quick, accurate, and punctual I love that.

Then we decided to celebrate Tregs Big number 8 birthday on Wednesday so I could take him to lunch as well. He wanted to go to Chili's which is so cute. We have only been there twice with the family and I didn't think he liked it that well but he said now we can watch a baseball game while we eat mom isn't that cool. So he had a little cheese pizza, applesauce, and he was so excited when I let him order his own Dr. Pepper. I Love this kid he is so extremely smart and creative!

After school we had his friends come over and we took them to Trafalga. Treg loves Trafalga but I never get him tokens so I gave them each a $5.00 token card, we had pizza, played laser tag, and our token games and had so much fun. Then we headed back to our house for gifts and cake and Ice cream. Treg is still a major fan of money and gold so this is what his cake turned out to be like. And yes he wants to go gold mining for his birthday!

Thursday the 15th was another crazy day here at the Townsends. First of all I had my preschool St. Patricks Day party and wouldn't you know it those leprechauns showed up 3 different times to mess up our classrooms. Then right after school was piano for Tia, Soccer for Treg and the JR. High Registration for Bowdee. Then baptism interview with primary leader Trish for Treg and Tia off to dance.

At school Matia had the 4th grade Mountain Man Rendezvous, which she loved! She really wanted me to help out but I just couldn't with it being a Thursday :( But when she got home we asked her how many Trader Bucks she got she said "Oh I got quite a bit but then there were some boys in my class who had none so I gave them all away. See I tell ya she has a heart of gold! She made stress balls to sell all by herself and she sold them all! Of course she didn't want to be a pioneer lady she wanted to dress like a cowgirl. She is what she is that is for sure!

I just can't believe Bowdee is old enough to be having his own locker, girlfriends, and pretty much I can kiss him goodbye. I just hope he lets me still be apart of his life and he isn't too embarrassed of me. When we were at the Jr. High we ran into his LONG time GREAT friend Adi. They were opening lockers together and she just couldn't get it and he said "Adi if you ever need help with your locker just come get me and I will open it for you." How sweet is that? Man I love you Bowdee and I hope your Jr. High days are fun and exciting for you and that you love every minute of it.

Friday the 16th finally came and the kids dressed in green for school which they always look so cute I could just pinch them but I couldn't because they had their green on. Then I took the day to recover. I took Dash for a 2&1/2 mile run, I went swimming with Kami, then to lunch with Amy. It was nice to talk to her since she is going through the same issues I am with sending my oldest off to Jr. High. I guess I just remember too much of Jr. High and it scares me!

Saturday we woke up to a messy house... DANG LEPRECHAUNS! They got us again. So we spent the morning cleaning up after those tricksters, trimming dash, cleaning the chicken coop, and gagging down some green pinterest muffins mom thought would be fun to have with our green smoothie for breakfast. After all the grief the kids gave me about the green breakfast she took the day off and decided nobody needed or really wanted a green dinner or lunch. Tia went to horse lessons from 1:30-3:00 and we finished prepping the basement for the concrete to be poured tomorrow.