Crawdad Fishing at Strawberry Reservior

On Saturday we decided to take the kids fishing for crawdads at Strawberry. Or crawheads, as Luke calls them, or broadheads, as Abby calls them. Jason had surprisingly never done this before, so he hopped on Google and learned how to catch crawdads with a rope and some chicken bones. I wasn't extremely on board with the whole idea at first, but it was surprisingly fun. Strawberry Reservoir is so beautiful and it was a gorgeous day. We didn't plan on staying very long, but ended up fishing until dark. The kids loved it. We even boiled up our catch and ate crawdads fresh on the shore of the lake. They were delicious, or so I was told. When I saw how many legs and feelers and pinchers the little dudes had, and then watched them be thrown live into a pot of boiling water... well, it was enough to bring out the religion in me. As luck would have it, the next day was Fast Sunday, so I decided to start my fast a little early. It's supposed to be 24 hours, right? But I'm sure I would have loved every bite!

Jake was a little trooper in the pack-n-play.

Our first fishing spot was nice, but there were too many people around. And it was hot.

Luke borrowed my sunglasses and looked fantastic.

See what I mean about the feelers and pinchers and stuff?

Jake was thrilled about having the crawdads right next to him, and promptly threw his bottle into the bucket. Call me squeamish, but that is one bottle that did not come home with us.

Dallin caught a cutthroat all by himself. It looks like a rainbow, but it's not. I learned all about it.

Three little buddies.

Me and my four little buddies.

The crawdad boiling operation.

They really do turn red like lobsters when you cook them. Mm-mmm!

My little fishing daughter showing off her Sponge Bob smile. She is such an easy-going kid and enjoys everything to the fullest. Oh Abby, what would I do without you?

Little Jake has had a lot of adventures in his short life. I love Luke in the background, just prancing along the shore.

Luke finally got brave enough to pick up the crawdads without getting pinched. That's more than I can say for myself. Also, I think Luke looks like the Grinch in this picture. "I believe the child mentioned a... check?"

I really wish we wouldn't let the kids play with their food. And by kids, I mean Jason.

Jason let Luke reel in this cutthroat. Jason would be so mad about this picture because it doesn't display the fish properly, but I love it. Just the expression on Jake's face, and Luke's hands all splayed out and ready to grab the fish. I think it's hilarious.

This picture has a much better display factor, although ideally the fish would be held out at arm's length in front of the camera to create the illusion of enormity when compared with the tiny people behind it. The next time you see a picture of someone holding out a huge fish, don't believe it. It's just a mirage.

And... we're spent.

I'm so glad Jason has an adventurous streak and takes us on fun little trips like this. He's always up for anything and loves to explore and experience everything life has to offer. If a few crawdads die along the way, so be it. I think I have four lucky little kiddos!