FAMILY FISHING FUN

Sam had been hoping that a family vacation would mean at least one or two mornings of sleeping in. She'd forgotten that for a family with two preschoolers this was not likely to happen, particularly when said preschoolers were excited about going fishing "with real fish".

On the shores of Twin Lakes, just outside Colorado Springs, Jack O'Neill, his wife and very excited four year old twins, prepared to push off in a small fishing boat just as the sun came over the horizon. The night before, Jack had promised Grace and Jake that the best time to fish was very early in the morning, guaranteeing that the two eager beavers would be up and raring to go before the crack of dawn. Sam would be forever grateful for her husband's enthusiasm!

All four family members had donned life jackets before leaving the shore. Although the lake was shallow and Jack didn't like wearing the flotation devices, he knew the only way the twins would wear theirs would be to imitate their parents. The two had quickly become pretty good swimmers for their age, but he and Sam weren't taking any chances.

For nearly an hour, the four sat quietly in the tiny craft, even the twins absorbed in the "act of fishing". They'd each been given small fishing poles, functional enough that their father could teach them to cast and reel in whatever came their way. Sam had her fishing pole as well, but had propped it up in front of her. Before she knew it, her eyes had closed and she was sleeping sitting up. This hadn't missed Jack's attention. He decided to let her snooze convinced he was more than capable of watching the kids and his fishing pole. (Besides, it had been a long time since he had actually caught a fish.)

"Daddy, can we go to McDonald's for lunch?" Grace asked, breaking the peaceful silence with her tiniest, pleading voice. She knew her daddy was much more likely to say yes, now that mommy was fast asleep. Besides, she remembered they'd passed a McDonalds on the drive up yesterday and she really liked Happy Meals, a lot more than fish.

"Princess, we're having fish for lunch. Big fish," Jack replied, holding his arms out to demonstrate the unbelievable size his inevitable catch would be.

"Daddy, you don't really catch fish." Jake stated with certainty. "You just fish, mommy says so."

"She does, does she? Just you wait till she gets to clean this BIG fish I'm catching."

At this, Sam began to stir, "Are you all talking about me? What am I cleaning?"

On cue, Jack felt a tug on his line and let out a whoop, "I think you're cleaning whatever's on the end of my line, right now!"

Sam shifted slightly in the small boat, put down her own fishingpole and came over to stand by Jack.

"Wow, Jack O'Neill, actually catching a fish. This is a moment in history."

"Laugh if you will, but this could be lunch."

Within another minute, Jack had reeled in a BIG fish. Sam didn't know which was worse, fishing with no fish or having to clean the large creature now lying on the floor of the boat. And Grace and Jake, well they knew that McDonald's was out, at least for today. That was, unless they could convince mommy and daddy there was no way they were eating the cute little fishie daddy caught.

There was hope! Grace and Jake just grinned at each other, planning their next move.