We’re back from our annual trip to the lake, which means it’s time for my annual story about my Indoor Family doing outdoor things.  Click here and here if you need a refresher from years past.  This year, we were so lake-y that I have no one, but TWO stories.  Enjoy (I hope).

BOTE

Every year, my brother-in-law diligently brings along two inflatable stand up paddle boards, two sets of oars, and a large bicycle pump from North Carolina to Minnesota.  I am continuously impressed by this effort because my sister’s four-person family is able to pack their entire ten-day trip – clothes, toiletries, stuffies, quite a few water bottles, toys, a hammock, and two stand up paddle board set – into a singular not-at-all-large backpack duffle bag, whereas I cannot go on an overnight without my own dual set rolling suitcase and quilted overnight bag.  And I don’t even pack a balloon animal pump, let alone a bicycle pump.  Zero pumps, in fact.

Upon arrival at the cabin, my brother-in-law inflated the paddleboards and leaned them against the wood pile.

“Brought the Botes, I see,” I said like I do every year, putting a hard North Dakota-y OHHH sound on “Botes,” which is the brand of the paddle boards.

“Yep; hop out on the lake and try them out,” my brother-in-law said.

“Yeah, maybe,” I said, because last summer I had paddle boarded for the first time and was still very proud of myself, even though I paddle boarded on my knees the entire time because I was never brave enough to stand up.

“Maybe I’ll paddle board this year,” my dad.

“What?”  I said because, unlike me, when my dad says maybe he means yes; and because he’s of the age where his friends are doing fewer water sports, not more of them.

“Yeah, maybe I will,” he said.

Two days later, my dad zipped up a PFD (Personal Flotation Device; Indoor People call them life jackets), carried one of the paddle boards down to the lake, and hauled himself aboard.  I was inside at the time and felt it important to come out and observe this from a closer vantage point.  I stood by the water, my arms crossed and brow furrowed.  My sister wandered up beside me, her brow unfurrowed but her lips slightly pursed.

Our dad paddled around the water on his knees for a while.

“When you’re ready,” my brother-in-law called to him, “put both hands on the board and hoist yourself up to standing.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I shouted, thinking of my own inability to stand when I paddle boarded.

My dad set the oar on the board, put his hands down in front of him, stood up, and fell off.  The paddle board shot off towards the middle of the lake.

Without getting off his own paddle board, my brother-in-law retrieved the errant paddle board and returned it to my dad, who was floating around near the dock thanks to his PFD.  My brother-in-law pushed the group of them – dad, paddle board, oars, himself – to the shore.  My dad straightened up and got back on.

“No, Dad!” I shouted again.  “Come inside and let’s have a martini!”

My dad ignored me.  He got back on the board, paddled around the water a bit, and then stood up.  This time, he remained standing.

My family was out on the water for over an hour.  I stayed on the shore not drinking a martini since my martini maker was outdoorsing.

“Very good,” I said when my dad finally leaned the paddle board back up against the wood pile.

“We are the most adventuresome Silvermans this year,” my dad said.

“Speak for yourself,” I said.

FISH

My little sister, Erica, and I have a LOT in common.  We look alike, we sound alike, we laugh alike, we think alike, and we have the exact same sense of humor.  Our husbands think we are 1000% different and scoff whenever someone deign suggest it, but I can tell you that every single of one our children has confused one of us for the other at some point in their lives.  Where we actually differ is in our interests; Erica is very outdoorsy and I am not.  For example, my sister got engaged on top of a mountain, and if my husband had proposed to me on top of a mountain he’d be married to someone else because any husband of mine would know better than to think I would say yes to someone who knew so little about me.

With four sons between the two of us, fishing was a big part of our lake vacation.

“Come fishing with us, Mama,” Erica’s four-year-old said, grabbing the Styrofoam package of bait out of the fridge.

“Okay,” my sister said.

“You come, too,” my ten-year-old said.

“I’ll come sit on the dock,” I said.

“You both can come, and you can both bait Four’s rod and take off his fish,” Erica’s eight-year-old said.

“Not a chance,” my sister said, surprisingly.  As we are of one mind, she knew what I was thinking.

“I draw the line at fish,” she said to me.

“I draw the line at Styrofoam,” I said.

We both nodded, knowingly.

Two days later, Erica, my brother-in-law, and Four went out on the pontoon for a fishing expedition.  The rest of us stayed on shore to go swimming at the pool.  As we were sitting in the hot tub, my brother-in-law sent us a picture of my sister holding a fish IN HER HANDS.

“Erica is becoming a very serious fisher person,” he wrote.

Later on, my sister filled me in.

“Four was reeling in a fish every three seconds,” she said.  “My husband couldn’t do anything but bait worms or de-hook fish and so I felt badly and decided to help.”

“You’re a better person than I,” I said.

“It was horrible,” she said.

“Of course it was,” I said.

On our last day at the lake, I was sitting on the dock while Four and my brother-in-law fished beside me.

“Let’s fish together, Ant,” he said, using the nickname he bestowed upon me this summer.

“We are fishing together,” I said, leaning back onto my elbows.

“No, I fish one, and then you fish one,” he said.

“Fine,” I said, figuring he’d never catch the first fish and also because I couldn’t say no to that damn kid and ALSO because my dad stood up paddle boarded and my sister touched fish and worms and my dad’s comment about adventuresome Silvermans was rolling around in my brain.

Three seconds later, he caught a fish.  My brother-in-law took it off the hook and put a new worm on.

“Your turn!”  He said, handing me the rod.

“Fine,” I said, figuring I’d never catch another fish.

Three seconds later, I caught a fish.  My brother-in-law was nowhere to be seen.

“Who is going to take this fish off the rod?”  I asked Four.

“You are!”  He shouted with glee.

“UGH, FINE,” I said.  “But don’t tell anyone.”

I got Kyle’s fish glove, and realized I had no idea how to get a fish off a hook.  I gently wrapped my gloved hand around the fish.  It wriggled.

“Please stay still,” I said to the fish.  It stopped wriggling.  I got it off the hook and tossed it in the water.  It blessedly swam away.

“MY TURN!”  Four said.

“It’s your turn from now on,” I said, fanning my face and trying to get the memory of that experience out of my brain.  “Ant is retired from adventure.”

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The photo above is of my sister with Four. He spent most of the boat ride in that position. Why? Because.

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This week on North Dakota Today we talked about Tanner Werven, my Nice Person of the Week, as well as a major milestone at Grand Forks Public Library. (Valley News Live)

A little rain couldn’t put a damper on a nationalization ceremony for two dozen brand-new Americans. (Fargo Forum, Found from “Oops Only Good News”)

There are fewer than 500 Amur tigers in the world, and the Dakota Zoo is now home to three of them. (KFYR TV)

Kathy Waltsky took home gold – or potato – with her polish reuben casserole at the Heritage Festival’s annual Hot Dish Contest. (Grand Forks Herald)

The Minot South Prairie trap shooting team took third place in the nation at last month’s USAHSCTL Championships. (KFYR TV)

Looking for something to do on Thursday?  Head over to the North Dakota Museum of Art and lend a hand (or a face) for “Media Day.” (Facebook)

Mandan’s Annitsa Sprynczynatyk and her boyfriend are in the running for “America’s Favorite Couple.” (KFYR TV)

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