The wooded pond.

So over the weekend, we found a little treasure nestled in the heart of the burbs....

And I don't want to call it the secret fishing pond, because I already have

the secret pool and secret lake, (enough already right?)

BUT

this place kind of is.

This place was amazing, it was secluded,

It deserves the honor....it was a S E C R E T.

So, I'll say it once................... we found a secret fishing pond.

I was born and raised here and it has been under my nose my whole life.

You think I would of discovered it by now.

But this Utah valley holds many wonders and many great places,

that's why we love it here.... so much to do.

we have had a great summer discovering all of these new secrets.

(Look how wooded and pretty!)

My kids go fishing here with Ry. They have called it their own fishing pond.

It is smack in the middle of a neighborhood, would never know

it's here unless you had specific instructions.

I owe credit to my sister, Misty.

Remember she moved 3.8 miles away and

her boys discovered this pond.....

so thanks Monsen's

(Ry hooked all 3 fishing poles. Kids had high hopes of catching a carp or a catfish..)

Part of Ry's bday was to fish with the kids.

They have been here 3 times...

I had never gone with them, so I decided to try it out and go fish..

Wasn't so excited to go

BUT

when I stepped into the wooded path lined with old shady trees, I was..... amazed.

The pond was green and luminating the sunlight.

The path was speckled with sunshine darting through the branches.

I fell in love. I loved this place.

It was quiet, it was pretty,

it was a new found fishing pond.

(Ashlyn fishing with the duckies. A turtle was about 10 feet away, swimming away in the pond. He kept poking his head in and out of the water. I love this pic, it's so peaceful and happy.)

The kids love it too. It's like the Tom Sawyer/ Huck Finn pond.

Exploring through the broken trees, playing in the mud, fishing for a big catch

and just having a good time.

The day before, Jake caught a 3 pound catfish. I wasn't there and didn't have my camera....

So we were waiting and waiting to get the big catch.

(and yes the pond is as green as it looks in the pic...but for some reason, it didn't feel gross or dirty to me. You could see a steady stream of water flowing in....)


We waited and waited. patiently.

We fed the ducks and we played around the banks of the pond.

The boys caught guppies in their hands..and we still waited.

(The duckies were not shy. You could tell they were used to people feeding them..)

Waiting for the first big catch.

But it was okay nothing was biting...
We were having such a nice quiet afternoon.

It was so lovely.

Our secret pond.

dusk started to fall, the light got lower and lower.

Still waiting for a tug on the line.

and

then Aus felt one.

It seemed big.

It was something, maybe a big fish...

a catfish, a carp, a shark?? :)

but when he pulled his line up....

(The Larsens came along to hang with us and fish...)

He caught a fishing pole. Yes a fishing pole.

He is holding it in his hand in the pic. Ry cleaned it off, hooked a line to it,

and poof, we had another pole....

good job aus!
But no luck with the real fishies. Just little baby ones....

So we called it a night and walked the wooded path back to the car.

The kids danced in the sunlight

and played with all the dragonfly's...Till next time at the fishing pond.

The Secret fishing pond that is.

Oh yes, we will be back. Maybe for FHE (family home evening)

and yes, we will get the big catch!

Cheers to our new little discovery!

Lexi, Jake, Lani and Mace

(It's funny b/c the kids are all sitting so close together..they have the whole bank to sit on, but they choose to sit right close to each other. Kind of S W E E T isn't?)

I love this pic.

and I want to frame it to always

remember my secret summer of 2009....