Barbie girl

As I mentioned in my previous post Kaylie was so incredibly excited to fish with actual bait in an actual stream with real fish. Not knowing exactly what to expect we set off to find a spot that didn't have raging rapids just in case she ended up in the water and mommy or daddy...probably daddy...had to go in after her. Beavers Bend is known for their amazing trout fishing. They actually dump thousands of trout in at the bottom of the river several times a year. Many people come out fully decked in their waders, hats, fishing jackets and fly poles. Our family...we came out with a Barbie pole, Sponge Bob pole, and daddy's real pole. The ironic part was daddy's "real" pole stunk. He ended up fishing with Kaylie's Barbie pole. Their is no shame in fishing with a Barbie pole!!!

All said and done our first experience was good. We were wondering how Kaylie would handle catching her first fish but that problem was solved when we didn't catch anything. I am pretty sure the fish were fat full and happy because very few people were catching anything so it didn't make us feel too bad we were happy to get the experience under our belts.

When we finished we had three official snafus. First, she caught another child the first time she tried to cast by herself, she caught my hair once, and the straw that ended her fishing for the day was when she caught her hair and understandably freaked out. Thankfully no one else was hurt. After that we taught her how to drop it in the water without throwing it and just letting it float down the water. That is the beauty of fishing for trout you want the bait to stay closer to the surface so it can mimic a fly. Floating down the stream works well.

We decided to go again the day before we left. This time we sat on top of a hill and dropped the line straight down and let it float. Again...I think I only saw one fish caught the entire time. Good thing is the experience was a positive one for her and she continues to ask to go fishing even after we got home.

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Super daddy spent time the night before getting every one's fishing poles ready. He was happy!!!

I am always in awe over his interactions with her. He is so patient when teaching her things. For me I just want to get it done and struggle to slow down to teach. I know that sounds weird coming from a teacher but their are times I just want to get it done. He lets her chose things, talks to her, and shows her with true patience what to do. If he needs her to do something she listens. I love that!!!

So proud of herself. It was definitely different casting with actual bait and not a plastic fish. We took that for granted when she tried casting herself and that is where our first mishap occurred. The other two were with parents and the we just got in the way.

We love that she loves everything outdoors. She takes it all in and gets so excited to try these things...ok...sometimes it takes a few tries and a little persuading but afterwards she can't wait to do it again.

Switching sides...the first spot we picked had a lot of people so we decided to go ahead and move to the other side to give ourselves a little space. As you can see both Kaylie and daddy are quit happy. She is definitely a girly girl tomboy. In my opinion that is a great person to be. Enjoy being cute and love to get dirty. The dirty part is new and a relief for us. We aren't forced to wipe her down anytime she lands in the dirt and that happens often.

Let mommy have some time with her. She and I actually got a lot of bonding time in while daddy spent some time in a quieter setting. I wanted to make sure he got some time to himself as well. I enjoyed being with her.

BIG pole...tiny girl. Kind of funny looking. It just doesn't look right. Glad a fish didn't take advantage of this photo op. Otherwise I would have had a photo op that wouldn't have been very funny at the time but hilarious a few weeks later.

No shame in fishing with Barbie especially if it catches you a fish.

Done fishing now it is time to play in the dirt. Good thing it is the end of winter because the outfits we took with us were pretty much ruined. To me...that is a sign she had a good time. We got plenty of wear out of them so do what you want with them.

Exploring God's beauty

Day 2 was beautiful. It is such a blessing to be able to sit outside all day and enjoy the beauty the Lord has given us. It was breath taking and peaceful. You never really realize how much you need to get away from the hustle and busel of the world until you are there. Our cell friends had little to no access which made it easy not to be attached at the hip to it. It is such a strange yet freeing feeling to actually feel like you have been out of the loop for awhile. Doesn't happen enough. The start of day 2 we took Kaylie on her first fishing trip. Those pictures will be in the next post. Even though we didn't catch anything it was a good way to introduce Kaylie to actual fishing and not the type she had been doing with the plastic fish attached to the end. Once back we picked up a few more fishing supplies and Kaylie's fishing net ended up being used to "catch" butterflies. I use the word catch loosely because she spent a lot of time chasing it and almost had it until the butterfly turned around and started to fly back at her. She took of screaming and ran back up to us and refused to look again. Her net was then made in to a rock collector. This kept her entertained for hours.

The killer butterfly realized he didn't want her chasing her anymore and turned around to attack.

We had a bunch of outdoor games for us to play. Kaylie actually did pretty well at Boccie ball and ladder golf. Caught me off guard.

Kaylie and Trey had a great time together. They made it through the trip without any fights. Impressive for a three and four year old.

Her first smore to actually try. Afterwards she ate the chocolate and crackers with out the marshmallow.

Beavers Bend, OK

After going to Beavers Bend in October we had so much fun and Kaylie talked so much about it we knew we would be going back some what soon. Turned out we were able to go back for spring break. It was nice to see the park at a different time of year. It made me really appreciate seeing the changing of the seasons. This time around things were on the verge of blooming. I am pretty sure if we went a week or two later every thing would have been in full bloom. Even without the flowers it was still beautiful. Different but beautiful. Being spring break the park was full. We rented a cabin that was smaller but just as secluded. It had everything we needed to have a week of relaxation. Day 1: Since we new it could rain one of the days we were there we decided to do a few out door things in case we were rained in another day. Of course we had to do the paddle boats and then did some sight seeing. Great way to start the trip.

 After our first trip all Kaylie would say was that she wanted to go back to Beaver Lake. We didn't tell her until we got out of the car to the paddle boats. This is her excited little woo hoo dance!

She insisted on helping paddle. I was shocked at how well she did this time around.

Curly Girly

Little Miss definitely has my hair. It is thick, soft, and very sensitive. Anything I do she flips out saying I am hurting her so when I decided to take on the task of trying to curl her hair I wasn't sure what I was in for. I decided to use my blow dryer curling iron and after a minute or two she of freaking out she gave in and let me do it. Just like my hair the curls didn't hold too long but their was at least some body to her hair. She loved it and even asked to have it done again the next day.

First rain

As the clouds started to turn grey I started to watch through the windows to see if it was raining. The minute I saw it was it was a mad dash to get her clothes on. The entire time she kept saying,"is it still raining, is it still raining?" I laughed and said she needed to hurry up or it would stop. As you can see by the picture and the few rain drops on the ground it stopped right after she got out. She came back in, took it all off, went back outside, felt another rain drop or two, ran back in to get dressed and went back out. This happened two more times before she finally gave up. Cracked me up the entire time.

New tree

Great grandma Jo got a tree for the two of them to plant together (with a little help from Jason). Kaylie was soooooo excited. She did most of the digging, covered it up once in place, and then helped water it. She is excited to know every time she goes back it will be there and she can see how it is doing. Sorry for the picture quality...taken with my phone.

Camera practice

Austin

Some pictures from our recent trip to Austin.