Peace, Love & Guadalupe River Fishing

This morning everyone planned to get started bright and early since I normally wake up about 7:15am but when I didn't get up until 7:40 things got bumped back just a little. While Mommy & Daddy cooked breakfast, Uncle Ben & I took a stroll around the deck in our pj's. After we had filled our belly's with Daddy's delicious breakfast tacos, we headed out to the park at the bottom of Canyon Lake where the lake feeds into the Guadalupe River. While the boys jumped right into another chance to fish, Mommy, Aunt Erin & I decided to hike along the nature trail that was set up. By the time we convinced the boys to head for the lodge, there was time for a quick bite to eat and then it was time to say goodbye to Aunt Erin & Uncle Ben. I was super sad that they had to leave so soon but Mommy said we would see them again soon and I'm holding her to that! When I woke up from my nap, Mommy, Daddy and I decided to take a walk and this time Mommy was the one who wanted to take a dip in Canyon Lake.

Uncle Ben & I out for a morning stroll around the deck.

Aunt Erin, Mommy & I decided to walk down the nature trail that follows the Guadalupe River right under the Canyon Lake Dam while Daddy & Uncle Ben went fishing. One of the stops on the nature trail was a meditation point, where I spotted Daddy fishing on the river below (can you find him in the background).

A close-up of my Daddy fishing.

Daddy & Uncle Ben fishing. Although this trip turned out unlucky for Daddy, Uncle Ben did manage to catch one little fishy! Guess Daddy will just have to try again later in the week!

Mommy & I on one of the benches at the meditation point.

Mommy & I headed down the trail (notice the unplanned matching outfits).

A close-up of me while I was playing down by the river.

Me carrying one of the frogs which adorn the front step of our lodge around while waiting for Daddy to finish cooking lunch.

Video of me & my new favorite game... throwing rocks into bodies of water!

Daddy & I on the shore while Mommy stood in the water and debated taking a dip.

Mommy helping me to walk out in the water. This was a big surprise for all of us, since I have been pretty hesitant to get into any body of water lately (the bathtub, the pool, the lake before today).

Mommy giving me "good job" hugs for walking out in the water to her.

Mommy & I smiling post-dip (Mommy went for more of a swim).

I had a great time swimming with Mommy and I'm pretty sure that I've gotten over whatever hesitations that I had about water (although I'm still not 100% sold on showers). Stay tuned for whatever adventures await us tomorrow!

Peace, love & guadalupe river fishing,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Canyon Lake Explorations

Today officially begins my families exploration of the area which we will call home for the next week. Since Aunt Erin & Uncle Ben showed up last night after I went to bed, I spent a couple minutes this morning reaquainting myself with them. Once that was out of the way, I jumped straight into my plans for the day. First on the list, see what I look like when jumping on the bed (the wall of mirrors at the head of the two beds made this super easy not to mention tons of fun). Next, all of us headed out to explore the shoreline around the lodge and see if there were any easy spots to get in the water (there weren't) and if there were any decent fishing spots (there were). After that, we piled in the car and headed to the Canyon Lake Dam to explore. This took us up to lunch & nap time, then we filled our afternoon with some fishing, some chatting, some bocce ball and a bunch of deer feeding. Here are some pictures to walk you through our adventures.

A good morning bounce on the bed.

Looking at the deer which were walking around downstairs.

Daddy trying out the water in Canyon Lake. We walked down past the end of the closed boat ramp which is next to where we are staying.

Me & Daddy in front of a map of Canyon Lake next to the boat ramp.

Uncle Ben, Me & Daddy throwing rocks into Canyon Lake from the shoreline straight down from the main lodge.

Uncle Ben, Me & Daddy headed back up the hill to Mommy & Aunt Erin.

Me & Aunt Erin

Me telling Uncle Ben, Aunt Erin & Daddy what we are going to do next.

Me in the tree above the picnic tables where Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Ben & Aunt Erin stopped to chat in the shade.

A couple of deer that came by to see what we were doing.

Me feeding a deer a carrot from my hand while Uncle Ben looks on.

The view from the parking lot to the left side of the Canyon Lake Dam.

A view of the Canyon Lake Dam from the parking lot.

Daddy, Me, Uncle Ben & Aunt Erin walking down the hill next to the dam to get to Canyon Lake.

Mommy & I throwing rocks into Canyon Lake below the damn, while testing out the water.

Daddy & Uncle Ben fishing out past the end of the closed boat ramp, just down from the lodge.

Daddy's big catch (no, it's not a fish)!

Daddy juggling bocce balls while holding a beer in his mouth.

Me chasing a pair of ducks.

A shot of all the bocce balls in play. Erin, in blue, won the round and the girls eventually beat the boys 5 to 3.

My silly Daddy trying to help his bocce ball to pass Mommy's so the girls wouldn't win the round.

Daddy after the boys bocce ball loss and just before his first dip in Canyon Lake.

Me & a deer getting used to each others antics.

Me feeding another deer a cherry tomato by hand.

As you can see we had quite a busy day. I'm so thankful that Aunt Erin and Uncle Ben could be here to experience this with us. I know that tomorrow holds some more fishing for the boys but I guess we will all have to wait and see what adventures await us!

Peace, love & Canyon Lake explorations,
Bailey

Peace, Love & Our First Family Vacation

Today offically begins my first family vacation! We have visited other places as a family but it has always been for a family function or for a wedding or that sort of thing. This marks the first time that my Mommy, Daddy & I have taken a trip someplace where we don't have to do anything or see anyone. I get a whole week of one-on-one time with my Mommy & Daddy, how cool is that! Of course before any vacation gets started you have to get everything packed & in the truck. Mommy packed us up this morning, while doing a last minute load of laundry, and Daddy spent most of his time getting the truck we weren't taking to fit into our garage. After three coolers, two bags of clothes, a toiletry bag, a fan, a couple fishing poles, a box of towels, a box of pots & pans, a small bag of toys and a computer bag... we were ready to roll.

Just in case anyone was curious, yes the Ranger did fit inside our garage. It took a storage space at the local U-haul and some persistance, but it did fit (the last time it was in the garage was was before I was born when Hurricane Rita threatened Houston).

Me sleeping as we leave College Station. I only slept for 20 minutes out of the 3 hour ride because I wanted to take in all of the scenery.

Daddy driving

The sign of the place where we are staying as seen from the deck outside our front door.

The scenery from the deck out the side door of our room.

My first deer sighting (I wouldn't let Mommy & Daddy put shorts on me after my diaper change).

A video of my first shower experience and yes its mildly embarassing. I had to take a shower since our bathtub only runs water through the shower head.

Me enjoying the shower, it was kinda like playing in the rain.

Shower smiles

I didn't really notice it but apparently our shower is only for short people, look where the shower head comes up to on my Daddy!

So far our vacation is off to a really good start. We got here safe and sound and Aunt Erin and Uncle Ben will be here after I go to bed. I'm pretty sure that Mommy and Daddy have some really cool things planned for this week, like a trip to SeaWorld, aside from the hiking, swimming and fishing which are right outside our doors.

Peace, love & our first family vacation,
Bailey

Peace, Love & The Children's Museum

Today Mommy and I took a trip into downtown Bryan to meet the MOMs group at The Children's Museum. We met several nice Mommy's and some really sweet kids and I had a ton of fun playing in all of the exhibits! There was a music room, a painting room, an ambulance/ doctor's office room, a grocery store, a puppet show room, a room with a big tree and a place with a rocket that you could climb up and down. Everything was so interactive and I never once got in trouble for making a mess or playing with something, it was as if everything was made especially for me!

The sign out front of the museum, I had a blast running up and down the ramp and even gave a couple of high fives to the decorative hands.

The grocery store was one of my favorite places. I loved filling up my basket and then going through the checkout line. Another little girl was being the cashier so I even had a chance to pay my bill like a big girl!

This is my finished grocery cart, all fruits & vegetables plus one can of beans.

My other favorite room was the music room. I really loved spinning this wheel. It made up the center part of the guitar that had been painted onto the wall.

Me playing the piano. This was super neat because my Mommy even played a little bit with me even though she said she was "really rusty", whatever that means.

Me posing for a quick picture while playing the piano.

I really like trains, so when I saw this one as we left The Children's Museum I had to get up close and personal with it. I tried to climb it but Mommy wouldn't let me. Mommy said that their were trains like this all over College Station and that they were all decorated differently, hopefully we can visit some more of them soon.

I had a blast at The Children's Museum and I can't wait until I get to go back and do some more exploring. I'm really glad that my Mommy found out about this MOMs group and I hope that I get to hang out with my new friends again really soon.

Peace, love & The Children's Museum,
Bailey