Great Catch!

Robert and Sharon, excuse me, Grandma and Grandpa love to fish. Every chance they get, they love to spend time on the water fishing for crappie. It was high time we join them. Matt, Siena and I were able to get away for a few days and head down to Truman Lake to spend time in their favorite spot. And good grief, Siena just had to get out on the boat and try out her new fishing pole! (I think Sharon has had that fishing pole since the moment Siena was born...turn her into a little fishing girl! After watching her throughout the weekend, I don't think there was any push to get Siena to love it just like they do...and me too, for that matter!)

Have to take care of the chores around the camper - watering the grass, flowers, feet, and outfit are very important.

Grandpa and Siena found a friend - a turtle! One of these days, Siena will be old enough to ask to keep him as her new pet. Thank goodness that time hasn't come yet... :)

We got out on the boat a couple of times while we were down there and that was the highlight of the trip (aside from maybe the food, which I will get to later). It has been so stinkin' hot lately that we didn't dare stay out there all day for fear of melting, literally. But for 3 hours each day we had a ball on the boat. The first day out, we caught 30 keepers! And I might add that I caught the biggest fish. Ha! (I'm the author of the blog, so I can write whatever I feel is important to share - and that's very important.) The second day out, we caught 34 keepers! It was awesome! Oh, and I suppose, if you insist I share...I caught the biggest fish the second day too. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta catch the 13.5 inch fish down there! Just saying!! Okay, okay...Matt probably caught the most fish throughout the weekend and Siena, bless her heart, caught 3 fish with her Dora fishing pole. And well, Robert and Sharon were the very best "tour-fisher guides" ever! They provided the boat, the spot, the fishing equipment, the ice-cold beers, the tips...and hardly charged us anything! Very noteworthy as well.

We had a ball on the boat. It was such a treat to just be able to be on the water, spending time with family. Seriously. I loved listening to Robert say, "Here, drop the hook right there. There's a fish down there for sure." And sure enough, almost without fail, someone would pull up a fish. Or watching Sharon give up her nice, adult fishing pole to show Siena how to use her pink Dora pole...and reel a few fish in for her. And if she wasn't fishing, Sharon was keeping Siena occupied with something so that everyone else could fish for keepers. Or watching Siena, in her cute pink life jacket, absolutely get into the idea of fish. She would watch them all come in, hand out crappie nibbles, aka Nibbs, to us, put her hands all over the fish, put her finger in the fish's mouth, and kiss every. single. fish. Really, she did that. It was just a perfect few hours each day. We were just happy together.

Our fishy kiss - from us to you!

Daddy and his sweet girl.
Siena's first catch! Way to go, Peanut! You're both keepers!!
Searching for more "...fish in the sea..." Can that be any more sweet?
Biggest catch for Day #1. (Had to document it.)
A very proud fisher girl...with her Dora accessories right alongside her.
A few of MANY kisses for the fish.

Bringing me back to reality - they weren't all proud moments.....
Student driver!
A successful day out on the water!
One more kiss for good measure...
Biggest catch for Day #2. What can I say? Well, if I had to say, I would say it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with the boat, spot, and fishing equipment - none of which belongs to me. :)
Our little wilderness nature guide. She knows all the spots where the fish are biting.

When we weren't on the water, we were playing washers, sitting on the deck (until we thought we might evaporate into thin air because of the heat), chatting in the trailer, swimming in the pool, or eating.

Bringing up the toys from the bottom of the pool...
...and going back down for more!
Matt and Siena jumping into the pool together!

And when I say eat, we ate. A lot. There's this place about 30 minutes away from the trailer that we schedule our trips around. It's open on Friday and Saturday evenings and it's worth it every time. It's a small buffet of some of the best home-cooked restaurant food I've ever had. I don't know what they do back there in the kitchen, but it's right. And we accidentally went there both Friday and Saturday night. Had to. Just to make sure it was really that good - and it was.

The food's so good, you really do have to study the plate to figure out where to start and what to eat first.

So, coming back Sunday morning at 6am (due to a meeting before church) was so worth it. Every minute of it. It was a real treat. Thank you, Robert and Sharon - Grandpa and Grandma - for sharing your sliver of heaven with us. It was the best of times.