The Lake

The focal point of Ampersand is, of course, the lake. When the weather cooperates, most of our activities revolve around the water... and fortunately, the weather was pretty nice during our stay.

Pretty much as soon as we arrived, Ryan asked to go in the water. We warned him that it was cold, and he was still game. So, we got ready & in we went! He started shivering almost immediately, but he didn't seem to mind. He had fun swimming back & forth between me & his Papa. It took some convincing to get him out!

Float boat rides are always a favorite activity, particularly after dinner when you might catch a view of the sunset over camp. Ryan was thrilled to help his Papa drive, listen for loons calling, and check out the view with Aunt Monica.

Uncle Avery is the fisherman of the group. Despite my feelings on the subject, he was eager to share in the experience with Ryan when he returned with a fish for dinner. Ryan liked looking at the fish and touching it, but when Uncle Avery started cutting into it, he said "Mommy! Uncle Avery's hurting the fish!" Ahhh... he is my child after all :-)

We also spent some time at the "beaches" - there's not a lot of sand to work with (especially not compared to NC beaches), but Ryan still had fun with his dump truck & they are beautiful spots for picnics, swimming, and playing. Here are some photos from a couple of different picnic lunches at what we call "Paradise Bay"

lunch with Mommy

checking out the view from the dock/float boat with Uncle Pat & Aunt Katy

Mommy's favorites - she made Nana lie down in the sand/grass to get them!


more swimming with Mommy & Uncle Dain ... doesn't he look like a puppy dog when he swims? We can't convince him to keep his tongue in his mouth :)

He found a rake. He's a boy. What more can I say?

Climbing on top of the lean-to was always a favorite activity of mine when I was little. My cousin & I used to "spy" on everybody. Ryan seemed to enjoy being "way way up" too!

We thought that tubing would be a fun activity for Ryan, since it is certainly one of our favorites. We made the boat driver promise to go very slowly, and figured out the best configuration for Mason & Ryan to go together. Ryan was excited about the idea, but not so sure about the execution. Part of the problem was that they really did have to go very slowly (or very fast, which we did not want to try) to keep water from splashing in.