Jumping Bean

Jumping is one of Ryan's favorite new tricks, so the timing worked out well to be at Ampersand where there is a huge trampoline.


Growing up, jumping on the "tramps" was at the very top of our list of things to do at AP - in fact, for most of my childhood, we even performed "tramp shows" for the adults. They were quite something - I'll have to post an embarrassing old photo at some point. Anyway, we could spend hours every day jumping and playing, or even just sitting down & chatting. How none of us were ever seriously hurt is still a mystery to us, since these trampolines were retrieved from the local schools where they were no longer deemed safe to use... and we made up all kinds of crazy games to shoot us as high into the air as possible. Needless to say, Ryan's experiences so far have been very controlled and well supervised :-)




Now that we're home, he still asks occasionally to jump on the "tamponum"!

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.

Chippies

We tend to have very tame chipmunks at Ampersand... especially when we go at the end of the summer & other family members have had a chance to train them for us! This year did not disappoint. In fact, if anything, some were a bit too aggressive.

Nevertheless, we had fun providing them with a winter's worth of peanuts over the course of the week. In general, Ryan was a little too wild for the chipmunks. For his first attempt, he saw a chipmunk coming and chased after it holding out the peanut, saying, "Here you go chipmunk! Eat this!" - not quite the traditional way of doing things. But, we did capture one successful feeding. Ryan stayed still and quiet enough for one to grab a peanut out of his hand, even after he had a quick nibble on Ryan's finger (they do look like peanuts after all). As you can see, he was quite pleased.

Even baby got his first experience with chippie feeding ;-)


And finally, one of my favorite pictures that Mom took this year... I guess all those peanuts made him thirsty!!

A Walk in the Woods

On one of our first days at Ampersand, we decided to take Ryan for a "hike" out to the monkey bridge and back - it's one mile round trip, so we weren't sure how he would do, but we figured we could just take it slow and explore... and there were three of us, so worst case, we could pass him around.

Initially, Ryan wasn't so sure. You see, we had just arrived the day before and we started walking down the road away from camp. As we went, Ryan started to seem upset and after some questioning, he told us "this not Ampersand" - he did not want to leave so soon! After some re-assurance that the dirt road was in fact still Ampersand (and proof via views of the lake), he was on board.



He ran most of the way there. It's always amazing how much energy a little toddler body can hold! After a brief rest (and photo op) on the bridge, we headed back.


The return trip was a lot slower. Ryan was getting tired, but we came up with plenty of games and searches to keep him busy... even rolling in the grass was a fun activity!


We even had the help of a grasshopper and a tiny frog to help keep him entertained.... and of course, looking for wild blueberries!


Overall, it was a great morning activity and a fun introduction to some of what Ampersand has to offer!

Ampersand Preview

Ampersand:

It is my favorite place in the world to be.

I spend most of the year looking forward to this week filled with fun, family, relaxation, and God's beautiful creation. Every time we drive in, I feel so blessed to be able to experience this place.

For those of you who don't know, Ampersand is my family's Adirondack lake retreat. I grew up going there every summer and haven't missed very many years in my lifetime. It takes a lot to keep me away from Ampersand.


This year, Ryan was old enough to experience some of the anticipation as well. We looked at photo books of previous summers there and talked about all of the fun things we were going to do. He could not wait, and neither could I. After a long drive from Nana & Papa's house, concluding with a 30 minute dirt road, we finally caught a view of the lake and Ryan said "There's Ampersand!!!"



We had an incredible week up there. Last year, Ryan was still a bit too young to participate in many of the activities and seemed to get a bit worn out after our 10 days. This year was perfect. He loved every second of it. He glowed in the attention of extended family and took in just about everything Ampersand has to offer. He swam in the "cold cold water", hiked the trails, fed the chipmunks, cheered on the triathletes, went for boat rides, tried tubing, jumped on the trampoline, and cranked home-made ice cream. It was definitely a week to remember.


There are way too many pictures and stories to include in one single post (it would take me all day), so I thought I'd do a series instead. After all, a week like that deserves lots of attention!

Ready.... or NOT!

This morning, Ryan was very sweetly pushing his baby in the stroller and giving him hugs & kisses. "What a great opportunity to grab the camera", I thought; "He's going to be such a good big brother!" I captured this sweet photo first...

... and then Ryan decided to shove "baby" down the "chimney" of his "house". He then declared to me that baby was "stuck".


Hmmm.... maybe not.

At least I convinced him to give baby some loving afterward to help him feel better. *sigh*



PS - transition to the big boy room is going great! This morning, a few minutes after he woke up, I heard him (over the monitor) calling, "Mommy... I woke up!" How could I resist that!?!

Here he is, looking very small & sweet in his big boy bed.

Singing

Ryan has always enjoyed music, but with his improving language skills, he has recently started singing recognizable songs that we can understand. It's one of my absolute favorite things. I managed to capture this video of him singing on Sunday morning. It starts with an ode to his dear friend, Emma, and continues on with a few of his other current favorites. I think my favorite part is how he alternates between enthusiastic cooperation and feeling rather shy about it.

Big Boy Room

With only three more months until baby brother's expected arrival, we have been working hard on getting a big boy room ready for Ryan. We're hoping this will give him plenty of time to get settled before he has to adjust to yet another transition.

Today was the big reveal, and Ryan is very excited! (phew!) He took a decent nap in his big boy bed, so we'll see how tonight goes. Here are some pictures and a video of his first impressions.

The view from the doorway (book/play area)

The train paintings that I spent hours & hours & hours on (but it was worth it!)

various views of the bed/dresser/doorway


Ryan & Daddy, checking out the new toys for his big boy room

happy boy! :-)

Now maybe I'll have time to start blogging more regularly again (and fill in my gaps!)

"I need a phone"

As my belly is getting bigger, Ryan is noticing it more and more and we end up talking about "baby brother" quite a bit. He likes to lift up my shirt and give my belly kisses and "push my button", which is now protruding quite dramatically.

Giving baby brother a kiss at the beach

Yesterday, during one of these moments, I told Ryan that he could talk to the baby if he wants to. He paused, looked at me, and said:

"I need a phone"

Blueberries!

If you know my son at all, you probably know that blueberries are one of his absolute favorite things (he gets it from his Daddy). So, this morning, we set off early for a special treat (and now summer tradition): picking blueberries!

He was so good. I was amazed. He followed me to the bushes and I showed him which ones were the good ones to pick. And then he got right down to business, picking two or three ripe ones at a time and putting them in our bucket. A couple of times, he accidentally picked one that wasn't ripe and was sure to tell me about it and hand it over. He didn't even ask to eat one until we got home. I guess blueberry picking is serious business, but we sure did have a blast!

and now for a little trip down memory lane:

blueberry picking, 2008 : Ryan was 2 months old & slept in his carrier the whole time



blueberry picking, 2009: Ryan was clearly more interested in other things (though he had no problems eating the blueberries once they were home!)