It is a forty minute drive to the beach and by the time we got there Will had to use the bathroom. Of course the bathrooms weren't open yet so James had to take him... somewhere. (One of the benefits of being a boy I guess) But that left Camille holding baby Gus and me wrangling three little boys who all wanted to go in the water. Since we were waiting for James I figured that was a perfect time to sunscreen the boys and change Charlie and Ronny into their bathing suits. But the little boys didn't want to wait and would try to make a break for it whenever it was physically possible. In the middle of changing Charlie, right after he had taken off all his clothes, he managed to get away and immediately made a beeline for the water. Completely naked.
Finally James came back and I had the boys all sun-screened and in their bathing suits. I was hoping to put on some sunscreen myself but Ronny ran into the water and promptly fell over. His head didn't go under (that time) but it was not a great introduction to the lake. I didn't realize it before but right at the water line there is a little half inch dip. It is too small for me to notice but it was treacherous for Ronny who is 22 months old and still unsteady on his feet.
We had only been there for a few minutes and we were a wreck. James wasn't ready to get in the water. I hadn't been able to put sunscreen on (which I know seems small but I burn really easily). Will and Jon went out way too deep and were just not listening. Jon kept yelling "Help" every time he went underwater because he wanted me to wipe his eyes. And Charlie and Ronny seemed in imminent danger of drowning (they weren't). I wanted to call everyone in and go HOME! But I am so glad that we stayed.
After that rough start things calmed down. It was still a little challenging because we had to stay within arms reach of Ronny at all times and Charlie is a little daredevil when it comes to the water. And Will and Jon really wanted to go out up to their necks which is not something they've done alone before. So I took the big boys out while James stayed on the shore with the little ones. Camille took care of Gus but the water was too cold for him and he didn't want anything to do with it.
James and I took turns bringing Charlie and Ronny out deep. My boys are water babies and it looks like Ronny will be no exception. He did not want to get out! I tried to bring him out a couple of times because he was shivering but he just cried and ran right back to the water. He did take a little break on the sand at one point when he and I played catch. I also got to play with Jon and then James which was really fun.
Charlie too took a break on the sand. James and I were out in the water with the other three (Camille was on the shore with Gus) while Charlie played quietly on the sand. After about ten minutes he called me in "Mommy, Mommy come see!" "I made a sand castle!" And he had! All by himself! It made me so happy.
All of this was wonderful and very fun but the best part of the day was when James and I took the boys on an expedition. Far from our beach but not too far from the shore on the other side is a rock. I had always assumed that it was too deep and too far to get to (at least with kids) but after seeing a couple walking back James wanted to give it a try. And after checking on Camille and Gus we took the other four boys and headed out.
Our beach is in a small bay of the lake which is entirely covered in sand. This meant that we were able to walk out without getting into any mucky areas which are common in NH lakes and frequently have leaches. A straight path to the rock would have taken us out too deep so we had to stick close to shore and follow the curve of the bay out to the rock. The water here was deep enough that it was almost up to the necks of Will and Jon. Even though they had begged earlier to go in water that deep on this expedition they both wanted to be carried. So I ended up carrying Jon and Ronny while James took Will and Charlie. James and Will had seen a big fish and Charlie was desperately searching for one as we went out. It was a long walk and my arms were aching by the time we arrived.
We finally arrived at the rock and James left the big boys close to shore while he went out to check it out. The water there was high on his chest but still shallow enough for us to carry the boys out there. James put Will and Jon on the rock first then climbed up himself to take Ronny and Charlie. This was a bit tricky since the part of the rock that was underwater was very slippery and there were no good edges we could use to climb. But finally all of us were squeezed close together at the top.
It was awesome. On three sides rock dropped straight down, perfect for jumping in. And the forth was a slippery slide back into the water. We couldn't stay too long since Jon was eager to get back and it was almost dinner time. But I couldn't leave without jumping off the rock. So James slide down and took the little ones. As I leaped from the rock I looked down and saw a huge fish! He got out of there pretty quickly but the boys thought it was pretty cool.
Charlie decided that he wanted to jump off the rock too and he was so brave! He flung himself headlong into the water and my arms. He asked to do it a second time but as soon as I put him up he tried to run to the other side of the rock so he could "jump on the fish". He was very disappointed when I didn't let him and skeptical when I said that the fish was already gone.
Will was able to have a few minutes alone on the rock, king of his own castle, before he slid off and we started back. On our return journey we saw another fish, much to Charlie's delight. We were all tired and hungry when we got back to our beach and ready to head to dinner.
Camille had been taking care of Gus the whole time we were in the water and it was such a blessing. At one point she stood him up on the cooler and he took a few steps! She is such a wonderful grandma and I could not have done this day without her help.
On the way home we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants for fried chicken and ice cream. Even eating outside it is still a lot of work to take five kids out to dinner! But they had fun rolling down the hill and running in the grass while we waited for our food. And there is at least one child who stays where I put him! For now anyway...
Today was absolutely wonderful and I'm hoping that the rock becomes a new favorite place. Maybe I can get David and Dianna to help me take the boys out there next week... :-)
