Angle Pond 2011

This summer we spent our customary two week vacation doing something very new and different.  Rather than spending the last two weeks of summer in a house on Salisbury Beach, which we've done for years, we rented a house on a small pond in Sandown, NH called Angle Pond.  Last year we decided that a lake house could have some nice benefits for the kids who are now learning how to swim, and also for the rest of the family.  I'm so glad we made that decision because after two weeks on the pond, we all agreed that we preferred this vacation over the beach.  The house was perfectly sized, and fit all of us comfortably, even allowing plenty of space for when Auntie Amy came with all the cousins.  There was a very large yard, and then a few steps to the dock which gave us access to a simply beautiful little pond.  We spent two weeks relaxing, swimming, running, canoeing, kayaking and paddle boating.

The day we arrived I had been feeling a bit anxious about whether everyone would enjoy this new location, and whether it would be safe for the kids.  When we arrived, my fears were quickly put to rest when we saw how lovely the property was.  Zachary walked out the back door, took one look at the pond and said, "Gigi, look at that big pool!"  Of course we had to set a few rules and limits, and Amy and I spent some time on the first day setting up some ropes to keep the children away from the wall that dropped 6 feet to the rocky water below, but once that was done there were very few moments of anxiety for the rest of the two weeks.  

The cousins (Ben 8, Cassie 5, and Sophie 3) and Auntie Amy stayed with us for the first few days.  This was a wonderful treat for all of us, as the five kids play beautifully together, and I love having a chance to "play" with my sister too!  One of the highlights of their first visit was an afternoon of fishing.  I still crack up when I look back on the scene of Amy standing on the dock with Ben, Cassie and Lexi fishing (read: flailing fishing hooks all over the place) while she tried to bait hooks, remove fish from hooks, remove hooks from hair, all while little Sophie clung to her leg fussing that she wanted to go inside.  I was just a useless bystander capturing the whole thing of film because I know nothing about fishing.  However, after awhile she had to take Sophie up, so she got all three kids situated and left me alone with them.  She had not even made it to the back door before Cassie declared that she needed a new worm on her hook (gross) and Ben caught a fish and needed it removed from the hook.  The fish came first so I bravely marched right up to it, and just as I was about to grab it Ben remarked that it scratched him.  Scratched you??  The fish??  I had no idea that fish fins were sharp.  I tried to convince Ben that this would be a good time for him to learn to take the fish off the hook himself, but he refused and shoved it closer to me.  I begged Amy to come back and help me but she just laughed and kept walking.  Not sure what to do, we lowered the fish back into the water so it wouldn't die on the hook waiting for one of us to man up.  As soon as the fish was submerged it swam right off the hook and got away fast.  I guess when faced with two human dolts who have no clue what to do for you, it's every fish for himself.  We spent many more fun hours with the cousins doing other things as well - canoeing, swimming, etc.  It was a very loud, and very fun few days.

 

After the cousins left it was quieter, but we still enjoyed doing everything the pond had to offer.  I have probably never worked out so much on vacation in my life.  My dad gave me a swimming lesson every day we were there, and by the end he told me I swam a 1/2 mile.  That's impressive for someone who has never really swum at all.  Anytime anyone was swimming someone would also go out in the kayak for them, mostly to serve as a large visual for any boats going by, but also in case the swimmer needed assistance.  We referred to this as "rescue kayaking" and it was one of my favorite things to do.  I enjoyed the nice slow, relaxing pace while watching the swimmers do all the work. We also did a lot of running - some of the miles were due to some wrong turns that turned 4 mile runs into 7 mile runs, but they were all great anyway. 

Lexi absolutely loved being in the water.  If allowed she would get in the water as soon as possible and not come out until bedtime.  Often I had to insist that she come out of the water because her lips were turning blue.  Because of the difference between a pool and a pond, she was slightly less confident in her ability to swim long distances.  But after two weeks of living in the pond, and several swimming lessons from her Poppy, she finally gathered the nerve to swim all the way to the raft and back on our last night.  She was very proud of herself, as was I, and it was a great way to end our vacation.

Zach also enjoyed playing in the water, although his favorite water play time was when I gave him pond baths.  He found swimming around naked to be absolutely hysterical, and it was hard to get him out once bath time was over.  Zach also had a lot of fun just playing around in the yard.  His favorite game was "sprezilee" (or, frisbee).  He asked everyone to play with him, and clearly gets his skill from his Daddy because he had an amazing throw.

Both kids also really enjoyed boat rides of all kinds.  We took some very long canoe rides with Lexi and Zach, which only got hairy when Zach got bored and wanted to stand up - not at all concerned about tipping the boat over.  Luckily we managed to stay dry.  Lexi's favorite ride was probably the ones Poppy gave her on the "Bob".  Poppy would swim around the pond pulling Lexi who was holding on to his swim can.  She thought it was a blast, and didn't seem to notice or care that other kids were getting much faster rides on rafts attached to speed boats.  This was much more her style.

The evenings are always my favorite time when we're vacationing near water.  It seems that the water gets so calm and everyone is relaxed after a wonderful day.  We enjoyed many wonderful meals at the pond - almost all of them cooked on the grill and eaten outside. The yard and view were perfect, and it was a lovely way to wind down from a fun day.

After two weeks of fun, it was certainly hard to come home and head back to work.  But we had a wonderful vacation with Gigi, Poppy, Great Gram, Auntie and the cousins, and the best part is that we get to look forward to doing it all again next year.

The full web album can be found here.