Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Summer Fun At The Pond!

This past weekend, we hosted a campout for the junior high youth group back by the pond.  It was a beautiful weekend and we had a great turnout!  There was soccer, of course, dodge ball, capture the flag, and apparently prank calls going out somewhere between 2 and 4 am.  Yikes!  Crazy kids!

Here are three things I learned:

  1. Boys can giggle like girls.  But it gets really quiet when a pack of coyotes starts howling in the adjacent field!  Lol!
  2. No one within earshot should expect to get ANY sleep.
  3. A pound of bacon, a pound of sausage, 1 1/2 dozen eggs, 4 loaves of zucchini bread, 2 boxes of cereal, and 4 pounds of bananas are only enough for breakfast if you supplement it with everything not tied down in the fridge and pantry.

camp out

No doubt the guys will have stories to tell for years to come!

* * *

We’ve also been doing some fishing.  It’s super nice of our neighbor to let us use the pond whenever we like.  On this particular afternoon, catfish and bass were biting.   The kids were using what my mom always gave me when I was going fishing, leftover pieces of hotdog!  Works every time!

fishing

Another neighbor busted his line trying to bring in a 2 foot carp.  The bobber now trails around the pond and occasionally submerges--while the kids chant the music to Jaws.  True story!  Lol!  No one has been able to catch it again to remove the hook and line.

The boys have also been swimming in the pond.  NOT me, though.  Ugh-uh.  Not a chance!  Not with things in the water you can’t see!!! 

swimming

It’s a pretty spot, though!  I’m happy just to sit and watch.  :)

boys

They took the kayak out, too.  Notice big brother being “nice” and giving the little guy a shower.  It came full circle though when the water he flooded the kayak with ran back and soaked his towel!  Lol!  Boys!!!

paddling

I was impressed with how quickly they picked up the skill of rowing, especially the little guy.  This was the first time he was actually big enough to man an oar.

We found the little raft below in one of the storage compartments in the camper we bought.  That’s what the boys REALLY wanted to try out when we headed back to the pond.  It came with a set of pedal paddles.  trying the paddle boatThat part didn’t work, but it was still fun to float around on!

Have you ever swam in a pond??  Our neighbor actually put a beach area in, so as long as you use the beach to exit, it’s not too muddy.  

Still.  You won’t catch me in that water!  Not with Jaws swimming around!

We leave on vacation very soon!  I’ll try to get some pictures posted of things we added to the camper before we go.

If you have swam in a pond, I want to hear about it!

5 comments:

Christina said...

I don't think I've ever swam (swum?) in a pond, but I HAVE gone swimming in a wide variety of lakes and rivers--including the Amazon river. : )

Christina said...

Actually, no, I take that back. I have gone swimming in a pond before. There's one here in town, but it was freezing, so it was pretty much in-and-out.

Mari said...

You have such a gorgeous yard - it really is like a park! I love what you've done around the pond.
I did swim in a pond when I was young and foolish. :) Not any more!

Kim @ Homesteader's Heart said...

Yeah if it isn't surrounded by cement I won't swim in it. LOL! I used to swim in creeks up in Maine when I was a kid but I think it was because ignorance was bliss. LOL!
Looks like they had a great time. You're a cool Mom!
Hugs
Kim

Christine said...

I swam in a pond one time. The swim portion of the triathalon I did was in a pond barely big enough to fit us all. Not a pleasant experience. I have a hard enough time talking myself into swimming in a giant lake. A jaws-like creature swimming around with a hook and bobber still in him would be a deal breaker. Would never catch me in THAT pond/lake/pool!