BG day 2

Morning #2 we were up early, breakfasted, and back at the lake first thing.

Note the angle of the morning sun making Caspian's shadow on the docks in front of the boat house.

Note the rockstar in her shades.  Oh, and the gorgeous lake.

Solitary boy in lake.  We have wanted the kids to learn how to swim since last summer, but have run into some challenges.  Annaliese took swimming lessons last year, but after the course, we did not have a swimming pool to take her to.  (The Water Valley public swimming pool was filled in, along with many southern pools, when the feds forced sharing a few decades back.)


The rest of the natural water in MS is brown, slow moving, and filled with things that can bite.  And may be venomous.


I was excited about being near our pond in VT all summer, but my memory somehow left out the "freezing spring source."  Swimming there has been mostly polar-bear-plunging.


The lake at BG was perfect.  Warm, crystal clear, and gently sloping edges for the kids to find their own comfort.


Caspian was up to his lower lip in no time, and stayed at that depth whenever possible.  Annaliese is fearless, jumping in anywhere, and after a couple days playing with her cousins, she was holding her nose and kicking around under water, just on the cusp of full fledged swimming.

Alexe sunning on the raft, the kids playing with a beach ball.

Following the disjointed telling of the day's adventures, at some point Annaliese traded clothes and started wearing her cousins' outfits.

We had a lovely cookout at Beauty Pool, on one of the brooks that run through the club property.  Jenny and Laurent put on a great spread, and we got in some swimming before lunch and taking the kids back to the cabin to attempt a nap.


The brook water was a little colder than the lake, but still balmy compared to the VT pond.

"Shorts?  But we're in the woods, and everyone is family!"

The water level was a bit low, but you could still have a ball jumping off that stone ledge above the waterfall.

One of my favorite pictures of the trip.  7 cousins, all in a row, watching papa Laurent prepping his sailboat.  Left to right:  Anne, Orielia, Juju (Juliette), Caspian, Annaliese, Phoebe, Celeste.

Cousins at play, under the watchful eye of an elder cousin.  Phoebe prepped all the kids, loaded them in the kayak, and then walked it around in the shallows.

A 7 lb trout pulled out of the lake by the young man on the right.  I think that's his sister, who wanted to beholding the fish for the camera.  BG has a hatchery onsite, and the recent stocking included some massive fish.  

Another name I'm going to butcher, this young lady is Camise, (Ka-me), Laurent's niece from France.  Caspian liked her.

While a big crowd was prepping dinner at the boathouse, Caspian befriended a very well trained retriever or lab.  The two of them, with a tennis ball, were the picture of simple happiness.

All the young ladies piling into a boat for a little ride after dinner.  Orielia in the corner is wearing Caspian's clothes.

Again, the older kids, without parental intervention, prepping the younger for a safe trip.

u.Ted is the patriarch at BG, and our generous host.  HE arrived just before dinner on Fridy night, and stepping out of his car, he looked like a man coming off a hard week at the office.


An hour later, he was a changed man.  He took a boat load of youngsters off to find some fish.

We heard shrieks of delight from around the lake for the rest of the evening, and right before dark, the boat returned with a very happy crew.


The kids had a great time, but look at u.Ted's face.  

Somehow the kids were divided and put to bed.