Summer camp at Rice Lake

Great use was made of the cottage at Rice Lake by the family, starting with Megan Tom and Maggie on the July long weekend.

Tom and Megan finish their first swim of the season as Paul installs a new security device on the outboard motor.

   Paul and Megan ready to launch the canoe for its maiden voyage of 2015.

The grandkids are not quite coordinated as Megan backs the canoe away from the dock.

Still, in spite of the eager assistants, Megan was able to steer the canoe into the bay.

Megan looks back at the end of the bay to see Maggie jump in the swamp to try to get out to the canoe!

Every grandchild claimed to know how to swim; but the “house rule” was that everyone had to wear either a life preserver or a flotation device or both.

Ella did not like the idea of jumping into the lake from the dock, so she walked down to the lake through the flowers and weeds to start her swim.

While on the flutterboard, Tom chanted, “I’m on my shark, quack quack” much to the amusement of Joshua.

 Maggie did not go into the water willingly after her first attempt, but she watched carefully from her perch (and ran along the shoreline if the group left the area in front of the cottage).

At the end of every day, the grandchildren drew art on the dining room table. The pictures were posted on the dining room wall for all to admire.

 Maggie’s bed was set up along the dining room wall just under the art show.

After a few days canoeing, Megan decided to switch to the inflatable rubber dinghy. Here she tries to pull the dinghy out into the bay.

 Finally, Tom decided to play “motor” to help Megan tow the dinghy into the bay

Tom and Ella tried to go it alone. They paddled spiritedly (in a circle), all the while singing, “Sail away! Sail away! Bye, bye home, bye, bye home.”

Maggie watched the dinghy carefully.

The dinghy proved to be so popular with the grandchildren that they wanted to ride it out into the bay. That was OK as long as the dingy was tied up to the dock.

While the dingy didn’t sink because the walls were intact, the floor of it had a couple of holes in it. Megan suspected mice got at it during the winter. The children said that the water that leaked in made it like a warm bathtub.

At the end of an afternoon of “water sports” with the children, Megan was finally able to go for a long swim out into the bay by herself. Her head is barely visible in the distance.

Every night, Megan read stories to the grandchildren – usually in bed but sometimes (as here) on the living room couch.

With no working TV and no internet, everyone read books every evening. Sandra’s back was bothering her from gardening (or the bed), so she sometimes lay on the floor with her feet up while reading.

Joshua brought Calvin and Hobbes books to read in bed. He loved sharing the humour in the comic strips.