At the Lake!

Well we made it through another Anderson Reunion week! We had a blast and completely relaxed on the dock and went on a lot of pontoon rides. It was great seeing family and catching up. Ben looks like such a goof in this picture with Scott. He was such a happy kid all week...in between his meltdowns...just belly flopping in the water and playing with sticks. Yes, he is just like a puppy.

Speaking of puppies, you'll see Emily playing with the Randerson's dog, Tipsy. They had a blast jumping on and off "The Mat" and swimming around. If only we could have taken Tipsy home...

We had another 'small world' encounter at the lake this year. This time it had to do with someone from Scott's past. We went to the annual pancake breakfast and Scott starts a conversation with one of the pancake flippers who was wearing the '96 Atlanta Olympics shirt. As it turns out, he was the dean of the rival school that Scott went to - the school was Lovett. As the next couple of days went on, Scott kept saying that he swears he knew him more than as a dean of a rival school. It turns out after a lot of thought and additional conversations, Sam had actually chaperoned Scott and his other buddies on his senior high school trip to the Bahamas! What a small world. Sam is actually 5th generation going to Kelly Lake and the our kids are the 7th!

Emily and Ben are trying to emulate their 'ultra cool' parents. Yeah, that's what I said - ultra cool. I love the picture! We went on many pontoon rides around the lake. It was pretty breezy for the most part of the week but the weather was wonderful overall. The really hot temperatures were starting as we left...I didn't mind the mild days. It made the evenings just perfect!

Here are Grandpa Bruce and his great-grandson Benjamin! Ben did a great job reminding Bruce Sr. what a handful a 2 year old can be. But with all the crying or crazy giggling, I think Grandpa loved seeing the kids!

Just below you'll see James (the "baby boy"), El and Bruce Sr. at the Holiday Inn. Then pictured are Glenn and his brood: Jenny, Christopher, Glenn and Dylan!

We all also got to enjoy many debates over politics. When you have a different opinion - watch out! Your different opinion will be put to the test - be ready to defend your stance! Martha and her eldest brother are pictured hugging it out after an intense debate.

The next collage you see is of some funny moments at the Holiday Inn. Emily ordering her first 'tapper,' Ben holding on tight while riding the crazy arcade game, my dad 'making-out' with this brother, Janie getting a piggy-back ride from Craig, Ben breaking down since it was 3 hours past his bead time...you know, the usual stuff ;) We found one of Sean's old life vests. Essentially this thing is a wetsuit with built in flotation. He looked the the Incredible Hulk - a cute one.
I love this picture of Martha watching a rain storm blow toward us. There have been some amazing thunderstorms witnessed at Kelly Lake. I have memories of my dad frantically running down the dock to secure boats while getting pelted in the face with rain. Then we would watch the boats get tossed around and cross our fingers that the ropes didn't break!
There were some 'battle royals' while playing bean bags - or as some of us call it - Cornhole. Cornhole is funnier! You'll enjoy some great action shots... This post will sign off with a great little joke Uncle Scott (my Uncle Scott) played on Martha and David. I helped by sneaking off and putting it on their car...LOL!