Day 9 - Exploring Lake Anna

We had a nice leisurely day planned for today.  We were planning on simply exploring Lake Anna State Park, and the weather was cooperating nicely for us to do that!!  While we unpacked, and tidied up the house, the kids played on the porch, driveway area, and the back yard.   You can easily see the backyard from the kitchen and the master bedroom, and the porch wraps around the front of the house.  Lake Anna had the houses right on top of each other, when compared to Chippokes Plantation, so I didn't feel as comfortable letting them play outside without constantly checking up on them.  (Not that I felt unsafe in the park, just you never know who is around!)  Having them be in my line of sight at all times put my mind at ease, and I was glad that the house had plenty of windows and doors to check up on them!

It wasn't long before the house was in order and we joined the children in the sunshine.  There were TONS of butterflies around, and my kids were busy trying to convince them to land on them.  :)

Nathaniel trying to convince the butterfly to land on him.

There was another animal that was abundant in this area - lizards.  Itty bitty tiny lizards.  They dash about and make my husband scream like a girl.  Lol.  He doesn't like things that dash about and startle him!  At one point, Nathaniel cornered one and tried to catch it, but it was too quick.  Nathaniel was able to catch it by it's tail and suddenly Nathaniel was screetching in disgust that the tip of the lizard's tail fell off in his hand!

Tip of the lizard's tail

After a while, we convinced them to give up on chasing butterflies and lizards, to change into their swim suits and we'd go down to the lake and play on the playground and swim in the lake.  They were more than eager to comply!!!

Fun on the Playground

The kids played on the playground until they got good and hot, so that they'd enjoy the lake even more.  Even though it was only May, it was quite warm - warm enough that I wish I had changed into my swimsuit as well!

The lake has a nice sandy beach area to have all sorts of beachy fun!  Close to the shore, the lake wasn't very deep, so I didn't need to worry too much about my kids who weren't strong swimmers yet.  In Mid-May, there are no lifeguards on duty, and there is also NO ONE around.  We had the entire beach to ourselves. 

Lake Anna

Fun in the sun

Shallow near the shore - no steep drop off

Great sandy beach to have fun in

Fun in the sand

Tag in the lake

Spots in the lake are deep enough to swim

Summer fun!

Seriously, could he be any cuter!?

 After a few hours by the lake, we started to hear thunder in the distance.  After hearing it two or three times and seeing the clouds black and billowing in the distance, we decided to head back home.

Storm rolling in as we left

 Of course, all the kids were a sandy, lake water mess, so we sent the older two to take turns in the shower, and stuck the younger two into the sink.

Double sink for double baths!

Once everyone was clean and in PJ's, we took some blankets, and headed to the covered porch to watch the storm blow in, the rain pour down and the lightning light up the dark sky.

Thunderstorm watching on the porch

Snuggles on the porch

After dinner, we put our fireplace to good use and built a nice fire and made some S'mores!

Too little for S'mores - at least he can have a graham cracker

Roasting Marshmallows with Papa

Roasted Marshmallows.  Mmmmm.

After eating way too many S'mores, the kids headed to bed.  We had all sorts of adventures to pack into the next two days, so it was nice to have such a relaxing day!!

Up Next: Mount Vernon