Oscar Stew

As far as kids are concerned, family reunions are like onions. How, you ask? You’re going to have to wait a little longer to solve this mystery. As of today, Drew & Brinley have been in school for almost a month and Rowan & Eleanor are down for their afternoon nap, so I just might be able to wrap up the Tour de Utah and stay within a month behind on current events…Yay!

Because of our schedule we only got to spend one day at the reunion so we made sure to cram as many activities as possible into one afternoon…Eleanor declared this swing to be awesome. Mostly because she was sick and tired of riding around in the van. Freedom at last!

This year’s reunion was also host to the 2011 Dog & Pony Show. Ok, there aren’t any ponies at this show. But there are a couple of ponytails so that counts, right? Shauna & Daisy look a little skeptical about bending the rules…especially Daisy.

Master judge Drew will now test Rufus in the skill of ball catching. This would’ve gone great had Rufus’ crazy lover Lily stayed in the bleachers! 

Well, I guess while Rufus gets owned, you kids might as well find another good activity. How ’bout throwing stones into a boiling lake of lava?!

Gather around the…picnic bench kids, ole Uncle Boone has got a scary story to tell!

“And then the one armed man reached down with his sharp hook and…”

Hmm, nobody seems to be scared. Was the story not believable Brinley? Funny how ghost stories don’t seem so terrifying in the daylight. Better luck next time Layne!

How’s your day going Rowan? Happy to be in the outdoor woods, with the breeze in your hair? I couldn’t tell.

What do you think Drew & Sam are talking about? Can you see them 10 years from now, standing around the fire, having the same manly conversation? I can!

Yes Ryan, it’s a very nice campfire, but you know it’s like 3:30 p.m. right?

Don’t get any funny ideas from your Pyro-Daddy, okay Drew? Just because he burns fuel for a living doesn’t mean he has to do it everywhere else we go too!

I’m sorry; I must’ve had smoke in my eyes. Hey Brinley, let’s go burn it up!

What’s up Ellie? You wanna go for a ride too?

Oh, you wanna drive? Sounds good to me! Fire it up!

Hey Rowan, you kinda look like a group of people I’ve seen before. I’m just saying that the tie-dyed shirt, the headband…

…The homeopathic amber necklace, the messy hair…it’s just kinda reminding me of…what are they called again? Hmmm…

Hey everybody, Daddy & Drew found mud! Shocking!

Hurry Ellie, you only have time for 20 more turns down the slide!

Ah-ha! There’s the final clue: The peace sign! Take a bath, Hippie!

Peace. Love. Whatever. That’s what I’m getting. You?

So how are family reunions like onions? They stink? They make you cry? Oh, you leave ’em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin’ little white hairs?

The answer is YES! We stank like dirt, sweat, and campfire smoke. There were some owees and may have been a few tear-jerking moments. And the brown mud got all over our legs and turned our leg hair white! Not to mention onions get all wrinkly when wet:

Welcome to Tour de Utah part deux! It had only been 6 days since our last road trip, and as much fun as it is to spend 10 hours in the car, we decided that it might be fun for the kids to make an overnight stop in Grand Junction on our way down to St. Geezy. Y’know, break up the monotony and keep whining to a minimum? Riiiiiight.

Ryan isn’t much of a fitness instructor, but it was still 2 hours to Junktown when we made this potty break and we really didn’t want to stop again. So, he bravely accepted the duty of naptime inducer and hustled the monkeys through the paces…Hup two tree fowar!

Step 2: After knocking out the calorie burn it was time to load their stomachs. Rowan’s still floating! Giv’er more chow!

Keep chomping away at that string cheese Ellie! We need all your blood around your tummy!

Even Ryan was feeling the burn from all those jumping jacks. Whew! Good thing you brought your wake-up juice…Nice lower lip there, weirdo!

The combination couldn’t be more perfect! Physically fatigued, stomach full, and all the comforts of home within arms’ reach…

Kerrrrrrrrrrrrsplat. That was the sound of our plan failing miserably…

1½ hours later, Ellie was starting to look a little droopy. But it was too late to start a nap now, so we gave her the whole bottle of sugar pills. Zing!

Ok, well let’s go do stuff…The name of the letterbox near where this pic was taken is called “No Use”. It seems to me that the rock is useful in making kids smile! Score!

At long last, the pool of liquid happiness!

Hey Rowan, whatcha doin’? Ah, working on your cannonball technique. Lookin’ good!

Hey, what’s with the bubbles?!

Oh I see, you guys are in the hot tub. Well if food & exercise don’t get them to sleep, boiling them is the next logical step.

Olympic diver Ro-Taite contemplates the difficulty and technique of her next leap…into Daddy’s arms.

Are you guys waterlogged? The best part of staying at this hotel was watching Eleanor freak out every time the elevator gave her a fuzzy feeling inside…

Suppertime! What’s for dinner? High speed aluminum tubing…on a stick.

Why is it cool to put a perfectly good airplane up on a skewer? Eleanor can’t figure it out either.

Rowan was convinced the airplane was about to go potty on her. You might want to close your mouth!

Daddy explained that airplanes are put on sticks to provide very decorative shade. And airplanes always look cooler when they at least appear to be flying…

I don’t think Ellie is buying that explanation. But how would she know? She’s the daughter of a pilot but has never set foot on a plane!

After another short dip in the pool, there’s no better way to end the day than shoveling down a cup of yogurt in the nude…

Thanks to Drew for filling that pie hole. It was July 4th, and we were so proud of ourselves when the kids passed out long before the fireworks! Our plan finally worked…kinda…

We gotta take a break from our vacation review for a moment for some heavy news! Drew has proclaimed that our backyard jungle is looking oppressed with home-grown goodness. Is he for real? Check out them beans!

Drew wasn’t kidding at all! This vine is so heavy it’s touching the ground. Delicious!

Our pilot run at growing eggplants is looking mighty tasty as well. Maybe now the Pilot will buy the family a grill (hint hint!).

Holy maximum haul Batman! That is a load worth bragging about!

Uh Drew, your smile seems to be more of a grimace at this point…Your arms aren’t getting tired are they? When it comes to carrying those heavy greens, just remember what your shirt says: They’re GR-R-REAT!

Ok, go ahead and put the box down. I gotta get a close-up of this harvest anyway…

Now we’re gonna eat some and save some, but we can’t keep it all. You kids head over to the neighbors and share. Sorry Ellie, but you ate your share!

As you can tell, we are pretty proud of how well our expanded garden is doing this summer. I forgot how much work gardening is, but summer dinners straight out of the yard make it so worth it!