McCall, Idaho

Summer slows down my productivity, in general, so I'm a little delayed in posting about our great week in McCall, Idaho with Geoff's sister Ingrid's family.

We met up for a little rafting on the Payette River to kick our week off. It was pretty mellow with just class II and III rapids, but a really good first trip for all of the kids, and definitely a step up from the Provo River! Next year we may move up in intensity! It was FUN!

The weather was unseasonably cool in McCall this time, which led to more bike rides through Ponderosa State Park, and Geoff and Ceci biked down Brundage, the local ski resort.

We did some huckleberry picking in the woods and Tennie made huckleberry jam. And Trent whipped up some huckleberry shakes. YUM!

Geoff was really excited to have a contest to see who could make the best seltzer rocket, inspired by the BYU team he read about in the alumni magazine. We broke up the teams, gave them basic supplies and instructions and set a 10 minute limit. It was fun to see the tweeks and ingenuity of these kids! The parents gave a try too. Prizes were all-you-can-eat Ice Cream Alley and a trip to My Father's Place, our favorite burger place in town.

All were very serious scientists for the photographs.

The water was pretty choppy most of the week, so for the first time we had early morning risers to get the smooth water, and I'm telling you, it was cold - like 40 degrees outside! But we had some new wake boarders who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to practice and get better. We would go out in the evening until it was too dark to see too.

And those not in the boat read or explored or played on shore.

Trent is endlessly patient as he drives all these kids around on a tube, circles for new learners, giving solid advise on getting better. He really is amazing.

And on the last day, when it was too cold to swim but we weren't ready to go home, we sat around on the dock near the water and just soaked in the beauty of the place.

And the cold didn't deter us from daily trips to Ice Cream Alley.

And a few more miscellaneous moments...

This place holds some of our most magical memories.

Garn Reunion - Part Two

Our immediate family went kayaking down the Provo river during our July 4th afternoon break. I talked my mom into it telling her she wouldn't get wet. Usually this river is more of a float, but it was full and swift this year with some small rapids. I went with my mom, who sat in the front, and we hit every rapid head on, most dousing my mom with cold water. I laughed my head off (totally at her expense) and she was a great sport and dared say she even had fun!

Everyone wanted to go with Geoff. Here were the lucky ones...

Then there were these two crazies...

Our small cousin clan on my side of the family with my cute mom...

The cousins fit in a few quick jumps off a nearby bridge...

There was a freak wind/rain storm that evening during our wiffle ball game, with weather alerts to seek shelter immediately, so we gathered inside and told stories (we have some really funny storytellers). Geoff and I headed home before the local fireworks show and saw 100s of fireworks going off in the Salt Lake Valley as we came down the canyon. That was fun.

I didn't make it for the 2nd day, but on the last day Geoff and I went (the girls aren't too in to the extended family stuff right now...) The morning consisted of an enormous Nerf gun fight between teams. Everyone provided their own guns and some people went all out! It was so much fun and  most everyone played. Here is Geoff...

My brother and his sons had sniper guns and went to a nearby deck.

After nearly two hours of Nerf guns we did what became known as "Grandma Bombing". This was intended to be a fundraiser event to cover some of the reunion costs the night the storm hit, but we ended up fitting it in and not charging. It was a HIT! Trying to hit those original siblings was great fun! And have you seen the new water balloon kits that fill 100 balloons in about a minute?! Amazing! These grandmas were great targets! All got a little wet...

The final night was the Garng Show, a play on the old Gong Show. Family members were encouraged to bring anything they could do, even if not considered by the world as a talent. There were three judges with a gong. If your act didn't get gonged, then you were given a score up to 10. There were magic tricks, kazoo songs with minimal mouth movement, skits and songs. One cousin even put floss down his nose and through his mouth! My brother and sons sang a made-up song...

There was loads of laughs and minimal real talent. We finished off the final night with the Garnie Awards, which my cousin Shane does every reunion. They're given for all sorts of funny reasons.

I must admit that every time these reunions roll around I wonder why we still do them, but then while there we all remember how fun we are and how much we enjoy our time together. I'm really grateful to call these people family.

Garn Reunion - Part One

My mom's family gathers every three years for a Garn Reunion over July 4, and this was the year! Different original siblings take turns planning the reunion. My aunt Kris and her kids and their families did the planning this year and they pulled off a fabulously fun event. It was at the Homestead in Midway, Utah. Every family gets their own rooms (we get a group rate if we book our rooms in a certain period of time, usually about two years in advance). We drove up for two of the days, but next time I think we'll stay in the designated location, even if we live close by.

We met for three days, and they structured the first and last days to have family games from 10-12 in the morning, and games in the evening from 6-8. Then late nighters always stay up and play games, which is just about everyone. The middle day everyone only gathered in the evening. This way families that came to gather for the larger Garn family can fit in an immediate family reunion as well. It is a two-fer, so to speak. That worked well. Here is the group on the first day for the July 4th devotional.

I like to capture the games played for future youth events or reunions on Geoff's side, so here we go. I missed the kick-off game of bingo, where a large bingo card had bits of information to gather from everyone, such as the following: Speaks German, Owned a rotary phone, etc. You crossed off the square as you found someone who met the square's statement. Fun way to learn about each other.

We then had relays. Everyone was divided into four teams. Each team had to go through the following games:

Five members of the team had to pass cups of water over their heads to the last person who poured it into a bucket at the end of the line. The first to overflow their bucket won. There was one runner who took cups from the back to the front of the line again (several cups were going at a time), and several non-players were keeping the front buckets full of water.

Five members of the team with loose clothing passed a string down through their clothes until they were all connected, then they ran through several cones to an end point.

The tallest team member automatically participated in this game. A bag of panty hose had to be opened, a ball placed at the foot and the panty hose put on the head. A series of three items had to be knocked over: a small can, a water bottle and a cup.

A daring team member had to choose from a nasty selection of "mystery" drinks and gulp down a cup.

Six team members competed. All stood in a line with a stack of cups before them. The first person built a tower with the cups, the next person took them down to the stack, the next person built a tower, and so on.

Two team members had to sheets of dot stickers. One team member stood still while the two team members stuck their stickers on any bare skin of the still team member. First team to be done with their sheets of stickers won.

One member of each team had to pull tissues out of a tissue box. First to empty won.

I wasn't close to this event and missed the details, but from what I could tell, two team members were blindfolded. A few team members had some cards with photos on them. They had to describe the item in the photo to the blindfolded team members. Those blindfolded then ran to some items down the field to find what was described to them. The cardholding team members could yell directions.

Five team members sat in a line. At one end was a pile of about 10 balls, on the other was a basket. The team members had to pass the pile of balls down the line with only their feet and put them in the basket. If a ball fell on the ground it started over at the pile.

Two members from each team had to put together a puzzle. I participated in this event and putting a puzzle together under pressure is pretty intense!

The final event was a relay. The first was a runner with a child on their shoulders. The second runner had to be younger than 8. The final runner had to be older than 50.

It was a great way to get everyone interacting and working together!

There was a tattoo station...

And my cousin won the best outfit prize...

To be continued...