Peterson-Peterson's 2015

We recently returned from a week in the mountains with these goofballs.  The Peterson-Peterson reunion was held at Summit Lodge near Brian Head, Utah.  The air was clear, the company delightful, and the Internet non-existent.  It was the perfect recipe for family fun times.

The kids slept in a giant bunk room and most of the adults slept on the other side of the lodge in suites.  Jeff and I slept in this yurt.  Much more private.  Except that we were told the local deer would come and sleep with us if we didn't lock it at night.

The boys spent most of their time playing games with their cousins while eating generous helpings from the candy bowl and the cookie bar.

Chloe and the girls spent most of their time making fleece blankets for charity.  After complaining that their fingers hurt, they would then demand that Aunt Shelley cut more blankets for them to tie.  They also played games and ate candy during their breaks from the sweat shop.

The daily schedule included exercise, breakfast, scripture study, then vocalizing with Grandpa Eddie.

One afternoon, Miles asked, "Why do you sing nonsense in the morning?"  He's not used to hearing a half hour of warm ups every day.

Grandma Win treated us to two bread making classes.  Now we're all experts and there's no reason for us to buy bread ever again.

When the kids got tired of blankets and foosball, we would blow up the bouncy house.

Each family was in charge of an evening of entertainment.  I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Patti, Amy, and Jeff play their folk music on Tuesday night.

Our family did a "magic show".  Apologies to all magicians.

Since it stayed light outside forever and ever, we had plenty of time to hang out after mandatory family fun.

Then, of course, there were the feats of strength.  Jeff didn't embarrass me.

One of the highlights of the reunion was seeing Brian and Mani as parents and meeting their beautiful daughter, Belle.

Another highlight was seeing Melanie pregnant with twins!

The sunsets were pretty sweet, too.

Wednesday was Grandma Win's birthday, so we went around the room and said nice things about her.  She was delighted.

We celebrated all June birthdays that night.  Some people were impressed with The Amazing Candle, and some were not.

June birthday girls: Shelley, Aeli, Win, Emmi, and Patti.

Thursday afternoon, some of us went fishing at Brian Head.  Miles had never been fishing before, so Aunt Penny showed him what's up.

He caught three fish!

Here's Ted pulling the hook out of one of Miles' fish.  That's what uncles are for.

It was great to be outside together.  Nearly everyone caught a fish that afternoon, so tears were minimal.  Emmi kept telling Chloe, "You are SO lucky you didn't catch a fish!  It was disgusting!"

As the days went on, more family members began to show up.  Brian (Jeff's cousin) showed up on Thursday, so you know what that means?  Kan-Jam tournament!

Anne and Rose found my hat more fun than Kan-Jam.

Or at least more adorable.

It was fun to have so many babies around to hold . . . and then give back to their moms.

They're glowing!

That night Penny acted as DJ while we went krazy with karaoke.  Here's Brian singing "Sugar" to his daughter, Navy.

Friday we went ATVing at Cedar Breaks, but that's a separate post.  Friday night, we went to the amphitheater and played what Aunt Lisa called "A Combination of a Thousand Different Games" (or ACOATDG, for short).  We answered trivia questions about Grandpa Eddie and Grandma Win and if our team didn't know the answer, we could use a lifeline or do a minute-to-win-it challenge.

The questions were pretty hard, so we did a lot of challenges.

Patti had clearly done this before.  Nathan had not.  Most of his M&M's ended up in the woods.

The winner of everything that night was Jeff's brother, Scott.  His challenge was to eat one Vienna sausage or one sardine from a can.  He said, "Just one?" and proceeded to eat all the sausages and sardines.

Thus earning him the admiration of every young man in the group.

It was disgusting and hilarious.  When  I asked Scott about it later, he said, "I couldn't eat just one.  Not with Jeff standing there."  My husband has never lost an eating contest.  Jealous much?

Harrison seemed weirdly bummed that his challenge involved cookies and not sardines.

We learned a lot about Grandma and Grandpa and I'm pretty sure it was a tie.

Saturday morning we did archery.  My husband hit the center of the target on his first try.  It was hot.

I think Ellee is casting a spell on her target before using an actual arrow.  Good strategy.

Chloe and I are totally archers.  We arch.  Also, my hair looked really good that day.

I posted a picture like this on Instagram and my sister said it looked like Scout camp.  Indeed.

Even Miles kinda sorta figured it out.

Rhett's favorite movie is "Robin Hood", which is why this is adorable.

Not bad for a beginner.

Harrison was way impressed with Jeff's skills.

After archery, some people went to play paintball.  I stayed back and packed up our belongings.  Not all of our belongings, of course.  That was a lost cause.  We've already received one package full of our stuff that was left behind.  Thanks, Grandma!

What a pleasure it was to be with these delightful people and to get to know everyone a little bit better.  It's a joy to be a part of this wonderful family and I'm grateful that Win and Eddie and their children and their children's children and their children's children's children place such a high priority on family time.

If I have to be in the woods without cell phone service or Internet, I want it to be with you.