Summer Vacation, Part II

Our first stop in Utah was lovely, yet tiny Glenwood where we met up with most of the Warner side of our family for a reunion. Many of my childhood summer memories involve Glenwood and I love that my children are building their own memories. And building relationships with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Glenwood means horses, fishing, 4-wheelers, and cousins! My cousin Carrie spent a few hours entertaining my children with her horses. In exchange I got to hold her adorable baby. Natalie and Carrie went off on a trail ride in the mountains which was a real treat for Natalie.

Uncle Steve introduced us to geocaching. We found a few "treasures" in and around Glenwood. Usually it was just a piece of paper with names and dates on it, but it was still a fun adventure. 

Isaac attempted a 4-wheeler by himself for the first time. We decided to wait until next summer for further instruction and practice. 

15 of the 18 Warner grandchildren. My parents planned a fun family home evening, emphasizing the importance of families. They bought matching t-shirts for each family. This was our best attempt at a group photo. Owen wasn't too happy and Karen was pouting as usual (not sure what her deal with group pictures is). 

We rented 2 pontoon boats and spent a morning fishing on Fish Lake. We had a boat of older kids that liked fishing and a boat of younger kids that liked cruising around. I lucked out and scored a seat on the older kid boat. We ended up with 7 fish. 

Andrew, Aspen and Megan showing off our haul. They had fun helping Grandpa clean and gut the fish. 

We spent the afternoon picnicking at a beautiful park. The kids had fun running around and exploring. The adults had fun sitting around visiting. 

The kids made new, updated hand print tiles. You can see Karen's from when she was 2 in the corner of the picture. The kids have all grown up a lot. I wish I had a picture of the whole display of them!

Karen and Ella were the best of friends the entire time. I love when these 2 get together! 

These days no Warner reunion is complete without a shaving cream party! Ingredients: tarp, kids, lots of shaving cream and a hose for easy clean-up. The kids had an absolute blast and the adults had just as much fun watching them. 

The best was when a car would drive by and the kids would go running to the street screaming and waving their arms to show off how crazy they looked. The people in the cars would slow down and just stare. 

On the 4th of July, Grandpa, Natalie, Megan, Andrew, Ella, Andrea, Steve, Becky and I ran in the Richfield fun run. The kids did a mile. Megan and Ella placed in their age groups which was quite exciting. The rest of us did a 5k. I was happy to just finish it! I hadn't been running long and never do well in Utah altitude. My dad got first in his age group and won $5! 

Another fun story story from the reunion is the Dutchmen. We were standing out by the road looking at my dad's big garage (behind us in the picture above). An RV pulled up and the driver asked if there was a campground nearby. We assured them there was nowhere to camp in Glenwood (it's that tiny) but we started to look up campgrounds in nearby Richfield. We noticed an accent and asked where they were from...Holland! My dad and I started speaking Dutch with them. By the end of the conversation (which had quickly switched back to English), it was all arranged that they would camp next to the big garage. You can see the RV in the picture above. I think you had to be there but it was hilarious! Fortunately they were not axe murderers and we all survived the night. Steve took them for a 4-wheeler ride the next morning and then they were off to their next destination. Totally random!

I loved our time in Glenwood. I love my family. I love Glenwood. It was all perfect! Can't wait for next time.