Summer, Part 2

Ahh! The Homestead. beautiful isn't it? Andrew's grandparent's settled this land during the Homestead Act and now we have this wonderful place to play. By "we" I don't mean myself of course. You see I am not "blood", and only "blood" will inherit the Homestead. This was made quite clear to me on my first visit to the Homestead four years ago. It is now an ongoing joke between my brother-in-law Dave and I. I have had a few rough experiences at the Homestead over the years so my inability to inherit this land has not caused me even a moment of lost sleep. The Homestead was the locale of the Rencher Family Reunion 2008 over Fourth of July weekend. I learned many new things.

1. Helmets are completely unnecessary. Who are these fools who purchase safety equipment? Waste of money! There were literally dozens and dozens of small children roaming the land on motorized vehicles over the course of several days and I never saw a single helmet. Not even a discarded one that someone chose not to use. I, however, am safety conscious and outfitted Sam with this fabulous foam visor. That should do the job!

2. Traditional ideas of fun are stupid and we mock all those who organize a friendly softball game. We in the Rencher clan do it up right. Our idea of fun consists of gathering all of the children onto a field and then asking a friend to fly an airplane quite low to the ground just above them and dump ping pong balls on their heads. Sounds weird, I know, but it was actually a riot and the kids loved it. If they found certain colored balls the received prizes.

Here is Lauren searching for ping pong balls in the dock (beautiful yellow flowers). Don't ask me who the people in red, yellow, or green shirts are; why should I know. I came with the blue shirts and I will stay with the blue shirts. What is this a reunion? Am I supposed to be getting to know our family members or something? Please!

3. Water jugs are where it's at. Seriously, Lauren spent a significant portion of each day filling up that blue cup, dumping it out, and then doing it again. I own a similar water jug that sits in the garage so now I have hours of summer entertaintment ready at a moments notice. No bored kids at my house! I am the best mom.

4. Andrew is quite crafty. If you're ever in need of a jewelery maker look no further. These funny little necklaces were surprisingly a big hit.

Here is Lauren modeling the finished product.

5. Grandpa was right. We do need a four-wheeler. Good ol' Irv was given a bit a flack for this purchase, but he insisted that the grandkids needed it. He was absolutely right! The kids had so much fun riding around. I don't think Ethan ever got off, even when it was parked for long periods of time. I also learned that a grandma with a four-wheeler is a cool grandma, especially when she lets as many grandchildren that can hang on to it go for a ride at once. (Side note: I also learned that my nephew Jonathan must be in a gang because he flashed me this same gang sign in every picture I took of him.)

6. Cousins rule! Here's Sam with his best friend and cousin Alex. They were together every single moment. I just love that my kids have cousins on both sides of the family that are their ages. They really get to grow up together and become great friends.

7. "Be Prepared" is not only the Boy Scout motto, but the Rencher motto. The Homestead is a peaceful and beautiful place in south eastern Idaho. It's covered with aspen trees and wildflowers. It is so isolated that you can see about a million stars at night. But you just never know when you might need to SHOOT something like say, a mosquito or possibly a cousin. (Those really are the only annoying and/or dangerous things I could come up with). For this reason a few of Andrew's relatives (not in the blue shirts) felt the need to wear full camo and strap guns to their thighs during the entire reunion - just in case. I found this a bit unnerving and found myself watching my back. Let's just say I didn't go after any of these NRA folk during the marshmallow war. I'm no fool. This also explains the lack of picture. I was afraid they would know I was mocking them and lose a limb or something. I do however have one picture that was taken at night when we retired a flag but the lighting is poor. Maybe Haley or Kelli can help with a little Photoshop and I can get it posted. We'll see.