FAMILY REUNIONS

We have the good fortune of belonging to great families before we started our own. Great families have great stories and superb family reunions. The Robinson get-together was a meager 85 member contingency at the standard Horse Valley campsite. I can’t say for sure, but it is likely Parowan and Paragonah’s population wanes quickly as we establish Robinsonville on the hill, if only for a few days once a year. It goes without saying, the mosquitoes were definitely full and everybody had great camping faces before we left.



After feeding the mosquitoes we barely had time to stop itching and shower before we set out for Topic and the Munson Mixer. We spent time playing games at the park, swapping lies, playing tourist on mules in Bryce Canyon, eating, fishing, more eating, sleeping, yet more eating, and taking in the local flavor of Tropic. Suffice it to say, the company, food, and scenery were great.


As you might guess from the first paragraph, I am not a Tropic native but I can certainly relate to the characters each small community seems to have. After all, I grew up in Parowan. It is fun to compare the unknown but familiar characters in these small towns with their matches who lived around me while I grew up. The Munson Mixer ended with church on Sunday- I was disappointed it wasn’t fast Sunday. Small town Fast and Testimony meetings are the best!  Take a look at this as a real-life example.

Amy's Going to the Prom?

Amy and I were able to attend an awards ceremony in honor of some local police officers. As this was a formal event the preparation started for Amy some weeks ago. My preparations were admittedly easier as I had been issued my attire. Amy set out to find a dress at one of the local shops with Erin in tow. Erin, of course, was spell bound by all of the gowns, dresses, jewelry, and “other” accessories. Amy related to me that Erin seemed to have 10,000 questions (e.g. What is this? Where does it go? How does it fit on?  What does it do?). I’m thankful I was not invited on this excursion.

The ironic part of this whole shopping trip was it happened to be the same day as the Junior Prom for one of the high schools. Amy stated the stores were bustling and crowded as a result. As required by the laws of parenting, Erin singlehandedly embarrassed Amy by shouting one sentence while amongst the crowd. “But Mom, if you’re going to the prom who is going to watch the kids?” Apparently, the shop went quiet, everyone stopped to turn their heads, and all eyes were waiting for a response. I can’t say for sure, but I think the shopping was over for the day.

MISCELLANEOUS CATHING UP

Here are some things our oldest kids have been up to:

Dancing faces you towards Heaven, whichever direction you turn. ~Terri Guillemets

I love fishing. You put your line in the water and you don’t know what’s on the other end. Your inanition is under there. ~ Robert Altman

Have You Ever...

 ...played a baseball game in the snow?

Wait, An 11-Year-Old Lives Here?

Time has a way of getting away from everyone at our house. Tyrel is now 11-years-old and what a memorable birthday number 11 was. It started out the day before when Erin got the stomach flu, yeah! This was followed by Amy getting the flu for a couple of days. During Amy’s turn I too took a turn but was fortunate not to get the full blown version. Tyrel then had his turn just a day after turning 11. Happy Birthday! We all escaped all the better for the wear and hope Tyrel doesn’t have another birthday soon- we don’t want the flu back for at least 3 years.

Lego Nerds

Amy and I concluded we needed to make a quick dash to visit the California Faction of Robinsons before we became snowed in or deadlocked with sports. Despite having a 2-mile list of things to do or visit while on our hiatus, we instead opted to Legoland, the beach (too cold for fun in the water), and a movie (this allowed those too tired to catch up on their sleep).

Our visit to Legoland was a reality check for me on several points. First, it is amazing what can be constructed from plastic blocks. Finished projects varied from a full-sized car to dinosaurs and dragons, to life-sized Star Wars characters and on, and on, and on, and on. Second, I didn’t realize you could earn a paycheck building various things out of Lego’s. At each of the above mentioned projects a sign was posted detailing an assortment of facts. For instance, on the full-sized car Tyrel learned it took 5 adults 2 ½ month to construct it. The vehicle weighs near 3000 pounds and is hollow… Finally, Tyrel solidified his title as Lego Nerd after proclaiming several dozen times, “I could live here!”

We were glad for the furlough. Thank you Cole and Julie for letting us invade your lives.

Tyrel and Erin have singlehandedly made the Tooth Fairy go broke. It seems like Tyrel has pulled 2 teeth in less than 2 weeks. The end result is he looks like a horse when he smiles- you know, in the front there are only 4 teeth on the top and 4 teeth on the bottom. Then miles of no teeth before reaching the molars in the back of his mouth. I think he is in an elite group who can eat corn on the cob through a picket fence.

Erin, on the other hand, doesn’t pull her teeth. Instead, she waits for them to fall out of her head. Her last tooth fell out while drinking water. She too has lost a couple of teeth in the past 2 weeks.

Ryann has beat them all but doesn’t have a tooth in her mouth.

The whole crew may indeed make the toothbrush aptly named. For the rest of us it should be called a teethbrush.