Uncle Kyle Graduates

We're proud to say the Uncle Kyle has graduated from BYU.  We're especially excited for Uncle Kyle because he has been a frequent dinner guest in our home these past few years.  Our boys have looked forward to those dinners with Uncle Kyle.  He even has a place at the head of the table reserved just for him.  Now that he is graduated and has a real job we won't get to have him around for dinners anymore.

Congratulations Uncle Kyle!  We're proud of your accomplishment and wish you the best as you move forward with life.  And we'll miss having you around as our frequent dinner guest.

Barrus Family Reunion 2010

We had the wonderful privilege of attending the Barrus family reunion in Blackfoot, ID. Great-Grandpa Barrus' health is not what it used to be so, with some encouragement from Grandma Petersen, we decided to attend this event. So Friday morning we packed up the suburban and we headed for Idaho.

The boys were very excited about the trip, probably because it was going to be an opportunity to see their cousin Devin Boel. I don't think they knew much more about the trip or even cared. We stopped in Brigham City where we met the Boel children, Uncle Kyle and Grandma and Grandpa Petersen. Devin jumped in with us and the 3 girls jumped in with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Kyle (Aunt Melissa decided to stay home with Lydia and her newborn, Aldin).

We finished the 4+ hour trip eagerly anticipating the tin foil dinners that we had prepared only to discover that the traditional camp fire was not lit! So a quick stop at McDonald's and that mishap was remedied. We arrived at the park and the kids disappeared as the adults pitched camp. The reunion was already underway with family stories, skits and such being presented.

The traditional camp fire was finally lit but we had already eaten so we just enjoyed an evening sitting by the fire, after putting the boys to bed around 10:00 pm. The night was very windy once we decided to settle down and sleep. Michelle was afraid the tent would blow away with us inside (probably like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz). But we survived, albeit very tired in the morning. The following video and pictures are just a few highlights of the our Saturday:

(Michelle and our family tree)

(family picture with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Barrus)

(The kids pause during family picture time)

(A visit a Barrus grave site)

(A visit to a Denney grave site)

(Independence Day celebrations with the Petersens)

(Michelle playing too)

(Our humble grand finale!)

Father and Sons Campout

We had a wonderful campout up near Grantsville. We joined Grandpa Petersen and Uncle Kyle on their ward's fathers and sons campout. The boys had a great time being able to run around just about anywhere they wanted.

When we first arrived at camp Grandpa Petersen and Uncle Kyle had already set up the wall tent so we just had to move our stuff in. David found a lizard in the rocks around the fire pit and tried to get the lizard to voluntarily crawl onto his hand. It was less-successful.

The ward was providing dinner so we hurried along to get some grub. The boys at a little bit but apparently they weren't too impressed by the hot dogs and hamburgers that had been prepared. I felt good just getting them to eat a little bit before they were off to more exciting aspects of camping.

The boys congregating around the dart games. The magnetic dart game wasn't as appealing to everyone so my boys were able to squeeze their way into the gaming arena. The real darts had a constant line and it would take hours for them to finally get their chance to play.

After exhausting the various activities at the ward camp site we headed down the road for a little privacy and quiet while we did our campfire. We roasted a few marshmallows for smores before bedtime.

They boys were pretty tired by the time is was dark (after 10 pm) so they didn't fuss too much about getting ready for bed.

The boys must have really been tired because we were still able to sleep until after 7 am! What a relaxing camping trip this was.

After breakfast (which the ward provided and my boys didn't even touch; a mix of eggs, hash browns, bacon, and biscuit) we headed back to pack up camp and head home. When we arrived we discovered a new roommate. Apparently this was a first for everyone but it was fun to see this bird up close.

We had a wonderful time, beautiful weather, great campfire, fun games and just a good all-around experience for everyone!

Father and Sons Campout

I’m not sure how I missed this memo about the Father and Sons annual camp-out. After all my years as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I didn’t realize that every May we have a Father and sons campout to commemorate the restoration of the Priesthood.

This year our ward had to cancel our campout due to a lack of participation. But my brother-in-law’s ward didn’t cancel their campout. In fact, their entire stake went to the same camping area for their annual campout! Actually, I think there were about 4 stakes that all went to the same camping spot! Once we actually arrived it was quite crazy with the number of trucks, suburbans, campers and trailers that were caravanning the single lane, unpaved, windy road to this church sponsored campground (we know it was church sponsored because there were senior missionaries guarding the entrance where everyone checked in).

Well, Michelle “just happened” to be talking to her brother and discovered that their campout was this weekend. That’s when the idea starting brewing in her head and the conspiracy developed. As it turned out, Dad Petersen was going to attend this father and sons campout with Jared (Michelle’s brother) and his boys. So Michelle deduced that Mom would be there with Tosha & Melissa in Logan while all the boys would be camping: Girls Night!

So the next thing I know, we are packing our suburban with all of our camping gear in preparation for a father and sons campout. Yes, that means that I would be taking 4 of my 5 boys camping by myself!!! How hard could that be???


Michelle armed us with plenty of hot dogs for dinner (the stake was providing breakfast for everyone!). And with our tent, sleeping bags and a change of clothes we were ready to go.

RAIN! While we acknowledged that rain was in the forecast I wasn’t expecting 12 solid hours of rain during our 12 hours of campout. It started raining from the moment we arrived at camp around 5:30 pm and didn’t stop raining until about 5:30 am! So we set up the tent in the rain, built a fire in the rain, cooked and ate dinner in the rain, roasted marshmallows and had smores in the rain, found lost boys in the rain, got ready for bed in the rain and the retired for the evening in the rain.




But one thing is for sure, it takes more than cold rain to dampen the spirits of 4 young boys in the wilderness with a live campfire! My boys unloaded half a mountain of rocks into the nearby river (there is something about a splash) while I set up camp. These same boys delighted in igniting wet wood in the fire to watch it burn or smoke (we probably should have been more strict about playing with fire but we figured everything was wet so what’s the harm). And the boys were with their cousins so that is always a treat.





The rain did give us a small reprieve, just about long enough to eat our dinner and roast some marshmallows.



The rain turned to snow around 3:00 am (or so I’m told). Aleky and Michael both woke up in the middle of the night with concerns that I was able to resolve (after which they were tucked by snuggly in their sleeping bags). We had trace snow on our tent and were about 75 feet below the snow line in the morning.

Apparently wet wood doesn't burn very well and it was quite a feat getting the fire started in the morning.

With so many people to feed in the damp, cold morning, breakfast didn’t turn out quite like we planned. But with a break in the rain we quickly packed up all the wet gear and “packed” the suburban for the return trip home. We are still recovering for the wetness of this trip but it was a good experience. I suspect that the rain and cool weather helped me keep track of my boys because they were never too far away from the fire. Had everything been “ideal” I may have lost a boy or two before the camping was finished. (just sayin’)

We returned to Jared’s house and the boys immediately found the toys and the movie (I think my boys are addicted to video stimulation, any video and they get sucked in). But we had a good visit and then it was time to head home. Kyle had to get back to school work and other obligations.

Dinner Outside

Today’s just been one of “those” days. So what do you eat for dinner on one of “those” days? We don’t know but hot dogs sound good. So we decided to have a campfire and roast hot dogs. It’s quick and easy and the boys will love it.

It didn’t take much to get the fire started and the boys were instantly attracted like moths to the flame. That is, until Uncle Kyle arrived with his championship football kicker contraption (a contraption he built to win the engineering clubs football kicker contest last month). The boys thought it was great and were excited to be the one who retrieved the football after it was booted into the park.

After the excitement subsided we settled down to roasting hotdogs and eating dinner.

Hot Dogs and Snickerdoodles

I received a phone call from Michelle while at work. "Do you have plans for tonight?" she innocently asks. Since my plans had been rescheduled I didn't have anything set, just some ideas in my head. "Well, I sort of made plans for us..." she continued. Quite frankly, I'm not sure I could reconstruct the events that lead to our evening with our friends but I'm certainly glad the forces of fate combined to create such serendipitous circumstances.

Unfortunately the plans were all to commence prior to my arrival at my own party! Michelle tried to assure me that it was okay. When I finally was able to make it home I found my boys trimming the hedges? You can see Donovan in action!

Michelle had started the fire all by herself and Kyle was splitting some wood to add to the fire. The Simmons came over as the fire was getting started. The Johnsons would show up shortly after that.

We didn't waste anytime getting the hot dogs roasted. Everyone was hungry and we couldn't come up with a good reason for waiting. I helped to roast the younger boys hot dogs but David and Donovan felt like they needed to roast their own hot dogs. They did just great, with a little coaching from the sidelines.

The irony of the eating situation was that the kids all needed to sit at the big (adult) table and the adults were forced to use the small (kids) table.


It was an enjoyable dinner with splendid company. But we couldn't wait until 8:00 pm to put the boys to bed. They still struggle with the concept of bed time before the sun goes down but we persist in trying to help them understand this concept. I'll be excited for daylight savings time when it will be dark at bedtime.

It took us nearly 45 minutes to get the boys in bed! Obviously they were having too much fun to stop for something as trivial as bedtime. But, in the end, they went to bed. The Johnsons put Zachary to bed in our room and we set up a monitor in the hallway to keep an ear on them while we went next door to the Simmons for some games.

The Simmons had a game called Imaginiff

That was quite an interesting game. You use all the players and random people (if you're playing with less than 8 players). Then each round you read a question about someone different and you get points based on the what the majority of the players feel is the best answer. It leads to some funny descriptions about the people playing because you are trying to guess what the other people are going to guess.

After that game we had to play a few rounds of "jungle" Uno. We had a little trouble trying to decide which "house rules" we were going to use. The biggest dispute was about the "match/play" rule. One version of "match" is that you simply get to play your card anytime you can exactly match the last played card and play picks up from you. The "match/play" rule says that you can go anytime you can play your card and exactly match the last card played and, if your quick enough, play any other playable card. Maybe we were just too tired to fully enjoy the "match/play" rule but we threw it out after one round.

Regardless of who could "match/play" or who drew the most cards we had fun time. Michelle had made some snickerdoodles for Elisa as a visiting teaching treat. I hope she actually got to eat one because the rest of us certainly did! Actually, Michelle felt bad that we had eaten all of Elisa's snickerdoodles and so she ran back to the house to grab some more to replace them. I have to say we are fortunate to have such wonderful friends. We went home around 11:00 pm and the kids were all sound asleep!

(When we woke up this morning the three oldest boys were being sooo quiet, playing the computer downstairs. So we didn't realize they were all awake and they let us sleep in!)

Family Reunion (part 4)

This morning there was a somber mood among all the kids. I think they knew that their time together was coming to an end. Of course it may have just been the cooler mountain air and overcast skies and the fact that the fire had been put out by the rain. But this morning the kids did everything together. You couldn't separate them.

The first activity of the day was to try and get the fire started again. I think the chances for success would have been greater had the matches actually lit when you struck them. We finally resorted to using a lighter.

The camping experience was starting to wear on some of the kids. Katie hadn't had a shower in days and this was a real problem. Most of the other kids didn't seem to mind missing that important aspect of civilization.

Aaron seemed to be content simply eating the topping off of his muffin. After all, these are healthy muffins so the best part has to be the topping.

Michelle caught me in her picture as she tried to capture the scene for her panoramic picture stitching program. (I moved to soon and the stitching program chopped my arm off!)

More breakfast under the canopy (to avoid the random rain drops)

The kids were playing some sort of treasure hiding/finding game. Then they played red light green light but with dragons! I'm sure they played some other games as well. They spent the morning together and would hardly even separate when called by their parents!

I'm not sure why they started rolling the logs. These logs were originally set up for a family photo but were never actually used for that purpose. The kids found them more exciting to roll across camp.

Next came the thrill ride of the day. We all loaded up on top of James' new suburban rack and went for a ride up to the main road and back. This is a bumpy road and would have rivaled any ride at Lagoon, especially since this one doesn't have seat belts or safety gear!

After the roller coaster ride we went on a treasure hunt. We were working fast because the Kims had to get on the road and head for home. The kids went to work following clues like they were stars in National Treasure or something. Once they read each clue they were off at a sprint to find the next one. There were 10 total clues.




The kids finally found the gold at the end of the hunt. It was a glorious moment. All of their staunch determination had finally paid off.

It was sad to say good bye to the Kims. These several days had been wonderful to be together. But all things must end and the Kims were the first to leave. Jared's family would leave next but not before they had a chance to defend our camp from the attacking squirrel.

With the camp secure and safe we finished packing. I happened to catch this candid moment as Hailey helped David bring up the high chair to be loaded into the jeep.

This camping trip / family reunion has been an awesome experience. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins for 4 days! We got to see each other all together for the first time in a couple years. As the family spreads across the country these times will be more and more precious.

I am certainly grateful that I was able to spend these 4 days with my family. We had a fabulous time and we've made many great memories.