Kiesig Family Reunion

Aaron's first trip to Yellowstone

Last weekend we headed up to the West Yellowstone area for the Kiesig family reunion (Michael's Dad's mother's family).  We both love that area so we were very excited to go.  We also love that family (even though I think I might be allergic to them) so that makes it even better.  We thought about leaving on Friday but Michael had a meeting at work so we left Saturday afternoon.  (We wanted to leave early Sat morning but just didn't have the motivation to get it done until the afternoon.)  We arrived in Rexburg and went swimming to wear out the boys.  Aaron didn't last too long because the water was cold and the other kids were so loud so he and I headed back to the room.  After Michael and Jonathan were finished swimming they showered off and Jonathan decided he needed to go to the bathroom... on the floor in the corner.  Luckily Michael got a towel down in time to catch most of it.  After Jonathan was finished Michael explained he shouldn't do that but needed to use the toilet if he didn't have a diaper on.  Jonathan replied, "Oh, yes!" and ran into the bathroom to sit on the toilet.  He's just a little backwards.

The next day we headed to church with the Duque family (Jayne's sister and family.  Their house and yard was beautiful and we had a great time looking around.)  After church was over we headed on up to our West Yellowstone destination.  We were able to get settled in and relax before the reunion started on Monday. 

On Monday the activities began.  They started off with a getting to know names game that involved rolling dice and stealing peoples candy at the boat house.  Then we headed back up the hill for more getting to know you games on the lawn.  After they felt like we knew each other adequately enough we headed back to the boat house and they fed us lunch.  (More to come about the food.)  Then we had free time which we used to take Grandma Ruth to see Old Faithful.  Then back to the boat house for dinner and more getting to know you games by the fire.

Aaron getting ready for the fireside fun.

Jayne, Jonathan and me arriving at the fire.

On Tuesday we headed out to the lawn for the family Olympics.  Michael and Jonathan were on team Jamaica and Aaron and I were on team Ethiopia.  (Jayne was team Switzerland and PaA was team USA.  Grandma just watched and cheered for everyone.)  We started by hitting marshmallows with golf clubs.  Then we played corn hole.  Next was shaving cream Cheetos.  Last was the water balloon toss which of course ended in a family water fight.  Ethiopia took Gold and Bronze in marshmallow golf.  We also took Bronze in shaving Cheetos.  Jamaica took Gold in corn hole and Cheetos.  They also took Silver in golf. 

Grandma Ruth and Marion enjoying the Olympics.

Jonathan wanted to eat the marshmallows more than he wanted to hit them with the golf club.

Jayne hit a good amount of dirt but did she even touch the marshmallow?!

Cheetos and shaving cream, do I need to say more?!

After the games were over we had free time.  We headed back to our cabin to eat lunch and then we were off to swim in the Firehole River in Yellowstone.  (Just down stream from some hot pots so the freezing river water is turned into a perfect temperature for swimming.)  The actual swimming spot has been closed so we went up stream to the "fly fishing only" part of the river to swim.  Aaron was content to float for a little while but again didn't last very long and went to sit next to Grandma Ruth in the shade on the side of the river.  Jonathan on the other hand loved it.  So PaA, Jayne, Michael, Jonathan and I swam to our hearts content.  Then we headed back to the boat house for dinner. 



After dinner it was back to the campfire for some more bonding and a prize give away (which was totally rigged by the Adams family as we won most of the prizes... it helped that Grandma's name was entered 3 times).  Then they gave out the over-all medals for the Olympics.  Jamaica won Gold, Switzerland won Silver and Ethiopia won Bronze.  We closed with a prayer of thanks for our wonderful family and the great time we had together. 

Four generations.

Jamaica - Gold

Switzerland - Silver

Ethiopia - Bronze

Three years from now it is the Adams' turn to host in California and I think it will be kind of like trying to follow the China Olympics.  Oh well, we will do our best and the Kiesigs are so great that it will probably be another great reunion.

Now about the food.  There is no way to match the food that we had at this reunion.  I felt like I was eating at 5 star restaurants the whole time.  Our first lunch was beef brisket sandwiches with baked beans made with two pounds of bacon per pot.  That night for dinner was BBQ chicken and ribs with all the sides you love.  The next day's dinner was salmon, hamburgers, and hot dogs with various vegetables.  On Monday night at the campfire we had dutch oven cobblers with ice cream and s'mores.  Tuesday night featured a red, white, and blue cake again with s'mores.  The food was incredibly tasty, and we were quite stuffed after the family dinners.  I really think it will take the whole three years to loose the 50 pounds we must have gained.

Grandma Ruth is now 89 years old.  She really enjoyed being able to see everyone, including her sister-in-law Marion.  They were the only two from that generation that were able to make it (Bob and Naomi were unable to journey here from California), but there were many cousins, second-cousins, and a good number of third-cousins.  At this point Jonathan might have made more enemies than friends as it seems that he is a bit of a bully.  Sometimes he means well and is just too strong but most of the time he just pushes other kids, so we are sorry to Ephraim, Eddie, and any others he may have injured.  Hopefully in three years they will end up more as plotting, scheming, and conniving friends getting into all sorts of mischief.  Hopefully.