Degree of Difficulty

If you are a diver, diving off the side of the pool is easy. It becomes more difficult when you dive from the diving board; do a back flip off a ten foot platform and you have substantially increased your degree of difficulty. This works for moms too. Having family for dinner is easy. Packing up your family to visit relatives is more difficult. Packing the whole family, a step-brother flying in from Russia, a big dog, plus clothes and camping gear, drive to the middle of Wyoming over the 4th of July weekend without a DVD player, oh and stop and get your daughter from Girls' Camp on the way, and clean up vomit in the car twice to get to a family reunion- well, that degree of difficulty rivals the 10 foot platform backflip.

But we did it, and even had fun. Once the car no longer smelled like vomit, that is. We stayed in cabins at Louis Lake, then went into town for two nights of fireworks, and fulfilled Grandma Hart's last wish that both sets of kids all get together for a family reunion. It is interesting because this family was created with marriage, divorce, re-marriage, adoption, and birth, but mostly just by a willingness to be family. The kids don't undesrtand that the adults didn't grow up together, all they know is that they are cousins and every 4th of July they get together for a lot of food, mind blowing fireworks, and a chance to play at Grandpa's house.

We played at the lake, formed a polar bear club by swimming in the freezing water, went horseback riding (The kids, minus allergic Sierra, took turns being led around a meadow, but Rob and I took Emma and our niece on an hour long trail ride which was fun even though I got the ornery horse), went hiking, had campfires, played volleyball, and even had sack races. We missed Grandma Hart dearly. It is strange to be in Wyoming and not see her, but she would have been proud of us. In fact, I'm sure she is proud of us. We got a 10.