Stratford Ranch Retreat 2021

We enjoyed the loveliest, most relaxing extended weekend with our long time family book club at Andrea and James's ranch in Avon, Utah.  I loved every minute of our time there and am happy to be sitting down to record our memories.  This group which began as a family book club-- hardly seems descriptive nowadays.  While we do still read a few books a year together, this group of people is our third extended family.  The adult are like aunts and uncles, the kids are like cousins.  These relationships have blessed our lives immensely.   

Walking with my ladies recharges my soul.

Michael, George, and Peter slept outside in a tent two of the three nights.

The hummingbirds were constantly swarming the feeders.  I've never seen so many hummingbirds before.  

Abe slayed breakfast duty.

This group (except for George) played a lot of D&D together.  They had a great time.

Our group had the Hyrum State Park Reservoir almost completely to ourselves.  We had so much fun.

What a sweetheart our little Peter is!

Bethany took this awesome picture of George.  It is a very representative picture.

Check out those gorgeous swimmer shoulders!!!

Why yes, I did paddle board for the first time ever!  And little Greta came along for my second ride.  And then I realized she had no lifejacket on and that this was my first time paddle boarding.  Not a safe combination! We quickly headed back to the shore.  

We had a little talent show and Greta played the first twinkle variation on her violin.

Bethany performed one of her original songs.

The Youngs led us in a few couples yoga poses.

The artists showed their beautiful works.

Andrea's talent was giving this beautiful handmade quilt to Christine for her birthday.

Bethany and Cannon performed a funny little thing they like to do-- they call it throwing faces.  This was a reprisal of a performance at last year's Fox family reunion.

Click here to watch more

Abe told a sweet story to the younger kids about how our book club got started.  

Here it is-- accompanied by Bethany.

We played lots of games.

Christine led us in morning yoga.  So relaxing and invigorating.  It was perfection.

Greta was so adorable winning the Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament.  

Twister!

Childhood joy!

One of my favorite pictures of Peter ever.

Putter pong

You can see why we love this place so much.

For Faith and I, discovering our mutual love of cornhole was a highlight of the weekend. 

We could not get enough!  

We formed a team and called ourselves "The CORNucopias".  We challenged anyone to a game.

And sometimes we even won!  We had so much fun and the first thing Faith did when we got home was order our own set of cornhole.  It's scheduled to arrive tomorrow!!! YIPPEE!!!!! Also, I love this picture with Faith.  She is a gem.

A side-by-side ride with my sweetie.  I confess, he did have to drag me away from the cornhole.

Then I drove one for the first time ever.  First a paddleboard and then this.  What an adventurous weekend for me:)

They're so cute

Code Names

We enjoyed the great outdoors, we connected with friends and family, we played and talked and ate and slept so well.  It was a heavenly weekend.  Till next time, Stratford Ranch! 

Fox Kids Summer Olympics Birthday 2021

 

Following in the family tradition of over-the-top, at home birthday parties, we celebrated Greta's, Peter's, and George's summer birthdays with The Fox Kids Summer Olympics 2021!!!!  

We met in the front yard and assigned the 35+ kiddos to their countries.  They had a team flag and individual lanyards with their flags and the kids signed up for the events they wanted to compete in. Then it was the Parade of Nations!  Ah! I love the Olympics. Watch it HERE

Aren't they the cutest! 

South Korea-- Chloe, Caleb, Lily, Mia, Dallas, and Peter

Audrey, Ethan (or Andrew-- its hard to tell with identical twins), Ellie, Kate, Bryce, and Londyn.  Spoiler alert:  Japan did really well in the games.

Germany-- Caden, Kaiya, Jay, Liam, and George.  

Team Canada was Brigham, Ella, Greta, Remy, and Eric.

Team Norway-- Mary, Addy, Keldon, Taylor, and Brooklyn

Team South Africa-- Eli, Carson, Micah, Ali, and Maiya

And lastly, Team Jamaica: Adam, Andrew (or Ethan- it's hard to tell), Millie, Emi, and Noah.

Chillin' in the Olympic Village

The 7 and under 100 meter dash-- or some such distance.  It was to the other fence and back.  

100 Meter Dash 7 and under

Gold-- Carson

Silver-- Liam

Bronze-- Millie

100 Meter Dash 

Gold-- Brigham

Silver-- Noah

Bronze-- Emi

The Balance Beam--I adore Kate's leap.

Here is Greta's whole artistic arm flailing routine.

Balance Beam--

Gold- Kate

Silver-- Greta

Bronze-- Emi

The high jump was one of the most exciting events to watch.

The High Jump--

Gold- Audrey

Silver-- George

Bronze-- Mia

Rifle Shooting--Nerf Rifle Shooting, that is

Gold-- Adam

Silver-- Peter

Bronze-- Dallas

The trampoline event was fun to watch.

Trampoline--

Gold-- George

Silver--Londyn

Bronze-- Caden

Shot Put--

Gold-- Eli

Silver-- Dallas

Bronze-- Noah

The leg wrestling gold medal match

Leg Wrestling--

Gold- Bryce

Silver- Ella

Bronze- Ethan or Andrew-- it's hard to tell:)

The highly anticipated floor routine...

Floor Routine--

Gold-- Londyn

Silver-- Ella

Bronze-- Greta

Peter in the long jump

Eli in the long jump

The Long Jump

Gold-- George

Silver-- Taylor

Bronze-- Eli

Chloe throwing the javelin.

Javelin

Gold-- Carson

Silver-- Brigham

Bronze-- Taylor

Long Distance Run-- around the block

Gold-- Caleb

Silver-- Taylor

Bronze-- Dallas

Greta was the last to finish the long distance race, but SHE DID IT!

The final event was the all-countries relay-- the competition was fierce!

The Relay

Gold-- Japan

Silver-- Canada

Bronze-- Jamaica

We sang to the birthday kiddos and served these not terribly impressive Olympic rings cupcakes.  This party was a lot of work, but we did knock out three birthday parties at once.  Pretty good, if I do say so myself!  And it was very much a family project we all worked together on, which was probably the best part of it.  The kids experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  I heard of several older siblings sharing their multiple medals with younger siblings who hadn't won any themselves-- so awesome.  We had a great time and were glad so many friends could come play with us.

Happy 5th birthday, Greta!

Happy 11th birthday, George!

Happy 7th birthday, Peter!

And that's a wrap on Fox family birthdays until January!