Family Reunion or Family Vacation?

8/7/2016

What is the difference between a family reunion and a family vacation?

I am not sure but Tanah is.   “This is not a family reunion,” she said. “This is a family vacation.   I hang out with these people all the time.”

Well, maybe not all the time but certainly a lot……   We are blessed to see our Hislop cousins/niece/nephews, siblings/aunts/uncles, and parents/grandparents frequently.   And we love it. The frequency of our exposure does not diminish the intensity of our pleasure.

Such was the case this week at Bear Lake.   We (Grandparents Hislop, all of their local grandchildren except Miles and Chick) Jill (Hislop) and Kurt Gibson, Kim (Hislop) Meikle, Chris and Sallie Hislop, and Lance and I spent Monday and Tuesday together and thoroughly enjoyed our family reunioning at our joint family vacation.

While there we performed several experiments.

Raspberry Shake Taste Test: We bought raspberry shakes at all the places in town that advertise “The Greatest Shake” (there are many!!) and compared them. The consensus opinion was that the shakes made at Chevron were the creamiest but Le Beau’s shakes were the unanimous over-all winners—more raspberry taste.
Knee in Rail Fit Test: Adult knees should not be inserted in between the slats on the porch railing. They tend to swell and can only be removed by greasing them with butter and pulling….hard. It is painful. I know this from personal experience.
Trampoline in Water Jump Test: A huge floating trampoline rented at Bear Lake and towed out into the water can provide hours of fun even with overcast skies and occasional rain. The weather was not warm but the kids and teens were not daunted.
Safe Son Test: Jill urged her father accept the trampoline challenge. “Let Kurt take you out to the trampoline on the Ski-Doo.” Knowing that Lance had not been feeling well and figuring he was safe, Chick said “The only way I will do it is if Lance does.” A nap, a roast turkey sandwich, and a few words of encouragement later, Lance agreed to venture out to the trampoline. Dad Hislop’s reaction: “Oh sh*#!”
Trampoline Trick Test: Eye witnesses declared Drew and Wakely Meikle the clear winners of the trampoline trick challenge though Grandpa’s, Jill’s and Lance’s performances were noteworthy.
B.S. Test: The grandchildren taught Grandpa how to play B.S. He won consistently. [B.S. is a card game won by those who are able to conceal the truth.]
Geography Test: Chris and I failed. We thought we’d ride our bikes around Bear Lake and instead found ourselves on the way to Evanston. FYI: The hill out of Lake Town on the way to Evanston is long….very long. I know this from personal experience too.
Trust Test: Kurt took Jill out on the lake in a kayak. “If you dump me in the water,” she said, “there will be no sex for a week.” He did not dump her…..
Sand Monster Test: Burying children in the sand does not turn them into being monsters. A.J., Grace, and Cooper were all buried to their necks in the sand….and all of them emerged again in their original form. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe the conclusion to this particular experiment is that burying children in the sand does not change them from being monsters…. (JUST KIDDING!!)
Menu Test: Sallie planned the menus—each day had its theme—and everyone’s conclusion was that she did a great job…..and that she should do it again and again and again!

One of the requirements of a valid experiment is that it is replicable, that is it must be able to be repeated and the results verified. All in all, the family vacation/reunion was a very successful experiment however it needs to be validated through replication. Let’s do it again next year folks!

Love,
Teresa