Smoke, water and fire!

No summer would be complete without a trip across lovely Wyoming. After Cooper's end of year baseball party on Saturday, we headed to the great state of Utah and more importantly, the land of Grandma & Grandpa and many cousins. Doug's family does a big reunion every other year, but we try to make a couple trips each year. Many of the 24 cousins live here (or within a short drive) so it turns into a giant cousin party for my kids. It is so neat to watch them having so much fun and amazing how close they are to their cousins even though they only see them about twice a year.

Jake & Coop

Kaiya & Corinne

Jessica & Kinley

We got in late Saturday night and Doug set his alarm for 6 a.m. on Sunday to help his brothers begin the all-day preparation of the evening meal. Doug's three brothers started a BBQ business (creatively named Triple L) this summer and they have mastered the art of smoking meat. They have sold their goods everywhere from fairs to car shows and from Manti to Logan. The stuff we had on Sunday and again tonight was prize-worthy. They smoked 40 lbs of chicken and 18 full slabs of ribs on Sunday and tonight was their specialty--pulled pork sandwiches (topped with cole slaw and pickles--DO NOT knock it until you try it). I don't normally take pictures of food, but it was an impressive operation. Makes me a little sad that we live too far away for Doug to be a part of it.

The giant smoker

More basting

9 hours of smoking

40 lbs of the best chicken ever Keep in mind--this is just immediate family!

One of Doug's brothers also acquired a soft-serve ice cream machine (that weighs in excess of 500 lbs), so for dessert we were treated to frozen custard. I lost track of how many cones my kids made. *Note to self--healthy eating begins the day we leave! After the feast, the kids got in a water fight and then we capped off the night with a driveway fireworks show.

How to eat an ice cream cone and . . .

not miss a drop of it!

Ready for some driveway fireworks

Pryomaniacs

A rare moment of relaxation

Today, the kids played all day. The moms and girls learned how to make hair bows (thanks, Anneke!) while the guys were busy in the kitchen again. This afternoon, Doug's brother Paul gave us a personal tour of the landslide devastation in Logan since he is a city engineer and was part of the recovery effort. It was an unbelievable sight.

Tomorrow, I get to spend the day with my best friend, Lori and her girls. It just doesn't get any better than this!