Cousins & BBQ

We are really blessed that although our kids don't have cousins living next door or one town over from us, our children do have more opportunities than most to build strong friendships with their cousins. And thankfully this summer we've had, and will have many opportunities for all the cousins to get together and play!

Father's Day weekend Mary Ann and her family came for a quick Friday/Saturday visit. Uncle Matthew taught Sam and Emily the fundamentals of rugby - something they both really enjoyed and took to quickly. A week after Uncle Matthew left a small package arrived for Sam ... a little something that will remain a surprise for his birthday - he will be so excited!! Too bad Parks and Rec doesn't have a Rugby Hobbits team here, so we might be adding a new sport to the family calendar. In addition to playing Rugby and jumping on the trampoline and playing all sorts of pretend games, Diane also let us take over her pool for the afternoon ... swimming, pizza, and ice cream cones ... ahhh summer!

This weekend Elspeth and family arrived for their annual 4th of July visit. Diane invited some longtime family friends to join us for dinner and while the adults visited, the kids took full advantage of Bob and Diane's property.












Diane asked GR to bring some ribs for dinner. Last summer, GR got a smoker for Father's Day and learned to smoke ribs in preparation for entering a ward BBQ contest at the end of June. He worked very hard learning to get the temperature just right and how long to smoke them, and tested numerous recipes ... I was only allowed to taste the first few rounds of recipes - most of them terrible - because I was one of the judges. His hard work and determination paid off and he won the contest by 1 point.

Unfortunately, it's been a victory many have felt was undeserved and make it known every chance they get - still. Diane (his mom) and I were both two of the four judges, and they question our ability to be impartial. Nevermind the fact that it was a double blind contest and we had no idea who's meat we were eating, or that another contestant used the same sauce GR used, or that we (Diane and I) were never allowed to taste the recipe he choose to use until judging time, or that there were some really, really, terrible ribs entered into that contest, or that I liked another contestants ribs better than GR's ... This year, they are having the same contest at the end of July, and I have been persuaded to enter, although I've requested a thorough search of the judges genealogy be done to insure we have no ties to any of them.

Anyway, Saturday we tested two new recipes for the contest and the results were quite surprising. The "safe" recipe was dull and boring, and the "experimental" recipe we were worried would be way to hot and spicy, was our hands down favorite, although we're thinking it might be a little too non-traditional for the judges, so GR and I are still testing.