Guilt Entry

This entry is not entirely made out of guilt, but I have been off the wire for a while and Keslie was picking up the slack and now neither of us has made an effort. It's not that we don't care, but we'd like to think busy lives and vacations have had something to do with it.

We had a most excellent Houser family reunion in Laketown at Bear Lake in Utah. All of us (forty-something) found exquisite accomodations at the lodge. Surprisingly, we all had a bed of sorts. Let it be known that next time we're showing up early to get a king bed though. No more bunks for us!

All of the kids and grandkids were there and got along very very well. I was extremely impressed with how well the teenagers were patient and even spent a great deal of genuine time with the little ones. It's a positive statement on good parenting, I believe. Kudos.

The water was gorgeous. Even better whizzing across it on some recreational apparatus. I had an unfortunate finger incident. Not the chop shop digit either. A new one. I must have gotten thrown with my ring getting caught on the handle of the tube or something for when I reentered the boat a dull throb had ensued. I thought nothing of it throughout the rest of the days activities, but when night came and into the morrow, it was evident some brutal irritation had occurred. My finger had swollen and wouldn't abate with ice or elevation. A trip to the local doc verified no broken bones, but the ring had to come off. My titanium wedding band proved too much for the doc's typical ring saw stripping its gears. Luckily for me my brother Jamin had accompanied me to the center. Being a dentist, he works with titanium posts in root canals often. His prowess was needed as we turned on the lights and fired up the compressor in the adjacent dental office - convenient don't you think? We dawned safety glasses and meticulously sawed away at it. Worked like a charm. The finger is now much better. I still have intermittent pain, but the real casualty was my beloved ring and the good 8 years it gave me. I may be able to salvage it, but haven't gotten an estimate yet.

Enough about my finger. You're all so tired of those stories. I have another, but will refrain to save you an eye roll. We stayed in Utah for another 5 days or so after the reunion to play with Keslie's brother's family in Lehi. We did much and saw much. Great hosts. I'll let Kes expound if she deems it worthy.

The car ride both ways was nicely broken up with a night in Boise. The kids appreciate the pool. I must say that despite DVDs and many other creative devices in the car, our children were most amused by a hapless housefly that had gotten trapped in our little moving steel bubble. They laughed and giggled as they swatted at and befriended it. I'm pretty sure he's telling horror stories to little flys around some raw meat in Pendleton Oregon about right now.

I just want to say in closing that we are very grateful to our family for all of the love and good times. We were impressed with each of you in so many ways. Thanks for your generosity and the precious memories.