Courthouse in Junction

We packed the van (and I mean packed) for a few days in Junction, UT at the the bi-annual Lon Szymanski family reunion.

We were among the first to arrive, which meant we got dibs on sleeping arrangements. We had the run of a big old courthouse that had been turned into a sort of family  reunion hotel. Late arrivals had to settle for ancient, squeaky pullout beds. We bunked with Keith and Katie. It was a little awkward having my Grandma Szymanski right outside the door, snoring and hooked up to bi-pap machines, and calling for Katie to assist her in the night.

The courthouse had a great game room and library where the kids hung out and played chess. The kitchen was huge. But the bathroom situation was disgusting. All of the toilets were small with dodgy flushabity even when not completely filled with toilet paper. The two showers also had issues. We mostly avoided bathrooms at all costs.

We enjoyed eating most meals outside in the pavilion. We feasted on traditional barbecue fare (burgers and dogs with salads), a Hawaiian luau, lasagna, fresh fish, gourmet grilled cheese and lots of dutch oven delights for dessert. The luau included hula-hoop contests, Hawaiian dancing, and limbo. The last night we had a family variety show with singing, dancing and skits.

The best thing about the courthouse was the yard. Buddy was popular with the almost everyone, and he loved having so many people throw his ball. The kids camped out in tents, we made a rope swing, rode bikes, played horseshoes, volleyball and water balloon games. The crown jewel was the ditch, 2 feet of slowly moving water that provided hours of fun, and a boat race or two. The kids were all upset when I picked a stick off the ground, named it "Afterburner" and beat all of their carefully crafted boats. All of the parents had varying opinions about the safety of the ditch. Lance wasn't allowed within 10 feet of the ditch, while Nadia spent most of her days unsupervised in the ditch except for one time Paul rescued her and brought her in to her parents, after which she promptly ran back into the water.

Chad and Keith both recently bought boats, so we ventured out to Otter Creek Reservoir for a day on the lake. We took turns riding the tubes and kneeboards and the fishermen on Chad's boat caught some huge trout.

Leah is an aspiring pedicure artist. She made flyers to get business, and she loved having people line up for their treatments. Chad was her first victim/client, and he plunged his feet into scalding hot water. That's when she realized she might need to check the temperature. At least she painted his toenails pretty.

It's nice to have an extended family with whom we enjoy having so much fun, but it was also nice to return home to our own crummy toilets that we plug ourselves.