A Reynolds Family 4th of July

We spent the holiday weekend on Lake Shafer in Monticello, Indiana. There were TEN Reynolds family members in one house. The men still outnumber the women 6 to 4, but Grandma, Aunt Michelle, Shaling, and I hold our own quite well. No blood was shed. In fact, I daresay we all enjoyed the time together. Thanks to Grandma & Grandpa, we ate like royalty.

Shaling & Preston enjoyed play time with their cousins Cooper (7-years-old) and Chase (4-years-old). We all enjoyed a couple of boat rides, during which Chase would count up the "hotties" for us. Apparently a "hottie" is any female wearing a bikini, regardless of age. We watched fireworks from the boat Sunday night.

Preston & Cooper enjoyed riding a "banana" - a long inflated tube that is pulled behind a boat - with some of the neighbors' grandkids. Shaling never got brave enough to try it. She did go fishing and caught her first fish. I suspect that is why she didn't want to tube or go swimming with the rest of the kids. She told me that the fish would bite her.

We took Preston & Shaling miniature golfing. Shaling isn't much for finesse. Always trying to show her brute strength, she kept hitting the ball over or past the hole. She didn't take long to pick up a common golf habit -- shaving a stroke or two off her score.

Before we left to come home Monday morning, my brother came to pick up our kids to take them home to spend a week in Fort Wayne, Indiana with him and his wife. Since Brock's brother is named Scott and my brother is named Scott, I typically differentiate by always referring to them AND their wives, i.e. Uncle Scott & Aunt Michelle or Uncle Scott & Aunt Barbara. However, Shaling came up with her own system for differentiating between them. As I explained that "other Uncle Scott" was coming to get her, she asked, "Cardinal Uncle Scott?" Brilliant. We can sort people based on their baseball fandom!

Here are several pictures from the weekend (some of them courtesy of my mother-in-law, Nancy):

Shaling's "big" catch (with Chase standing proud):



Uncle Scott & Aunt Michelle brought a giant inflatable water slide and a slip & slide. The kids truly enjoyed it.









The boys play a game in the hallway during a rainstorm:


Grandpa, master griller, shows off his belated Father's Day gift new apron:


The neighbors had an uninvited guest in their bushes:


For the kids, part of the treat of being at Grandma & Grandpa's house is crowding together in Grandma & Grandpa's king-sized bed and watching television.



Shaling & Preston pose for a sibling picture before leaving with Uncle Scott: